I think this is the right board for this. Sorry if it isn't. 

I have very little horse experience and want to get more, but I'm not sure where to start or how to get connected. 

How did you get your start? What got you into the horse world? Where did you begin? 

A few details about me:

I'm a college student and am interested in riding mainly English. I hope to own my own self sufficient homestead and open a boarding stable within the next couple of years. I maining want to learn the technical side of things (how to run a barn/stable, inventory, bookkeeping, handling horses and clients, etc.) as well as get hands on experience with professional instructors, trainers, and coaches alongside boarders, students, and the horses themselves. 

I feel like there is a lot to learn and I lack direction as well as a plan of action. 

Any tips for me? Anyone have a similar journey or general knowledge in this area? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

im not sure how helpful this will be as your already a adult, but i got my start at a hors ridding camp. i always loved horses and because the move from the city to the small tourist town i live in today was such a culture shock my folks thought it be a good idea to send me to one lol. I loved that place, it became my santuary and its where i met my first horse star. During high school i was able to do some wrok experience at a stud farm, i got a lot of hands on experience including helping out the vet to check if mares were in heat/foal. After high school my first job was as a stable hand at a small ridding school but the boss was a total idiot who wouldn't listen to either me or the instructors about incorrect tack and sent two horses lame cause of it. I ended up getting fired from that job for trying to get work comp after being hurt by a mare both me and the instructors said had no place in a ridding school (you do not put a world class endurance mare in a ridding school ment for beginners). I have since moved out of the horse world in rl because i had a unplanned pregnacy that gave me the most wonderful and beautiful little boy in the world. I miss those days but as a single mum with very little family support or childcare available moving back into the horse world is not a practical option. I wish you all the luck in the world to you.

My family has worked with horses for many years and I've been around them most of my life. Though I do not ride, I am an equine photographer, so hopefully these tips are of help to you:

Where do you begin? - Firstly, to start any business in the horse world (regardless what you choose), you have to find a way to make yourself stand out in the business. How do you do that? Research I honestly can not emphasize that enough. Always research to see your competition and find a way you can comfortably stand out of the crowd. You need to give riders and boarders a reason to choose your farm and not another in the area. 

Secondly, I would try to get yourself known by the people. Is there an area your horse breeders meet? Does your area have shows? That'd be the best place to start. Talk to the breeders and get to know them; many of them will also probably give you advice on where to start or better yet, let you work at their farm to learn how one runs. Anywhere you can gain experience and transfer what you learned to your farm, will always give you the upper hand.

Thirdly, be in tune with horses! Learn their gestures, their body language, everything. As boarder its important to know as much about horses as your trainers and coaches. The more you understand them, the easier it will be to figure out how to accomodate people and animals.

Fourthly - Look at boarding/equestrian stable pricing and see what the going rate is. Do not make it too low or too high, try to find a good and reasonable price. That will help you greatly and make boarders want to come to your place.

How did you get your start? - Like I said, I've been around horses for years; I mainly got my start meeting breeders and working with horses (mainly ground work). I also studied different things and asked questions (still do now). I learned so much about horses I know pretty much how they tick and how to do a comfortable photoshoot with even the spookiest of horses. My experience truly gave me the upperhand in my photography business.

I just went to a stable and asked for lessons. Since you're looking for the more work side of things, I would maybe start taking lessons and let them know you want to learn the ins and outs of owning horses as well. Keep an eye out for job openings and apply to work there. 

As for the business side, nothing a few business classes can't hurt at college.

Link Tree

I don't have a start yet, BUT I have done some stuff in the past.

Ask to volunteer. Over where I am there is a barn for rehabilitated horses that is always looking for volunteers, yeah you may have to do really crummy work at first, but you'll get the chance to learn! Also just ask local barnes if they wouldn't mind sharing some knowledge with you or allow you to shadow them.

Thank you all for your wonderful advice! 

@Aoi Haru Designs: Did you only have experience from horse camp when you got your job at the stud farm? 

@Equ: Thanks for all your help! I'm going to look up local clubs and shows and see where that gets me. 

@xxChaotic: I thought about taking lessons and going from there, but it just doesn't work with my schedule and budget right now. If I can't find anything else, that's definitely my fall back plan.

@Khaleesi: I didn't even think about rescue barns and the like. There's one not far from me, so I'm going to go over there later today. 

Thanks again, you guys! You've really help out a lot. 

-is late to the show-

Your best bet is to in fact volunteer!  A lot of barns "pay" their volunteers with lessons too, so it could be a win win!  I was fortunate enough to have a horse in my front yard growing up, but I was active in 4h and we did a lot of volunteering.  It was neat to volunteer and get free lessons on different horses just for the experience.

@tronimoose: Good to hear! I was thinking about doing that, but I wasn't sure how realistic of a request it would be. I'll contact some local places and see what they say. 

yes but it was work experience mainly handled by my high school's end. But i did land my job as a stable hand because i knew horses so well, The owner of the school didn't live or spend much time at the ridding school and he needed a good stable hand who knew what to look out for and such (not that he ever ended up listining to me, or the instructors when they started complaining). Here in australia barns and boarding stables are not common place (at least i've never seen one) most people just pay to put there horses in a paddock somewhere and most have some kind of shelter available if not stalls persay. but voluntering is the best way to start, places are always looking for cheap/free workers.

Go on Yardandgroom.com, and search for working student positions.  Your goals of having a homestead and boarding facility are pretty much what my farm is, we are looking for interns so if you jump on it and its in the right location for you, you might be able to get an interview still. Liberty Farms in Ghent, NY.