DO you want a career working with horses?

There are several ways of gaining qualifications, with the most popular being equine colleges.

Having two very good equine colleges within North Yorkshire – Askham Bryan and Bishop Burton – it would seem the most obvious choice, but what about a working pupil or a paying student on a private yard where you can still gain your qualifications and experience?

In the years before equine colleges, this was the only option. A small private recognised yard can still offer all the correct training and qualifications that a large equine college can, but on a more one-to-one basis and as part of a stable staff team.

A working pupil would find a yard that specialises in whatever discipline they would like to specialise in, rather than a course that touches all spheres.

Working pupils work alongside the stable staff with regular lessons and often getting more opportunities to compete or at least attend competitions with the yard, with accommodation, meals, a small wage and sometimes their own horses can be taken too.

This could be a more beneficial option than working in large college groups and classroom situations.

There is also a paying student option, which again can be done in a specialised recognised yard, which is most likely to be more intense on a one-to-one basis along with private lessons and your own horse.

Colleges may well be a better option for some, in that you will have more options of subjects rather than a specific one, you can live in student accommodation or at home if nearby, and there will be more social life outside college.

Write down all the things that are important to you for the college/private yard to provide, be that excellent livery services, support for a learning difficulty and locality and prioritise which are the most important.

Advice from those people to you can prove invaluable when making life decisions, talk to friends and family and allow them to help you through the process.

You may have been set to go to a certain college for years, but it is always worth considering a number of places and private yards so that you can make an informed decision.

Take into consideration which qualification would be most useful to you, do you need a certain accreditation to secure your dream job, or are you studying to generally widen your equestrian knowledge?

Once you have cemented your goals, you will find it easier make a choice.

Think about how much time you want to spend in a practical environment or if you want more hands-on experience, to decide if a college or private yard is best for you.

If you decide to stay at home, make sure your college/yard is not so far away that travelling will become exhausting and expensive.

Prospectuses can provide a helpful insight into a career, but it is difficult to form any real idea of what they are like without visiting in person. Attend open days and talk to current students and staff.

Lastly, unless you take the working pupil option at a private yard, then make sure that your chosen college/private yard paying student is affordable, living closer to home may seem less exciting, but could provide you with a more financially viable option.