Equine Business Management

The equine industry in the UK and internationally is a significant commercial sector, encompassing racing, breeding, equestrian sport, leisure riding, and equine-related services and supply chains. Equine business management brings together the specialist knowledge of the horse world with the skills of business administration, enterprise management, and strategic thinking. It is a degree for people who are serious about horses and serious about building a career in one of the many commercial and professional dimensions of the equine world.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands, this four-year full-time programme gives you a grounding in both equine science and business practice. You will study the management, welfare, and handling of horses alongside core business subjects including marketing, finance, human resources, and enterprise development. The Highland and Islands context brings its own character to the programme, with access to a rural and land-based economy that has distinctive relationships with horses and with the wider outdoors sector.

You will develop practical understanding of how equine businesses operate, from small livery yards and riding schools through to larger racing or breeding enterprises, and you will build the management and entrepreneurial skills needed to run, develop, or advise such organisations.

The course develops your capacity for strategic thinking, financial analysis, and people management, set within the specific context of an industry driven by passion as much as profit. You will also study the regulatory and welfare frameworks that govern the equine world, and you will develop the professional communication skills needed to work with clients, staff, suppliers, and regulatory bodies.

Graduates of equine business management go on to careers in yard management, equine business consultancy, event management, racing administration, equestrian retail and supply, and rural enterprise development. Some go on to establish their own equine businesses. Further study in business, rural enterprise, or equine science is an option for those who wish to specialise or move into a research or academic pathway.