Freelance Groom Price

[Pink Gorilla]

How much do/would you expect to pay for a freelance groom for general yard work? No riding or show prep involved.

 

[Goldenstar]

How many hours because you should except to pay a higher rate for short visits .
Also how far is the groom coming .

 

[Red-1]

How much do/would you expect to pay for a freelance groom for general yard work? No riding or show prep involved.

£15 an hour, if it is local.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I charge £12.50 and think that’s cheap. I’m looking at stopping soon because people expect so much! Like I seem to be expected to do things that only take half an hour for half an hours pay!
I think people need to be more realistic and take into account fuel prices etc.
I only work locally and charge a minimum of an hour. I do try and fill that hour though, eg I poo pick for one lady when I’m employed to bring in.

 

[planete]

I would also expect to pay for travelling nowadays.

 

[teapot]

Anything between £15 and £20 per hour given current climate

 

[Rowreach]

Average £15/hr, £20/hr for someone who is good, reliable, turns up at the right time and not 8 o'clock at night.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I currently pay £10 hour but the person keeps her horse next door to me so she will tie it in when she does her own, and what I normally need doing only takes 20 minutes so it's not a bad deal.

I would pay more if they were coming to me solely to do mine.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Reading the above amounts I’m even more likely to quit this! No one in my area would pay £15 and I don’t know anyone who actually gets that.
I mostly work alone and keep my own times.
I’ve never had a day off sick and I’m never late. I do everything to a good standard and the extra bits as above.

 

[Orangehorse]

I had my usual lady last Sunday, I had to make a short notice trip to the airport.

She only charged £10.00, which is her minimum charge to feed, turn out 2 and did the stable too. I thought she doesn't charge enough for that. But it is very close.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Average £15/hr, £20/hr for someone who is good, reliable, turns up at the right time and not 8 o'clock at night.

I'm in the wrong job...

 

[chaps89]

I pay £13 per hour Mon-fri, weekends or bank hols are double time
Other lady would be £15 for the first hour, mileage above 10 miles from her home, than charged in 15 minute blocks.
I used to get paid £10 an hour in a much more affluent area of the country, I’d have got laughed at if I’d asked for £15!

My mum is Shropshire and paying £20 an hour.
One lady she was using put her prices to £10 per horse per hour. Mum has 3 horses so essentially £30 an hour. I suspect the lady just didn’t want the work any more

 

[sport horse]

The basic minimum wage is currently £9.50 per hour going to £10.40 in April. On top of that, an employer I has to pay National Insurance and Pension contributions and give 28 days paid holiday. They also also have to have Employers Liability Insurance.

Bear in mind your freelance employees have to get to/from each job, they have to file their own tax returns, pay their own NI contributions, take out their own insurance etc.. They do not receive any paid holiday or sick pay. They do not have any guarantee of work and many struggle in the summer when people do not need so much help.

On this basis, £15/£20 per hour, to be available as and when they are wanted and not when they are not needed, seems pretty cheap!

 

[spacefaer]

Friend of mine charges £15/hour and gets it.
She's paid £12.50/hr at her main p/t groom's job but she's living on site as well.
Also Shropshire

 

[whirlwind]

I charge £25 an hour if just one hours work or £20 an hour for more than one hours work, this is generally teaching or riding either at riding schools/ big yards or the odd private client rather than anything else though, although I normally either put out or put to bed any horses I’ve hacked/ schooled. I can’t see it being worth any less, I’m a qualified BHSAI, pay for insurance and have to consider travelling costs as well as working in holiday, sick pay and tax as mentioned above.

 

[Rowreach]

The basic minimum wage is currently £9.50 per hour going to £10.40 in April. On top of that, an employer I has to pay National Insurance and Pension contributions and give 28 days paid holiday. They also also have to have Employers Liability Insurance.

Bear in mind your freelance employees have to get to/from each job, they have to file their own tax returns, pay their own NI contributions, take out their own insurance etc.. They do not receive any paid holiday or sick pay. They do not have any guarantee of work and many struggle in the summer when people do not need so much help.

