We’ve all seen those dreamy pictures of smiling people loping beautiful white horses across white sandy beaches… the vacation of a lifetime, combining a beautiful getaway destination with horseback riding.  If you’re anything like me (a college graduate on a tight budget), your bank account startles you from this daydream and reminds you that the only trip you can afford right now is the drive to work.  This was my reality while I was tied down in college.  A week after graduating, I packed my bags and left to work on a ranch.  Since then, I’ve lived in amazing places, made lifelong friends, and ridden horses – all while getting paid.  If you’re a gypsy at heart who longs to live a life like this, I wrote this article for you.

The Handshake

There are a variety of jobs you can work that will take you across the country – or across the globe – riding horses.  We’ll talk about those in a little bit, but it all comes back to connections.  Networking yourself is the first step to finding jobs with horses.  Wherever you find yourself, make a point to go to local competitions, even if you don’t have a horse to bring.  Introduce yourself and make contacts.  Connect with local barns over social media and see if you can volunteer to continue building relationships.  Over time, their connections become your connections.  They might know of a loper position that just opened up in Texas or a guest ranch who will need a wrangler next season.  Many jobs are never posted anywhere, but are filled as word of mouth travels.  As you take these jobs, represent yourself well, take pride in your horsemanship, and refine your interpersonal skills, as these are your greatest assets in the horse industry.

Take Advantage of the Internet

There are many tools available on the web that can help you land that dream horse job.  Here are some that I’ve found:

• WorkAway is a website I found a few years ago that helps people scratch their travel itch on a budget.  There is a yearly fee (around $25), but in exchange for that you are connected with people all over the world who are looking to have some live-in help.  It’s not just for horse-lovers; you can be a nanny in France or help out at a remote farm in Germany.  This being said, I was pleased to find that there were many opportunities available for people who wanted to work with horses.  A year ago when I had a subscription, I looked only at Europe and found a number of opportunities that allowed you to live in beautiful places while working with horses.  Some were family-owned farms while others were competition-based barns.  The only downside is that these jobs typically don’t pay.  They all provide housing – and typically invite you to share meals with them – in exchange for part-time work.  I really like this website, because people who have stayed with hosts can write about their experiences.  Safety is a huge priority for me, and I like to know that the host has been verified as a real person.  WorkAway also has an option that allows hosts to post specifics about their lifestyles (i.e. non-smoker, provides a vegetarian diet, can offer singular or shared housing, etc.).  It’s a very well thought out website.
• Facebook groups are another option to finding job opportunities (with no annual subscription fee!).  Some groups I’d recommend are
  • LOPERS – What’s So Hard About That?
  • EQUINE Ranch JOBS and Workers for HIRE!
  • Reining Trainers Help Wanted
  • Equine/Afford The Horse Jobs
  • Reining Farms Help Wanted
  • Loper Central
  • Equine Jobs
  • The Loping Pen
• RanchWorldAds is another website I occasionally peruse for job listings.  This website has listings for cow dogs, used gear, horses for sale – even if you’re not looking for a job, it’s a good site to check out.

What’s Out There?

You probably noticed the word “loper” used a number of times by now.  If you’re not familiar with this term, it refers to someone who helps out a trainer at a barn.  There is typically a wide variety of expectations, from mucking stalls to starting colts to fixing sprinkler heads to traveling to shows and doing all the prep.  It’s not a glorious job, but if you find a good trainer who will look at it as an internship, there is the opportunity to learn a lot and grow your horsemanship.  I’ll warn you that the hours are typically grueling (full days and usually one day off a week), but if you’re not afraid of hard work I’d recommend it.  You’ll make a lot of connections in a job like this.

There are also dude ranch wrangling positions.  You’ll find neat jobs in the summer in unbelievably beautiful places like Montana and be able to escape to the warmth of the desert during winter.  This is something I have done a number of times and truly enjoyed.  I’ve made a number of lifelong friends through wrangling.  Housing is almost always provided at little or no cost.  On paper, the pay isn’t anything to write home about; because meals and housing are typically provided, it’s around $1,200 to $1,800 per month.  It averages out to about $3/hour.  However, if you find a well-known ranch that is more on the luxury side, chances are you’ll get some substantial tips.  Of course, it’s nothing to depend on, but at one ranch in Arizona, I made more in tips than I did on my paycheck.  A typical day looks like:

• getting up early to feed, depending on the feeding situation
• cleaning out pens
• catching and saddling up horses
• helping riders find a mount that suits them
• adjusting tack to fit the rider
• taking the rider out on the trail (in some cases, you might load up the horses in the trailer and take them to a trail head)
• providing information and history about the land you ride
• picking the best trail for the guest’s level of experience
• keeping a watchful eye on the saddle fit, horse, guest’s riding, and having the knowledge and ability to handle an emergency on the trail
• taking the horses back home, unsaddling, looking horses over after ride, and possibly providing supplements

Make sure you take time to research a ranch before you apply.  I once made the mistake of coming to a ranch – moving all of my things across the country – only to find that the horses were neglected and the management style was very unhealthy.  Websites like Glassdoor can give you some helpful information on what it’s like to work somewhere before committing to a job.  Word of mouth is also helpful here, because a certain name or ranch might have earned an outstanding – or poor – reputation for good reason.

No Time Like the Present

And in similar fashion to how I’ve ended articles, it’s time to stop talking about it and start doing it.  Go get connected, start browsing the web, and building your resume.

If you have other suggestions or experiences you’d like to share, let us know!  Best of luck on your adventures.