experiences? (sorry its long)

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rainer

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A couple of years ago in march I started working( unpaid) at a small/private stud. At the time I thought I wanted to work with horses but it all proved too much in the end so I had to leave and decided that I either want horses as a hobby or to look after say 5 max at a time.
The boss could be lovely and at other times totally unreasonable
She let me start after I dropped my 2 kids off but then when I had to leave at 3 she would keep me back and I would be late picking them up and I hold my hands up that I was slow etc but I was learning still.
She let me bring my kids along in the holidays but some days we would be there from 9am-9pm.
What annoyed me somewhat is that she had high standards but only when it suited her,if I let standards slip she came down on me like a ton of bricks but if she did nothing was said.
What I'm saying is really it didn't work out cause of money and family
( I worked my butt off+hardly received anything,lost almost 3 stone lol but did learn a lot and don't regret it)
Does anyone work as a groom/stable hand,paid or unpaid and has a young family? How do you cope? I did leave after a falling out+because I wasn't coping (13 horses,some out at grass)
But I'm now back speaking with the lady because when things were good we had a good relationship.
Your experiences? :)
 
I decided that working with horses risked putting me off them - lots of friends who work with them moan about it (like we all do with work on occasion) and see horses as a chore - they give up on their own/ don't have time for their own.
So I decided to keep horses for fun and work in an office job that pays the bills to let me do that - works for me.
 
Polos Mum said:
I decided that working with horses risked putting me off them - lots of friends who work with them moan about it (like we all do with work on occasion) and see horses as a chore - they give up on their own/ don't have time for their own.
So I decided to keep horses for fun and work in an office job that pays the bills to let me do that - works for me.
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^ This definitely, when I left Uni and was looking for my first proper job I got a position on a yard to keep me going. I was a bit different to you as I think I always knew it wouldn't be long term job for me but my goodness it opened my eyes!

I found most yard owners/managers unreasonable, inconsistant or just plain weird! Pay was rubbish for the graft involved, but as you say weight is no longer an issue :D. However the biggest thing that put me off was the danger! The horses I had to deal with were awful, they bit, kicked, barged and bolted, you name it they did it :eek:, and the final straw was when I got ran over and trampled due to a horse moving into a stable that I told them was unsuitable...

So I got left with nerve damage in my face and a lovely scar where it kicked me in the head on the way over :mad:, fortunately just over a year later the nerve damage seems to be going and most people assure me the scar is not that noticable. I only had two days off work and even then there was muttering :rolleyes:. So for me I wouldn't like to take the risk if I had children, in a job which no matter what the horses/yard, can put you at risk of serious injury..

I got a 'proper' job a week after the incident :D. For me an office job means I can afford to have my own which is much better, as they are horses I choose to handle ;).

So thats my experiance and it's only one example I know, but for me it's a no-brainer to have enough money and time for my own ponio's.
 
I worked full time as a live in groom befor I met my husband looking after 35+ horses but gave up when I got pregnant as yard work just couldn't be as flexible as I needed. My kids are now 3 and 18 months and iv just started a yard job again on a Saturday morning to help with livery for my horses. I would love to go back full time but I don't see how that would be possible untill my kids are at an age they could get themselfs to and from school.
 
Totally agree with all you have said,I used to get a bad stomach on the way to the yard at the thought of what I was going to do that day,the horses weren't dangerous but obviously unpredictable as most were young. I never put my kids in any danger though,they sometimes brought theur bikes along or got left in the car or poo picking an empty field :p
I just didn't have the commitment to it and would much rather have an office job or the like and have my own :)
At times it was great,just what I'd always dreamed of+at times it was a living nightmare+sooo stressful and upsetting.
I do wonder though if I would have stuck at it if it was just me to think of and I was getting some wage
 
Working with them completely put me off, in fact I ended up giving up a pony I had on loan because I needed to get away from it all. I took a few years off and then went back to working on a yard. 6 months later I hated it again! I bought my own horse and now no longer feel the need to work with them, I have my own now so get my fix that way!

I always struggled to find the balance between 'hobby' and 'chore' while working with them, at the end of the working day I resented going to see my own horse. :(
I figured that in the long run I wanted to keep it as a hobby, so something had to give... and that was working with them! I'd much rather have a job outwith horses to enable me to pay for my own horse. I enjoy my horse so much more now that I'm not working with them.

