Exercise Rider

Do you love racehorses? Enjoy riding them? Do pounding hooves sound like music to your ears? If so then you may want to consider a career as an exercise rider. An exercise rider trains racehorses to carry out the trainer’s commands. The trainer sets the workout for the horse and the exercise rider carries it out. They must be able to teach the horse such things as pacing themselves, walking calmly, maneuvering through a space between two horses, expose them to various conditions they may encounter on the track in addition to breaking bad habits such as head tossing. They must also be able to recognize soreness or injuries and relay this information to the trainer.

Still interested? What I have gathered from my investigation of this intriguing occupation is that in order to break into this career you must immerse yourself in the horse racing business any way you can. Even if you have experience with horses, the racetrack is a completely different environment. Obtain a job at a thoroughbred farm or small training facility and learn whatever you can. If you prefer, go for formal training. Depending on where you live, a search online for exercise rider training can be tricky. I’ve read that some states require certification and some a license and yet others have licenses for varying levels of exercise rider. I suggest contacting a training facility or thoroughbred farm in the state in which you live and ask about the requirements.

From a number of bio’s of exercise riders that I have read I have noted that many of them started out as hot-walkers then moved up to groom before becoming an exercise rider. This may be the way to go. A hot walker is someone who warms up the horses before their exercise and walks them back to the stable after their workouts. A groom takes care of the horses in the stable. They brush and bathe them, feed and water them, apply hoof dressings and other odds and ends around the stable.

As an exercise rider you will be exposed to both older horses as well as younger horses that may be very obstinate or skittish and accidents can happen. Broken bones are not uncommon in this line of work. You will need patience, strength and a willingness to be humbled by the animal in which you are working with.