Hayley Andrews chose her course because it’s the only one of its kind in Australia. In her course at the National Centre for Equine Education, Hayley is studying a Diploma of Stud Management.
“The detail and the practical side of the course suited me well. It’s like putting into practise what you learned in the classroom, into the paddock!”
The course is mostly practical – or, rather, because the campus is a horse stud, there’s more opportunities to be involved in the practical aspects of horses. She studies full time, which is five days a week.
Hayley learns about how horses bodies’ work, how to breed racehorses, and how to optimise breeding. She also learns how to run a stud farm, how to plan, what qualities make a good farm, and the essential – OH+S.
“The Certificate gives you a head start in the industry to get the good knowledge,” Hayley says. It is also important to learn how things happen and why, not just to be told what to do.
“I’ve never owned a horse. A lot of people think that if they don’t own a horse, because they’re expensive, that they won’t have the experience to work with horses. But really – you just need the drive.”
As a testament to this, Hayley lived with her aunt, who owns a horse stud, for six months before deciding that she really wanted to work with horses – and enrolled at the NCEE, moving from Queensland to Victoria.
The typical start to the day is doing something practical for the first half of the day – such as putting foals in boxes for weaning. The afternoon, after lunch, is usually classroom related activities, such as learning about horse nutrition, or OH and S. In the second year of the course, the classroom studies branch into management roles, such as how to deal with clients, staff and how to do a farm plan.
“The best thing about the course, is that you’re guaranteed a job after you finish. Throughout the course, you do sales, go on excursions, so people in the industry see the school. A lot of local people in Scone are willing to take on TAFE students, because they are trained properly.”
And while some may wonder how long one can remain passionate in their work, it’s easy to see that Hayley will remain working with horses for a very long time:
“I’ve just always had a passion for them. I just couldn’t control it. Having a love for horses is just like a virus that you get when you’re five!”
The personal qualities needed?
Be positive – because a lot of things can go wrong with horses, especially as you’re so emotionally attached. You have to be strong, have a good work ethic, be prepared for hard work. You need to love outdoor work. You 
gotta love it to do it.
Advice?
It’s really rewarding, be prepared for it, you never stop learning in this industry. If you enjoy learning, this might just be the industry for you!
People in the industry are looking for trained people. And there are so any areas to enter into: foals, or mares, or marketing or sales – it’s a big wide world!
Aims?
They have a scholarship at the end of the course for a student to go and study for 6 months in Ireland. So I’ll definitely apply for that!
The hardest part?
If you’re not passionate about it, the hours can be hard. You can have early starts, late nights, work weekends and public holidays. No matter what happens – horses don’t stop needing to be fed.
The best part?
Aww, everything about them, maybe! The best part is the development of a horse: from watching a foal get dropped on the ground at birth, watching it grow, watch it gallop – and maybe, just maybe, become a racehorse. I like to look after them and help them through hard times.