It's a bitchy, competitive environment. YO/YM can be truly awful, in my time working on various yards over the years I met ONE nice YO! The staff can be even worse, what is the point in dreading going to work because of bullying?

I also have a young child, and I was a useless Mother while working on the yard, as I was so mentally and physically drained on my days off I was no use to him.

Do what is best for you and your own happiness.
 
rainer said:
Totally agree with all you have said,I used to get a bad stomach on the way to the yard at the thought of what I was going to do that day,the horses weren't dangerous but obviously unpredictable as most were young. I never put my kids in any danger though,they sometimes brought theur bikes along or got left in the car or poo picking an empty field :p
I just didn't have the commitment to it and would much rather have an office job or the like and have my own :)
At times it was great,just what I'd always dreamed of+at times it was a living nightmare+sooo stressful and upsetting.
I do wonder though if I would have stuck at it if it was just me to think of and I was getting some wage
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Sorry I didn't mean you were putting your children at risk :o as I do think horses and kids can work, I meant if I got seriously injured who would then can care for them if I had any lol. I was around horses from 8 years old without serious incident and there is a 6/7 year old on my yard, but then children aren't asked to handle the naughty horses ;).

It just made me think as for me I dont have kids but it was my own horse, my mum had to look after her when I was injured which was fine she horsey too, but it's not right that I should continue to work at that yard knowing I could be injured again and have to put on my mum for help...

As you say some of the horses where fine to handle, but a lot weren't and after a long day when your tired, its easy to make the wrong descion with the wrong horse and get splatted as I did :D. It took a lot for me to handle that horse agian, and for me this was a massive deal as I've never been nervous of a horse or scared (my mum is hoping my attitude will change though :rolleyes:, from being the girl who will have a go at riding/handling anything :D).

I took the balance of working outdoors, in a more stimulating environment, with the animals I love just wasn't worth the high risk of being injured, compared with a comparitively boring office job. I have to say a perk not mentioned enough of working indoors is being warm and dry! Small things like that are heaven when you've been working out in all weathers in the middle of winter :D.

I dont mean to be doom and gloom honestly, I'm sure there will be lots of people who say it is the job for them.
x
 
I know alexhyde just thought I would say lol
It wasn't ideal taking the kids at all especisally as my son mostly hated going lol and I practically neglected them as I was busy :(
It was only me + yO on the yard and I can't ride so wasn't doing that either although had a few lunge lessons in one of which I fell off a 16hh horse onto concrete :p
She needed extra help really with riding and the care of the horses but would never do anything about it
I was there approx 8 months
 
What made me leave was when she went to germany+put me in charge of her horses,her home( I stayed there) her yard,her 2 jrts+their 7 puppies (weeks old) + my own 2 kids+ when she came back she went mad cause things weren't perfect :p I decided enough was enough when I went home exshausted +in tears
 
Thanks:o.
Wow thats a bit above and beyond really isn't it :eek:! I think you have made the right choice to leave, you can't be put on like that.

It seems a common theme on yards that there aren't enough staff for the number of horses :(, the yard I worked at I had about 33 horses and 3 staff during the week, no idea what happened at weekend but the beds were always filthy!

The yard owners were always going on about how the beds were to be mucked out, from you're wasting too much bedding, you're putting too much/little down etc, but when you mucked out a stable after one of them they were disgusting, poo's just thrown to the back and covered up with fresh straw :mad:, and this was a full livery yard where people were paying for this kind of service, I have no idea why people stayed to be honest.

You sound like me and don't want to let people down and say no... Find somewhere better, you deserve to be respected and valued if your donating your time! I can't believe you did this for free!
 
Thanks :)
No I don't like letting people down or saying no lol in hindsight I shouldn't have said yes to look after it all!
She was going to pay me for doing it but needless to say I didn't get a penny :p
Funny thing is we used to at times get on like a house on fire+she obviously trusted me which was nice lol
I just took on way too much.
Know what u mean about the beds I first worked 5 days pw then 3 days,when I came back after the weekend the beds+yard was filthy+it was all left to me! Oh +not forgetting 2/3 fields full of s**t that I had to pick up while she rode/lunged :D
 
If I had someone working for me for no money I would be treating them very well indeed (even better than paid staff) and making damn sure they did not think about going anywhere else
 
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