Grooming in oz anyone done it advice please?

Baileysno1

Baileysno1

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I'm sounding a bit like a broken record at the moment but am exploring all avenues so bear with me!

Anyway we have our oz visa we're getting in OH's skills.

I've enquired about a grooming job for a top eventer over there, theres a bit of riding involved but it is mainly litterally grooming and turning out his horses for competition, does anyone have any experiences over there surely things can't be that different but I'm having hideous visions of me doing stuff the way I've been taught and there been a whole different ozzie way and they'll hate me and send me back!

Also in general do most grooms have a work contract and am I barmy to request training sessions are written into it? (The eventer coaches the national team) The money is awful but I will have no outgoings so its more the experience I'm in it for and its always something I've dreamt of doing but life and my own horses have got in the way.

If I get it Ryu will have to be sold fast either that or I leave him with my trainer to sell, plus I'd leave OH to sell the house (his) and tie up everything here hes totally up for it though which might mean its fate. I'm having visions of poopicking in hotpants! Anyone willing to bring me back down to earth?
 
I cna't really comment on oz but I groomed for an international eventer in Belgium, (not a v.good expample as he wasnt the nicest employer around!) but he used to do things different to how we would at home, but nothing drastic, was dead easy to pick up the way they worked over there!

I also didn't have an official contract ( in my eyes I'd signed things etc it was legitimate) except he then never forwarded it on to the authorities and I was working illeagally in the country!!

Aslong as your careful and get everything drawn up correctly I'm sure you'll have a great time and won't look back!

Extremely jealous!!!
 
You say "the money is awful" but don't forget that the cost of living is a lot lower in Oz than here. The buying power of an Aussie dollar is roughly that of £1 here, and there are approx 2.35 Aussie dollars to the £ so you'll find that your money goes a lot further than you might think.
 
Yes you're right, plus to train with someone like that you're looking at a small fortune, thats why I wanted to negotiate that into the contract. Plus by the looks of the location of the yard, there will be nowhere to spend my money anyway!!
 
I'm sure you won't get in a silly situation, although I guess that depends what you class as a silly situation?!?

Going to a show and packing the wrong girths is a silly one, I managed that!! Was in extreme bad books!!
 
just dont forget the horse..................
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I'm from Australia and about 10 years ago I worked for a show jumper over there and it was an awful experience.

I was the only one employed looking after 9 horses, I had no contract, had the horsebox to live in and they begrudged even one day off a fortnight (and that was after I'd mucked out, done feed etc) then they started adding other 'little' jobs.

I could go on, needless to say I lasted 3 months and I've never worked with horses since. Oh and I got $50 a week and I had to buy my own food with it! (food shopping is not cheap)

Hopefully they are a one off but there is not much competition money over there like here so wages will not be high.

Also although the Aussie dollar is weak against the pound when you are actually living there the cost of living is not low.
 
Whilst I have no experience of working with horses, my friend emigrated to Oz a few years ago. They dont get much holiday and even though he is on a decent wage, eating out is expensive in comparison, etc. I dont think the cost of living is as cheap as he thought it would be.

Also, he misses his friends and family so much. Its so expensive going out there, and even though Im one of his closest friends, I can only go out every couple of years at the most.
 
[ QUOTE ]

Also in general do most grooms have a work contract and am I barmy to request training sessions are written into it? (The eventer coaches the national team) The money is awful

[/ QUOTE ]

Would the eventer's initials be WR by any chance?

Australian riders LIKE English grooms because they can pay them peanuts! (They're used to it.) Nearly 30 years ago in Oz I was earning $200 a week plus accomodation as senior instructor/rider at a large equestrian centre - came to England to be a Chief Instructor at a (barely) BHS Approved riding school on £30 a week plus keep - what a RUDE awakening THAT was.

I would certainly ask for a contract and for training to be written into it - otherwise you won't get it!
 
I worked for a top young event rider in Oz in 2004.

It was an amazing experience and I learnt a lot but I'm not sure I'd do it again! Very low wages, treated as the general household dogsbody etc. Check your location as I was miles from anywhere! Although I had a contract my employers were not very good at paying me on time, or at all in one instance. But I guess that could have happened anywhere in the world and I was too soft for putting up with it.

Having said that, I did get to ride some incredible horses, and there's nothing quite like doing fast work with kangaroos hopping along beside you.

As far as how things are dome is concerned, I didn't notice too much difference. The horses tend live out in small individual paddocks, with only the top ones being stabled. Hard ground was pretty much a given in a lot of places, and people didn't seem bothered by working on it - it was when there was rain when they got worried.

The events did seem to have less entrants than over here, and due to the travelling distances what they call a one day is often run over two days with an overnight stay.

Oh, and I've never seen so much bling on eventers either!
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Who are you looking at working for and which part of Oz?
 
The only problem you might encounter at the moment is that, due to the fact we have now been *cough* blessed by the arrival of equine influenza, there are no competitions running in most states, and some pretty heavy duty quarantine stuff(unless you're a racehorse, but that's a completely different can of worms
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) Although if you aren't planning to compete this may not matter.
 
I worked on a cattle station in Oz in NT in 2003. Very hard work (as well as being part of stock camp and all it entailed I was also soley responsible for all the station manager's personal horses (9+ at a time) who I had to look after, school, get fit and groom at rodeos etc).

In my experience I've found that ozzie employers expect a lot from their staff for very little in return. I schooled his "bolter" and fixed him to a degree so that he won his following 2 campdrafting comps (he was an uber talented horse not down to me!) and boss had previously failed to sell him for 3k, he then sold him for 12k and I got diddly squat - not even an acknowledgement!!

I was around 1hr45mins from teh nearest town (Katherine) so money wasn't really an issue because tehre was nothing to spend it on!!

It was an amazing experience and I'm so jealous of you!

One of the girls I worked with was from NSW and she'd worked on racing, eventing and dressage yards. It's VERY hard work and bosses don't seem to care if you have time to eat/sleep and some bosses seem to hand out "extras" to keep staff going without food/sleep - although that seems to be more in racing. Staff seem to be ten a penny - esp with backpackers etc. I'm sure there are nice employers out there though so hope you've found one of them.

I had an amazing time and wouldn't change it for teh world. Learnt so much and done so many different things and met the best people.

Watch not get addicted to bundy rum
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