Funny about the horse jobs <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin"> I applied for and got a job at a new H/J stable here last summer. Wow, I HATED it. Let's see, where to start? LOL. I was the farm manager, which sounds really impressive, but the truth was I was the sole employee there.<br><br>
She had 50 acres, fenced and cross fenced into 1/2 acre turnouts, a jumper arena, 3 60 foot round pens, a 16 stall (beautiful) barn, a 1 mile galloping track, and 30 horses. 20 of those were boarded from Phoenix for foaling/lay ups/retirement.<br><br>
Ok, let's see, I was to be there from 7 am until I finished. My responsibilities?<br><br><b>1. Feeding.</b><br><br>
Her personal horses were all on special diets and about 3-6 supplements each, which required measuring, weighing, mixing, preparing, and packaging 3 meals a day for each horse every Saturday which took roughly 2 hours. They were fed 3 times a day, and just feeding and tossing hay took an hour.<br><br><b>2. Cleaning.</b><br><br>
After feeding, I would take half the barn, wrap their legs with polos, and turn them out for 3 hours. Then I would rotate with the other half. Then, I had to "apple pick" (LOL) all 16 stalls, which were deeply bedded (about halfway to their knees), haul the manure 4 acres away to the pile, and handpick each 1/2 acre turnout. That was the biggest pain, I had to push a wheelbarrow over all 50 acres, and then to the pile and back when it was full. I asked to use the ATV and trailer, but she nixed it. Stalls were cleaned twice a day, and just the barn took 4 hours a day.<br><br><b>3. Dragging the property.</b><br><br>
I had to, every day, hitch up the harrow to the big tractor (it was SCARY)<br>
and drag the arena, round pens, barn aisle, driving roads, and the galloping track, then WASH the tractor and put it away.<br><br><b>4. Grooming and bathing</b><br><br>
Each horse had to be groomed meticulously every day, and bathed with shampoo and conditioner once a week.<br><br><b>5. Acting as a "groom"</b><br><br>
The owner and her boarders/friends would show up randomly throughout the day and request to ride one horse or another. I would drop everything, get the horse, groom and saddle, then when they came back, I would unsaddle, rubdown, blanket, and put the horse away.<br><br><b>6. Vet, farrier, feed, and hay</b><br><br>
I had to keep track of how many tons of hay and shavings were on hand and order when we were low, and keep records of feed and order that too. Also, I had to put together a record keeping system for each horse, with papers, health records, feed instructions, exercise requirements, show records, and photos, and keep up with farrier and vet for each one.<br><br><b>7. Barn maintenance</b><br><br>
They had purchased a prefab wooden barn, just like mine, and I had to come in my first 3 weekends and sand/stain the barn for them. This was the worst part, because I have a simple 4 stall barn, a quarter their size, and staining it is the BIGGEST pain in the rear, and a two person job on the best of days. You can imagine what a nightmare it was to stain that behemoth. I also was responsible for going over the painted metal parts (the stall fronts, and the dividers betweens talls, plus the hardware on the doors) every day with a damp cloth to remove dust and paint the chipped parts. I vacuumed the tack and feed rooms every day, and knocked down cobwebs.<br><br><b>8. Maintaining tack</b><br><br>
She wanted her saddles and bridles cleaned and oiled after every use, or once a week. She also needed bits cleaned and polished after every use or once a week. Oh yes, and I was responsible for making sure that apples/carrots were ALWAYS on hand, and if we ran out, I was to drive 30 miles to town (each way) in my own car to get more. She also made me get a cell phone so she could reach me 24/7.<br><br>
All this, and I worked 6 days a week, from 7 am until 9 or 10 at night. She paid me $400 a week.<br><br>
I put up with it for most of the summer, until she started demanding that I attend shows with her and be her personal slave. Her horses were fabulous, hideously expensive Holsteiners, and I drooled to touch them, but it really isn't my scene, you know? I was such a country girl, fish out of water, and I was seriously missing my horses (and KIDS!!) soooooo much.<br><br>
I was so sad to quit, I really enjoyed the job, and I would have LOVED it if there were 3 or 4 other employees to help share the load, but she always insisted that I just needed to "move faster" when I begged for help.<br><br>
Honestly, the whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth. Bless those of you who work these jobs!! Very little recognition for what you do. I used to board, and I witnessed every day the ill treatment the grooms and stall cleaners received from the spoiled little girls.
