Groom / Rider (Young Horse Trainer)
🐎Cares for horses and starts young ones: feeds, grooms, exercises, teaches a horse to carry a rider and prepares it for competitions.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $39.5k a year on average · +12.1% jobs by 2035 · 62,800 openings a year
Nonfarm animal caretakers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £25.1k median a year · 17,000 jobs
Animal care services occupations n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI can't replace working with a live horse; at most feeding and record-keeping get automated.
Who it suits
Interests: 🐾 Animals, 🏃 Sport and movement, 🏕️ Outdoor work, expeditions, 🔧 Making things by hand.
Key strengths: strength and stamina, manual dexterity.
Where to study
- Apprenticeship Equine groom apprenticeship (UK), Pferdewirt Ausbildung (DE)
- Vocational BHS qualifications / Level 2–3 Equine Care (UK)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Biology, PE.
🧗 UK: groom apprenticeship and BHS qualifications; Germany: 3-year Pferdewirt Ausbildung. Work at yards, studs and with competition riders. Riding from childhood helps.
Things to know
🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells⚠️ Real danger to life
Similar careers
Not sure what to choose?
A ~100-question quiz builds your interest profile and matches you with careers and universities in Europe, the UK and the US.
Take the quiz →Scales are expert estimates; tuition and admission rules are for 2026/27 from official sources — always check the university website.