Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

My husband has just been offered a job in Dubai, starting in the new year and while we wait for the official package to come through a million things are flying through my head......

Firstly, we are very excited about it and if the package is good then we will be there with bells on.

However.
I am looking to re-train in equine physiotherapy (I am currently self employed as an artist, specialising in equine and canine portraiture but now everything has got a little credit crunchie I've had to do something about it) The initial step would be to undertake a degree in Human physio then to specialise.

i can't seem to find any place in Dubai offering this degree - does anyone know of somewhere that does?

I will have to, and want to, work when in Dubai and have over 20years experience with horses although no paperwork to prove this. How difficult is it to get work in this area?

Other than horses, I spend a lot of time training in Kuk Sool Won (Korean martial art) although I know KSW doesn't exist (yet!) in Dubai will I be able to continue training of some sort over there and is it frowned upon for girls to do that kind of thing in some places?

Please excuse the babbling - I just have so many un-answered questions colliding at present! I'll probably be back with even more once the package has come through....
Any help and advice would be very much appreciated.
Cheers

Hi Cass,

Well I can answer your questions regarding working with horses as a friend of mine, who is a professional instructor and works with horses at the top levels is finding it extremely hard to find work. She has years and years of experience, however in this country, more often than not, they want qualifications. The US unfortunately has no qualification system like we do in the UK with the British Horse Society, which are the accepted certificates here.

My friend has gone to virtually every equine institution here and they've found here either over qualified - as they can hire people with less experience and pay them peanuts, or want the certificates.

It is a very very difficult area to get into here, actually virtually impossible! If you're going to do the physio side of thingsa, I think you would have to train somewhere else, as there is certainly not anywhere here that would do it. And then only the Sheiks and top stables would use them.

Sorry to put a downer on it, but another one of my friends, who is a qualified equine vet, used to fly horses for the sheikhs here and she gave it up, because it's just not a decent profession here.

Hi there,

Thank you so much for the honest reply - it was what I suspected unfortunately. We did a little more thorough research into it at the weekend and found just that - no opportunities for either degree or horses. On top of that we hoped to bring our greyhound over with us and have started on his passport, however, we realised that this would just not be practical if we are both working all the time and our salary wouldn't allow for much more than a 1 bed flat........

Got some big decisions to make I think! Perhaps back to the drawing board...

Cheers again