Haven't really thought this through...

Charlie Bucket

Charlie Bucket

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I put an advert on a local equestrian ads page, advertising myself for yard duties/groom etc. Thought it would be a long shot and wasn't really expecting anything to come of it.

Well...I've had 2 phone calls in 8 hours. One from a woman 35 miles away wanting me to turn out one horse. Politely declined that one..:rolleyes:

Anyways, got a call from a lady who owns an equestrian centre not far from me. Wanting me to turn out/muck out/excercise 5 horses 4 days a week. :D :D :D
Couldn't believe my luck on that one!

Anyways...I am going round tomorrow for a look, meet her, meet the horses etc. One problem...I have NO IDEA what to charge. I have done bits and bobs before and charged around £5 for full muck out, £2.00 for turnout etc. Do you think this is reasonable? I don't want to put them off me :confused:

Also...will I need to go self emplyed? I was hoping for just some cash in hand but not sure this is going to be possible with it being an equestrian centre rather than a private yard.

Any help / suggestions / advice appreciated :) Thanks!
 
Do make sure before you go that there is money on offer, some people see the offer of free riding as adequate payment especially if you are young

If the horses are on full livery I would be inclined to charge a reasonable amount if they are riding school ones you may get less than a reasonable amount

If you see the riding as a partial reward I would probably do the lot for £20 cash in hand

Be careful if you do choose to work cash in hand, you don't want to fall down the official cracks and have no leg to stand on if there is an accident. Your own insurance would be a good idea but of course it bumps your fee up
 
The £20 being for the mornings mucking out and turnout obviously would be more if you will be charging the excercise time or evening duties
 
Yes money is on offer, she asked me what I charge on the phone and I told her we could discuss that tomorrow. I would include the riding as part of the job, not particularly a reward. I have two horses of my own to ride :)

I am 20 years old, and I have rider insurance.
 
I have a teenager come and muck out my two horses on Sundays and she gets £10 (lives nearby, it takes her 10 mins to walk here and perhaps 45 mins to do the work). When I used to pay a freelance groom to muck out and ride for me it was £12/hr. She was very quick and reliable, with her own insurance etc.

Have a proper think about what your costs are going to be before you sell yourself too cheaply..

I would think around £8-10/hr.. £20/day when you're riding 5 horses as well as doing their stables is nothing. I'd pay you that to do two...
 
It ought to be, when you think that you will be spending an hour on each horse, but I doubt that anyone is going to pay £50 per day unless you are doing a full time job.. While I think £10/hr is more than reasonable for freelance, if you're getting to do 5 horses all in one place you could perhaps offer a discount? (Let them know that you usually charge £10/hr, but will do it for £8/hr as they are all on site?) It will be interesting what figure they do have in mind.
 
I had thought that too Honey08. I know its horrible, like when you go to an interview and they ask "what are your salary expectations?" That question always stumps me.

Thanks for everybodies advice :)
 
I would ask them what they would expect to pay first. You don't want to shot yourself in the foot.

My yard is;
£10 per horse for a full livery day
£5 per stable mucked out
£2 to turnout or bring in and rugs are extra
£7.50 to lunge
£15 to ride but deals are done on horse worked a few times a week.

I think you need to consider when you get there what there is; Youngstock can be difficult, stallions take longer, ponies can be easy and fast. What bedding they are on? How messy they are; one could be done in 5 min and the next 30 mins. Matting is easy to muck out. General tidyness and standards. Sweeping - size of yard. How far fields are? Can you lead two at a time? Do they have muck heap or bag up manure.

You don't have to give a price straight away - you can come home and think about what it's worth.
I use to be paid by the hour £8 and done in 3hrs each morning. Others are a flat rate of £30 a day.
 
Charlie Bucket said:
Also...will I need to go self emplyed? I was hoping for just some cash in hand but not sure this is going to be possible with it being an equestrian centre rather than a private yard.
Click to expand...

Your earnings must be declared to the tax man whichever way you do it. You will need to be either employed as a member of staff (usually on an hourly rate) with entitlement to take paid holidays etc, or self-employed, in which case the tax man needs to see your accounts and you need to consider your insurance situation carefully. The BGA will probably help you with this.
 
You need to decide how much you need to earn from this on a weekly/monthly basis to cover costs and pay you more than the min wage...BEFORE you go. You need to have an idea at least or you will get carried away and agree to something that is not worth doing financially for the effort, fuel, time involved.
And yes, you need to pay tax and have proper records. They can pay you cash fine, but get a receipt for it and please do declare to HMRC and pay the tax if this is going to be a regular permanent arrangement.
Good luck, hope it goes well.
 
I would consider care of 5 horses (muck out, turn out/bring in, grooming, tacking, riding/excercise, feeding, etc.) to be more or less a full time job, done properly 5 days a week. How much would you expect to be paid for a full time job?
 
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