Must one go to college to train horses?

Question

To be a horse trainer, do you have to go to college? What about being a riding instructor? Or a mounted policeman? If so, how many years? thanks so much!

Answer 1

No!  I took riding lessons for a year, and Im real good with horses now!

Answer 2

I don't know about "police college" but most law enforcement departments require a certain amount of credits in that area...not necessarily a degree..it is a select few, with contacts, that work their way into the mounted patrol..A horse trainer can be anyone that wants to tack up a "HORSE TRAINER" shingle, but it doesn't mean that they are a good horse trainer...there are people who have equine degrees that I wouldn't allow to touch my horses, and there are folks that have plain ole horse sense with no formal education to speak of that make heck of a good trainer...Riding instructor, same story...

Answer 3

Unfortunately in the USA there are no really consistent standards governing the training of horses or riding instruction...if people are willing to pay you, you are a professional trainer and/or instructor.  Many people choose equine studies which is now available in many colleges and universities, and certification can also be obtained in the areas of training, instruction, and judging. But again, anyone who had some riding lessons (and even some who haven't) can take your money and call him/herself a professional riding instructor or professional trainer and there is no law against it.

EDIT...I haven't ever known of anyone who obtained a degree in equine studies who didn't already have significant experience with horses before entering the program.

Answer 4

It depends. If you want to be a mounted police, then yes. But mostly, just to TRAIN your horse, no! Or at a camp or riding place, no, I don't think so. You just have to know your things.

Answer 5

the only thing you should have to be a riding instructor, is advanced riding skills in the area you are teaching in. you should have taken at the very least 4 years of real riding experience. a mounted policeman i think would basically go through the same process that a regular policeman would.

Answer 6

I dont know about the mounted police. but i find that most trainers who do go to the colleges have worse horses than the ones that just learn from personal experience. The colleges teach you how to deal with horses in general, but each horse is different so most methods that work on one horse will not work on the next one.  That goes for an instructor.  I would also like to train people to ride, seeing as im 14 and have been riding for ten years, by the time im ready to train i will have over twenty years experience.

Answer 7

Mounted Policeman - I believe that you must first complete your local Police Force "camp" and complete a year of "regular duty" before you can move on to mounted police work. Then you would go to another "bootcamp" where you will receive a horse (or possibly your horse if allowed) and go through training.

Riding Instructor - No you do not have to have a degree in instructing. However, to have "good" buisness, you would want to train other different trainers and possibly travel arounf to other barns within the country or other countries also, and train under different trainers for a week or month, or longer.

Horse Trainer - no you do not need a degree, but you must be able to have "experience" behind you and have to know what you are doing with what you can do and be able to be not only a "horse" person but a "people" person also.

I would recommend that you attend a University, University of Findlay is a good school, and study horse training and such.

Answer 8

For a mounted policeman, you must first go to a police college and continue on from there.  Riding intrustructor is a job in which no formal training is required, although for better business there are courses which you can take.  The same goes for horse trainer.

Answer 9

well to be a mounted policemen they are now requiring you to have a 4 year degree they didn't always have this rule, they used to allow where you had to have a high school diploma. to be a  horse trainer you dont have to go to school but i heard there's is a place that you can learn ow to train and give lessons,most people pretty much dont go to school buts it its OK.as long as your good with people and horses for all the things you asked you will do good in all

Answer 10

I dont know about the mounted police. but i find that most trainers who do go to the colleges have worse horses than the ones that just learn from personal experience. The colleges teach you how to deal with horses in general, but each horse is different so most methods that work on one horse will not work on the next one. That goes for an instructor. I would also like to train people to ride, seeing as im 14 and have been riding for ten years, by the time im ready to train i will have over twenty years experience.

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Answer 11

No, they do not need a college degree but should be educated enough to be able to do a good job.

Answer 12

You don't need to go to college to train horses, and you may not necessarily learn that much on training, there. You should work along with a trainer for this. First, get some good experience riding, and work with a person who trains horses for your lessons. That way, as you learn to ride, better, you will also learn training methods. After you have learned to ride well with this person, then you can find a stable where a trainer needs some help. You can do things to help the trainer, like clean stalls or other things, and you can watch what they do for training. To be a riding instructor, you need to be a good rider so that you can convey that to the students. There is also a group that certifies people in riding instruction, but you would not do that until you have ridden with a good instructor and learned about horses. Only use the one that is not just an online certification and also offers certification for theraputic riding. Theraputic riding is a good field to go into.

Answer 13

A mounted policeman has to take criminal justice courses or training.  The others do not have to go to college but there are schools and programs you can recieve certification from (though in most areas it is not legally necessary.

One word of caution.  Watch out and avoid the 'new fads' such as Pat Parelli, Monty Roberts, etc.  Just get good sound time tested horse training techniques.