On this basis, £15/£20 per hour, to be available as and when they are wanted and not when they are not needed, seems pretty cheap!

I charge £25 an hour if just one hours work or £20 an hour for more than one hours work, this is generally teaching or riding either at riding schools or the odd private client rather than anything else though, although I normally either put out or put to bed any horses I’ve hacked/ schooled. I can’t see it being worth any less, I’m a qualified BHSAI, pay for insurance and have to consider travelling costs as well as working in holiday, sick pay and tax as mentioned above.

Absolutely right, know your value and know what it costs you to actually provide the service you are offering.

 

[spotty_pony]

I charge £15 per hour if fairly local and it’s only a couple of hours work. Any further, and it would be £20. I do a lot of holiday cover and people do happily pay these prices.

 

[FlyingCircus]

I paid £35 a day (for 2 weeks!) last time anyone did anything with mine (I was away on holiday).

This was to check 2 field kept ponies were alive and walk 1 out for half an hour for 5 of those days.

I did feel abit sick when I got the invoice, but they were well cared for by someone I trusted. And I knew if there was a problem there's no way she'd ignore it. That is always going to cost.

 

[fidleyspromise]

£12 per hour is what I paid.
With that mine were fed, hooves picked out, buckets washed, field poo picked, hay put out in field (it was in haynets ready to go) and took 45 mins.

 

[Jasper151]

I charge £15 p/h (for the very few I that now do), around our area ranges from £10 p/h to £25 and to be honest I have no idea what difference in service level you get! I do charge a minimum of 1 hour, though some I don't if I'm driving past or it's a friend.

 

[Squeak]

I pay £15 morning and evening when someone looks after my animals. They have to travel 15 mins each way so even though doing them would take max 20 mins, I can't see it being worth their while to do it for less, especially with the cost of fuel and it would take about an hour of their time.

I also assume that if the animals took a bit longer then they would still charge the £15 so it's my choice that I've made the animals as easy and quick as possible for them when they do them.

 

[honetpot]

Reading the above amounts I’m even more likely to quit this! No one in my area would pay £15 and I don’t know anyone who actually gets that.
I mostly work alone and keep my own times.
I’ve never had a day off sick and I’m never late. I do everything to a good standard and the extra bits as above.

I have a freelance groom and my daughter is self employed in a service industry, and I have drummed in to them that sometimes its just worth doing less work for more money, and not feel like you have to work for nothing just to make your diary full. If you are not careful you are essentially propping up someone lifestyle. If you put your prices up and lose clients, you gain money but also make time to fill with better clients. There are only so many hours in the day, and if you are as good as you say you are you can only make more by working smarter. Oh, and invest in a card machine, or Paypal never let anyone say they haven't any cash

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I pay £10 an hour for a retired chap who does the whole yard one morning a week. Reliable, quiet with the horses and does a thorough job.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

How much do/would you expect to pay for a freelance groom for general yard work? No riding or show prep involved.

£ 10 - £ 12 per hour

but my yard is £ 25 the morning shift and £ 15 evening, as small yard easy to do only 5 hours per day. Would not pay more than £ 12.5 as that works out I am paying a groom more than I get in from the liveries. Maybe that is why so many yards are closing basic yard work pays almost double than you get for working in supermarket. Yard work I find easier than pushing huge cages of beers and wines around.

 

[Sanversera]

Our local gardener charges £15 an hour and cleaner charges £12 an hour. Midlands. Grooms are undercharging if it's less than £15 IMO

 

[animal]

£ 10 - £ 12 per hour

but my yard is £ 25 the morning shift and £ 15 evening, as small yard easy to do only 5 hours per day. Would not pay more than £ 12.5 as that works out I am paying a groom more than I get in from the liveries. Maybe that is why so many yards are closing basic yard work pays almost double than you get for working in supermarket. Yard work I find easier than pushing huge cages of beers and wines around.

