Thinking of returning to school-- Edit: I'm enrolled!

[PhoenixRising]

I'm really considering going back to school.
I haven't given up on the idea of equine body work and have an appointment tomorrow with a local massage therapy school. I have been thinking of starting there instead of on horses because the majority of people I have spoken with who already do this work say its easier to run a sustainable business if you also work on people. Especially when the economy is bad they all seem to say its hard to get enough business to sustain yourself just working on horses.
If I do this, its going to be hard. I'll have about 13 months of monday-thursday 6-10pm classes, on top of a m-f 8:30-5 job and working at the barn on the weekends.
I'll most likely have to rethink what animals I have considering I have a lot of mouths to feed. My dogs and Phoenix would definitely stay but I may have to reconsider raising rabbits as I do for the time being. It would also mean needing to try and find someone to help me keep Phoenix ridden for the year, especially with her just coming under saddle. Though I think I know someone who I would trust and who would happily help.
If I pursue this, I'll be looking at learning several different modalities both for humans and horses so in time I'd have a very good base of knowledge. I may have the connections already for mentors on both humans and horses post school with all the talking I've done with people about this in the last year. I know for sure I have a mentor for working on people, who is willing to teach me a second modality in Shiatsu.
Aside from that, I've got this idea in my head that it would really be neat to work on horse and rider as a pair. If I were certified both on horses and humans, how cool would it be to work on the horse and rider as a pair? To test the water, how many of you would be interested in something like that? A single person who can come to your barn and perform body work on both you and your horse as a team. Are there a lot of people who do that already and I'm just not aware of it?

[Chisamba]

It would be fascinating to see if areas of stiffness and pain in a rider correlate to stiffness in the horse. What a clever idea.

[StraightForward]

Aside from that, I've got this idea in my head that it would really be neat to work on horse and rider as a pair. If I were certified both on horses and humans, how cool would it be to work on the horse and rider as a pair? To test the water, how many of you would be interested in something like that? A single person who can come to your barn and perform body work on both you and your horse as a team. Are there a lot of people who do that already and I'm just not aware of it?

I know of two here who do that. I haven't had them work on me, just my horses. The one guy goes to exotic places and works on endurance horse/rider pairs to ensure that the rider isn't causing the horse to become asymmetrical or that type of thing. The other person, I don't believe looks at the horse/rider package so much, but she does work on people, and will give my dog a little adjustment when he's running around too I think it's an excellent idea.

[PhoenixRising]

The one guy goes to exotic places and works on endurance horse/rider pairs to ensure that the rider isn't causing the horse to become asymmetrical or that type of thing.

That's exactly what I'm thinking! Except maybe more with dressage horses! lol

[PhoenixRising]

The visit to the school last night went really well.
I have two options, I can either go for a massage therapy certificate, which is 11 months. Or I can go for 15 months and get an associates degree in massage and have enough hours accrued to work anywhere. I'm strongly leaning towards the associates degree program. If I'm going to do this, what's a few more months?
I asked if it was possible to sit in on a couple classes before making a decision. I'm hoping to get an answer on that today.
Otherwise, I think its down to making a decision, applying, and seeing what financial aid is available.

ETA: Just got a text that I CAN sit in on a couple classes. Working on getting that scheduled hopefully in the next couple weeks

[PhoenixRising]

Tuesday evening I officially enrolled.
I'll be attending classes starting July 31st. The goal will be to get my associates degree in under 1 1/2 years. I've really thought long and hard about this. I've talked to a several massage therapists, looked at all the local schools, sat in on classes, and really researched what things I could do with my education. Its going to feel like a long haul as I'll still be working my full time job, and working at the barn on the weekends some. But it feels so right, and like things in my life have been leading me to this.
My hope is to be able to go into part time private practice right after school, and eventually build into full time private practice and continuously be working on continuing my education. Apparently the school I'm attending has even offered some T-Touch classes as part of their continuing education program, which I am SUPER excited about.

[KathyK]

Excellent! 15 months will fly by, I'm sure.

[Moutaineer]

Good for you! That sounds very positive! That's a pretty intense schedule, but 15 months will fly by if you are doing something that truly interests you and that you enjoy.

[PaulaO]

Good for you! When you are doing what you love and love what you do, time speeds by.

[StraightForward]

Very cool. It will be hard work, but worthwhile. Wishing you much success!