Has anyone heard of or taken a course there? If so what are your thoughts on the place?
Meredith Manor
Nokotaheaven
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I don't know anything about MM, however may I suggest looking into Midway College in Kentucky. I went there for a semester. Beautiful area, tons of grassy pastures for your horse to run around in, 2 barns (although looking at their website, looks like they added another barn so that would be 3 barns), an indoor and outdoor riding arena. They have an Equine Studies major but also have many other majors. I've known several people that graduated with a Business Major with a concentration in Equine Studies and have gone onto working at some really decent barns. Some people do internships at some of the Thoroughbred racing farms in the area. They also offer riding classes both English and Western as part of your courses. I went there as a beginner, pretty much being backyard taught myself and came out knowing how to post correctly, change leads, etc..I orginally wanted to go to University of Louisville, but Midway seemed like it had more hands-on work along with class work. I remember hearing about MM when applying for colleges, but something didn't sit right with me not to mention it was too far away from home.
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Your best bet is to go to a real, four-year college and look into Equine Management degrees.
With that being said, you will earn next to nothing in the horse industry. Be prepared to be horse-poor your whole life!
As far as MM goes, I've managed training facilities and hired MM graduates. It's going to be hit or miss as to whether they know anything because they either go into the program with the knowledge or they go in expecting to learn something... and don't.
Sure, you get your ride time but I've seen kids come out of their Training course who can barely post a trot. And who, when given the opportunity, actually reverse the progress on horses because they were apparently never taught how to train, merely to school a horse at w/t/c and let them get away without going round or balancing. (I have pre-teen students who can do that for free.)
Additionally, there are a ton of real-life scenarios (workplace hazards) that don't get taught. That's life experience that just doesn't come from a book or a controlled environment.
Typically, pony club turns out more solid, knowledgeable people (being said from a hiring perspective) than MM does.
I've come to believe that good horsemen and women learn more in either of two situations. You're born into a family with horse knowledge and the financial stability to provide you with a barn full of horses to grow-up with OR you take working student positions from any trainer who will have you.
Looks like the latter is your option here, being that you've already been born. It's going to cost less than going to a camp-like setting such as MM and will give you working experience. The perks are that most of these situations offer housing, a stipend, and/or boarding & lessons for your horse.
If you really want to be in the industry, it could be worth taking a year before college to really see what it's like. You may find that the business side of horses isn't what you thought and you'll save yourself from devoting four years to a degree you don't want. You may like it even more but you'll be better prepared with the new hands-on experience and networking you've gained.
With that being said, you will earn next to nothing in the horse industry. Be prepared to be horse-poor your whole life!
As far as MM goes, I've managed training facilities and hired MM graduates. It's going to be hit or miss as to whether they know anything because they either go into the program with the knowledge or they go in expecting to learn something... and don't.
Sure, you get your ride time but I've seen kids come out of their Training course who can barely post a trot. And who, when given the opportunity, actually reverse the progress on horses because they were apparently never taught how to train, merely to school a horse at w/t/c and let them get away without going round or balancing. (I have pre-teen students who can do that for free.)
Additionally, there are a ton of real-life scenarios (workplace hazards) that don't get taught. That's life experience that just doesn't come from a book or a controlled environment.
Typically, pony club turns out more solid, knowledgeable people (being said from a hiring perspective) than MM does.
I've come to believe that good horsemen and women learn more in either of two situations. You're born into a family with horse knowledge and the financial stability to provide you with a barn full of horses to grow-up with OR you take working student positions from any trainer who will have you.
Looks like the latter is your option here, being that you've already been born. It's going to cost less than going to a camp-like setting such as MM and will give you working experience. The perks are that most of these situations offer housing, a stipend, and/or boarding & lessons for your horse.
If you really want to be in the industry, it could be worth taking a year before college to really see what it's like. You may find that the business side of horses isn't what you thought and you'll save yourself from devoting four years to a degree you don't want. You may like it even more but you'll be better prepared with the new hands-on experience and networking you've gained.
worst place I could have ever chose for schooling I brought my horse with me which was a bad idea no turn out cracked corn and my horse came out of there mean and nasty and aggressive toward ppl. trainer graduated from the Meredith manor program but had no real life experience outside of the manor nit turn off. I would NOT recommend that place to anyone who is serious about riding. did not like It one bit
I got my experience, starting as a young teen, often by what wasn't said but absorbed. After 5 years of the usual barn chores and having horses of all temperaments to ride, plus various stages of training, by 19 I knew what having my own horse or running a boarding/training facility would involve. It was like a 6 yr apprenticeship. I was paid in experience, not money.
From what I see, Meredith Manor looks great, and I'm planning on going there maybe next summer for a 12week session. I have not been there yet (I live in Michigan, so quite a drive just to visit) so can't answer any spicifics.
Iseul, sounds like no matter what place you go, you would have trouble, given the information from your original post. As for the stall cleaning, I do the same method you described in your second post, and each stall only takes me 20-25 minutes. That is including dumping the wheelbarrow, loading fresh shavings, and spreading them in the cleaned stall. But then I have a high work ethic, and work quickly and efficiently.
I would suggest that if you are interested in MM: check out their site, order resources (they are free), and if close enough to be reasonable, visit and talk to a few of the administrators, students, instructors and professors. Between all of them, you'll get tons of information!
Iseul, sounds like no matter what place you go, you would have trouble, given the information from your original post. As for the stall cleaning, I do the same method you described in your second post, and each stall only takes me 20-25 minutes. That is including dumping the wheelbarrow, loading fresh shavings, and spreading them in the cleaned stall. But then I have a high work ethic, and work quickly and efficiently.
I would suggest that if you are interested in MM: check out their site, order resources (they are free), and if close enough to be reasonable, visit and talk to a few of the administrators, students, instructors and professors. Between all of them, you'll get tons of information!
MM has a spike-drop sort of pattern going on, I've noticed. Students from the 90's rave about how good their education and experience was, students from '00 - '09 rant about how there's marijuana, poor management and poor skills coming from the school. From '10-present, you'll get mixed reviews from many different sources. The dorms, converted buses, horses' feed and turn out regimens, quality of other students or education are all argued in these reviews. Some students enjoy the school and what it offers. Others argue that it's a waste of time and money. In the end all you can really do regarding this school is take each opinion with a grain of salt, write up a list of pros and cons from each review and Visit The School for yourself.
They have a facebook page. Check it out and maybe talk to the people posting on it.
They have a facebook page. Check it out and maybe talk to the people posting on it.
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Thank you to everyone who has answered this Sorry it took me a long time to get bact to this thread, I haven't been on here much these last few months. What I have decided to do is I'm going to take a year to get a bit of money, then I'm going to try to get a full time job on a farm doing various things to get 1-2 years of barn maintenance and horse handling experience under my belt while still furthering the knowledge I have. Then after that I'll go to a equine college and will hopefully be somewhat prepped for what they require of me
Sorry it took me a long time to get bact to this thread, I haven't been on here much these last few months. What I have decided to do is I'm going to take a year to get a bit of money, then I'm going to try to get a full time job on a farm doing various things to get 1-2 years of barn maintenance and horse handling experience under my belt while still furthering the knowledge I have. Then after that I'll go to a equine college and will hopefully be somewhat prepped for what they require of me41 - 48 of 48 Posts
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