It is a shame yards are closing but not sure paying a freelancer some extra bob per hour is the main reason. There's a plethora of forces at work.

I'm also afraid "basic yard work" does not pay double supermarket work. The two are easily comparable in terms of effort imo. All the big supermarkets pay over £10, pushing £11, and they also provide holidays/pensions/associated contracted employee provisions. They often offer more security and you'd never see offerings of a mornings work with "drive back 3 hours later for 90mins worth of work" on the rota. I do acknowledge grooming can be fun, more autonomous and flexible of course.


£10/hr as a freelancer would likely work out to be less than minimum wage (currently 9.50, soon to be nearly 10.50 in April). Any proper groom needs to add on add on insurance costs, holiday, sick pay and even decent shoes/waterproofs in the winter. I imagine 12.5 really would be the minimum a proper freelancer (ie not doing it as a favour or casual side gig) could work with.

As a completely general point, unfortunately the equestrian industry, like lots of others, have become over reliant on cheap labour and are now blaming lack of it for various demises.

Do find strange that people want 10k for all-rounders these days, sit on sometimes millions worth of equestrian land/assets, but at the same time begrudge paying liveable wages to staff. It's understandably harder for an amateur working an average job having to pay for additional, individual help, but that's where livery yard economies of scales do have an advantage.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

I pay:

£12 per hour for no horse contact chores: poo pick/ muck out/ check water / fill hay nets.

£15 per hour for horse handling: groom, pick out feet, bring in/ turn out, change rugs, feed. No riding required although if they would like a horse to ride, they are welcome to hack ours or have a lesson with our coach. I pay the coach.

£50 per hour for riding and schooling, with a pro rider. Tack up, ride, untack, put back stable and she always does a light groom.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Our local gardener charges £15 an hour and cleaner charges £12 an hour. Midlands. Grooms are undercharging if it's less than £15 IMO

I don't think so - I am a yard owner and get £ 7 per day a diy and £ 18 per day a part livery in that £ 18 I have to house the horse - water- facilities muck it out feed and turnout . I have to ( at cost work and labour and feeding) a service a hole day for that £ 18 per day. Yet a groom you say gets that in an hour and maybe mucks out 2-3 stables.

Maybe I should close my yard down and go work solo................. hmmm that is an idea.

It cost me more money paying a groom for the day than I get income.......

 

[Rowreach]

I don't think so - I am a yard owner and get £ 7 per day a diy and £ 18 per day a part livery in that £ 18 I have to house the horse - water- facilities muck it out feed and turnout . I have to ( at cost work and labour and feeding) a whole day for that £ 18 per day. Yet a groom you say gets that in an hour and maybe mucks out 2-3 stables.

Maybe I should close my yard down and go work solo hmmm that is an idea.

Well that's the thing about running a small business, if you start working out your hourly pay less all the things you pay for, it quite often makes you wonder why you're doing it. However you have the satisfaction of running your yard the way you want to, and not running the roads chasing jobs.

 

[honetpot]

I don't think so - I am a yard owner and get £ 7 per day a diy and £ 18 per day a part livery in that £ 18 I have to house the horse - water- facilities muck it out feed and turnout . I have to ( at cost work and labour and feeding) a service a hole day for that £ 18 per day. Yet a groom you say gets that in an hour and maybe mucks out 2-3 stables.

Maybe I should close my yard down and go work solo................. hmmm that is an idea.

It cost me more money paying a groom for the day than I get income.......

Unless you are getting another benefit, I think perhaps you should. I have insurance to employ someone 16 hours a week, I employ a freelance reliable groom because she has her own c and c insurance, is experienced, reliable and we are flexible both ways for work patterns. The worst thing she has had to deal with when we went out for a day was a 100 acre field fire heading towards our fields, having to move bull,cows and assorted ponies, with onlookers and fire engines not helping the process.
I have covid so I have been in bed for three days, she just took over, no need to ask, and I am extremely grateful. Priceless.