HGG Community Forums

Thank you Looper. I've seen how he looks at me when we talk about Charlotte, I know he grieves for her as much as I do even though she wouldnt have been his by blood. We've talked about how to handle big situations and know that things dont always turn out like planned. I'm actually going to call the school probably within the week as we talk about it more. I had everything stacked against me I was in a physically and mentally abusive relationship as well as being in contact with my emotionally abusive mother and stepfather who at that point had been holding my siblings against me. The school I plan on going to is the only federally accredited equestrian school that I know of, and one of the few that will take me without sat scores. I took my ACT test instead and didnt do too well. Plus it's the only one I've found that the majority of the classes are hands on. We've spoke about it being almost 2 years out to help account for everything, including our smaller baby possibly needing open heart surgery. I want them to be healthy before we move forward. We could probably get it done within a year but we want a buffer.

Looper provides wonderful advice here. It is so very important to take care of yourself and your mental and physical health, so that you can give your best to yourself, your family, and your goals.

I have been where you are with losing precious equipment in order to leave an abusive relationship. All of my saddles, including the first saddle I got for my first and now-deceased horse, are gone. It still hurts. I'm alive, and I have been able to replace what I needed as I go, but it still stinks to remember: "I ALREADY owned this and I lost it." Re-build your collection as you need it. Online marketplaces are fantastic avenues for getting gently used tack at great deals--a LOT of people buy tack, especially show equipment, then hardly or never use it.

This is a very blunt question, so please know it comes from a place of someone who cares about you: What purpose in your life will this school fulfill? What is your objective when you have completed the program? What is the expected annual gross vs net income for program graduates? Will your family depend on your income as the primary breadwinner, or will your partner's income be enough that you can supplement it with your income?

Why I ask:

I attended two fantastic (okay, one was fantastic, one is relatively mediocre, but thinks it is the bee's knees) universities. Many of my friends graduated with degrees in agricultural sciences, and several of the equine obsessed got equine certificates. The ag teachers nearly all found jobs. The ag communication majors nearly all found jobs in ag comm. The animal science people... they either settled for work outside their desired career field of ponies, or raise livestock as a hobby farm while a spouse brings home the money that pays the bills. NONE of my friends who raise/breed/train horses make enough of a profit from horses alone to pay all their bills... and most of them don't have any kids. Is working full-time in the horse industry your end goal, and if it is, does this program give you the skills and connections you need to find a job that pays enough for you as a parent... or does it just put you in debt and leave you at the same pay level as people who learned their horse skills on-the-job at a high-end facility?

In high school, I looked very seriously at Sweetbriar College and William Woods University, because I wanted the best equine education I could find. (This is before my health problems were so disabling.) Then I realized my mentors and teachers who were the most successful at their training or teaching programs didn't have equine or even animal science degrees. Most had business or other white-collar degrees (law, architecture, etc.), and knew how to run a business. They didn't gain their horse-related skills and knowledge just at university, rather, they primarily gained them through mentors at the barns they rode and worked at. This realization was not enough to deter me from pursing animal science at the time, because I was young and dumb and WOW these ag classes were easy, but looking back, there were some good lessons to learn!

I have watched so many of my family members struggle in life, and continue to add more and more educational debt, while remaining unfulfilled with the certificates and degrees they receive. My happiest and most financially stable sibling is the one who took a break from university and just worked until she figured out what she wanted to do. Meanwhile, our little sister just completed her undergrad, and her first "big kid job" is... back working the exact same job she had during college. It's a new position with a new title (for what that's worth), but still part time with no benefits, no upward mobility, and it is technically a temp job, so it could end at any time. That degree is doing bupkis for her right now. Her major nearly always requires a master's degree for a good job in the field she wants. Sure, she could take an office job somewhere, and get certified as a paralegal or similar, but that's not what she wants to do.

It is wonderful and important to have a passion, and love what you do every day. It is also important to know you have the ability to buy food every day : ) I'm not saying "forsake the horse industry," but I am asking, is this the absolute best program for your needs to help you accomplish your life goals?

@Looper I didnt realize it didnt post! I've reached out and waiting on someone getting back to me but they are sending the catalog so it seems promising. I told my boyfriend even if another "oppsie" pregnancy happens (they are refusing me birth control) the plan still stays. I'll be looking into getting a post office job, even if its just temporary, since they pay well so I can get out of the debt. Not sure if that will make it harder to get student loans though. But I'll need it to replace all of my equipment. It looks like as of right now theyll take me back as long as I can pass the physical fitness test.

@BlaxkDiamond equine massage is one of the studies I plan on taking! I hate having nothing to do, and I know it looks like it will he hectic and I'm sure it will, but I love having things to do. My SO has been my best friend since we were 14 so my me time was usually spent with him anyway! I'll be busy for a little while but if it better my future for my family I'll do it. I plan on getting my certificates for many reasons. They big two are I'm tired of starting something and not finishing it. In that thought process I finished my culinary program and got my sanitation certificate as well. The other is I didnt grow up with horses. I grew up with pigs and chickens. And while I love pigs they are a very different animal (and not nearly as dirty and disgusting as many people make them out to be, but chickens are!) so the only handling ive done was at school. My confidence is gone. It's been 6, almost 7, years since I've handled a horse. I need to get back into the swing of life. I've realized I dont lile where I am and while I may not have PPD I do have some depression going on and I need goals to focus on to work towards. That's just my personality. I dont do good sitting around at all.