Average Pay

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2009, produced employment data for the profession of animal trainers -- including those specializing in horses. It stated that the average annual salary for the occupation was $31,080, equivalent to $2,590 per month or $14.94 an hour. It also reported that trainers within the top 10 percent of earners received an average salary in excess of $52,130, while their contemporaries in the lowest-earning 10 percent received an average of less than $16,920.
  
  

Pay by Industry

• Most horse trainers work within the spectator sports sector of the animal industry, training animals for show or competition. The BLS lists the average salary for a trainer within this sector as $32,520. Within support activities for animal production the average wage was given as $34,570, while for trainers who provide other personal services -- who act, say, as freelance consultants to horse riding establishments -- the average was $35,740.
  
  

Pay by Location

• The location that a horse trainer works is also likely to affect the wage level she achieves. Pay comparison website SalaryExpert.com analyzed wage levels for the occupation in some major cities and found that New York, Orlando and Houston had the best rates, averaged across all industry sectors -- $35,975, $35,708 and $33,128, respectively. In contrast, Phoenix was listed at just $22,199. The BLS found that, across the animal training profession, Delaware and Minnesota were among the states with the best pay rates -- $37,500 and $36,630, respectively. Oklahoma was listed at $23,620.
  
  

Outlook

• The BLS expects employment opportunities across the animal care and service profession -- including horse trainers -- to grow by approximately 21 percent over the period from 2008 to 2018. This is considerable faster growth than that predicted for the country as a whole, across all occupations; estimated at between 7 and 13 percent for the same decade. As such, salary levels should remain competitive, although the BLS cautions that horse trainers should expect to face keen competition for vacancies, particularly at entry level.