MadSci Network: Agricultural Sciences
Query:

Re: what is the job of a hippologist?

Date: Tue Aug 5 04:50:31 2008
Posted By: Janet Hoff, Research Technician Senior
Area of science: Agricultural Sciences
ID: 1217000267.Ag
Message:

Hi Vanessa,

Thanks for the questions.

Hippology: the study of horses. A person who studies horses could be a farm manager, trainer, groom or all of the above. As a farm manager, you would keep track of stock such as grain and hay and order supplies as needed. You would watch over the herd and ensure all horses are happy and healthy. You would be responsible for providing on-going care to horses with physical problems such as lameness. You may have people working under you who would also need to be "managed". You may be responsible for record keeping and advertizing.

There are horse farms hiring hippologists. There are farms dedicated to breeding horses and others interested in training horses and/or people. Hippologists can also be found on race tracks and also work for large animal veterinarians.

Studies include pre-veterinary care, nutrition, genetics, possibly how to trim horses feet, and hopefully how to handle and train horses.

I'm not sure how to answer "what kinds of hippology are there?" There are several schools across the country offering training. Some of them focused on training the horse and others on the management of the farm.

If this is something you are interested in pursing, I suggest looking into the schools that offer more than a horse farm management certification, such as the Michigan State University or Meredith Manor. These institutions offer an associates degree in equine studies. If it's training horses your interested in look into schools such as those offered by experienced trainers like Linda Telling-Jones or Lyn Palm.

I graduated from a horse management school in 1980. I managed a race horse farm and worked on the track for 2 years. I decided to go back to school to get an associates degree in applied science because I wasn't making enough money to support myself AND put away for my future (also, I had no medical benefits). I worked for 10 years in small animal practice and currently work in medical research. In the last 5 years, I've managed to develop a horse boarding a training farm. I'm glad I attended horse management school, but I'm also glad I decided to further my education when I did. In this day in age you may need more than an associates degree to make enough money to afford to develop a horse farm of your own some day.

My advice; find a career you like that'll make you some money. Invest your money in what you love and enjoy having horses in your life.

Meredith Mannor Horse Management School: http://www.meredithmanor.com/
Michigan State University offers equestrian studies http://www.msu.edu
Linda Tellington-Jones Horse Training: http://www.lindatellingtonjones.com/
Lynn Palm Horse Training: http://www.lynnpalm.com/
Equine Charm School (authors boarding/training farm) http://www.equinecharmschool.com

Good luck to you!


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