Horse Trainer
What the work is
Educates and prepares horses for riding, breeding, racing, work, show, competitions, or other horse sports and activities.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Evaluates horses' physical condition and temperament to determine training needs
- Develops and implements training programs to improve horses' performance and behaviour, and reports on horses' progress
- Educates horses to obey verbal and non-verbal commands
- Trains horses to accept riders and pull vehicles
- Trains and conditions horses to perform in competitions, races and other horse-related activities
- Provides care and maintenance for horses, including feeding, grooming and medical attention
- May evaluate and select horses for purchase or sale based on their potential and suitability
- May assist with breeding and foaling processes, including selecting suitable mates and overseeing mating procedures
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional wildlife park and training yard, with enclosures, a dog training field and a stable block. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- An anxious dog finally relaxes at a command, and the owner cheers
- A keeper's talk makes a group of school children look at an animal in a new way
- A young horse that was afraid of the saddle lets you settle it on his back
Hard days
- Early starts, wet weather and a lot of cleaning before the animals come first
- An owner who believes the dog is the problem when the habit is theirs
- A favourite animal becomes unwell, and you have to keep working through it
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 341132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.