Having a bad day at work...how much do grooms earn?!!?

[hudsonw]

Ggrrrr, sometimes I'd love to jack this office hell in and do something horsey.

When I left college many moons ago I worked as a groom at a hunt yard, earned £70 a week and worked 6 days a week.
I then moved to Cheshire and got a job at a riding school as a groom, hack leader and before the days of insurance and red tape even teached a couple of kids lessons a week. I earned £100 for 5 days a week and loved it.
I moved again and got a job as a traveling groom for a British team show jumper and made £80 a week for 6 days and a bonus for any abroad travelling. I really enjoyed it until an accident put me out of action and I had to give up my job.
I then got an office job and although I like the air con in the summer, heating in the winter and a chocolate machine!!! On days like i'm having to day I'd love to work with horses again.

It's been 13 years since I've worked on a yard...has it changed much? What are the wages like these days? Do you need qualifications to be a groom or does experience count more? Do yards employ yard managers or promote from within?

I wouldn't mind even being a rep for a company that didn't necessarily have day to day contact with horses but at least I'd be involved within the equestrian world?!!?

Humph...oh well back to the spreadsheets and meetings for meetings sake!!!!

 

[Spit That Out]

My friend is an instructor and earns £10 an hour, My other friend is a yard manager and earns £7 an hour.
They both get paid holidays, keep their horses on the yard for free and work 5 days a week.

I'm not sure if that is typical but thanks to the min wage i don't think the pay is that bad anymore and gone are the days you earn £60 a week cash in hand for 6 days a week...but i could be wrong?!!?

 

[Equestrian92]

I'm trying to get a job as a groom but where I am there is not a lot nearby, from the ads I have seen the pay seems pretty reasonable (not a lot different to normal office jobs) and that's just for being a basic groom not manager, a lot of them are 6 days but it all depends, I regularly look on yardandgroom and careergrooms, good luck! X

 

[Steeleydan]

The majority of grooms are on £250-£300 per week before tax,6 day week, which is basically agricultual wages, there might be accom. chucked in with that. Look on carreer groom web site or yard and groom might give you an idea of wages.

 

[proctor]

I'm a plan simple groom at a riding school, I look after the horses, escort hacks out and teach the odd lesson all for £5.80 per hour. I adore my job and I feel lucky to be paid to ride!! Plus I keep my own horse there on livery so I get to see him all day everyday too. Happy Days!

 

[zoelouisem]

Im a groom and i get a high wage for a groom, but im extremly lucky and work on a private wage, i get holidays sick pension ect. but do alot of weekends, work 6 days. But most of the grooms i know its still alot of cash and depending on where you go 150-200 a week, one girl i know was earning 175 for a 6 day week, 7-30 till 6-30 doing 20 horses a day. Tbh im one of the lucky grooms and i wish id gone to school more and got some qualifications got a 'normal' job and enjoyed my own horse at weekends.

As for qualifications it depends, the new BHS approved yards expect you to have BHS exams, but the older school bosses prefer experience so its picking and choosing which yards are suitable for your experience/qualifications.

 

[Guinness]

Ggrrrr, sometimes I'd love to jack this office hell in and do something horsey.

When I left college many moons ago I worked as a groom at a hunt yard, earned £70 a week and worked 6 days a week.
I then moved to Cheshire and got a job at a riding school as a groom, hack leader and before the days of insurance and red tape even teached a couple of kids lessons a week. I earned £100 for 5 days a week and loved it.
I moved again and got a job as a traveling groom for a British team show jumper and made £80 a week for 6 days and a bonus for any abroad travelling. I really enjoyed it until an accident put me out of action and I had to give up my job.
I then got an office job and although I like the air con in the summer, heating in the winter and a chocolate machine!!! On days like i'm having to day I'd love to work with horses again.

It's been 13 years since I've worked on a yard...has it changed much? What are the wages like these days? Do you need qualifications to be a groom or does experience count more? Do yards employ yard managers or promote from within?

I wouldn't mind even being a rep for a company that didn't necessarily have day to day contact with horses but at least I'd be involved within the equestrian world?!!?

Humph...oh well back to the spreadsheets and meetings for meetings sake!!!!

I was having this conversation with people down at the yard tonight-quite a few of them work at various studs around the town. We worked out that even though I am on a decent wage, because they get accommodation, bills etc paid as part of their jobs they probably earn twice as much as me if you take that into account! I did consider quitting and going to work on a yard but then remembered how much hard work it is in winter and would much rather be warm and cosy in my little office

 

[4faults]

I am on £10 per hr for teaching and £6.25 per hr for yard work. I have worked in an office and couldnt cope for more than 6 months at a time, I go stir crazy working indoors

 

[Jenna500]

I earn £6 an hour. Yes, I would earn (and have earnt) much more working in an office (I was a PA) but I love my job and would never, ever go back to working in an office - I'd rather take a pay cut!

I work for a family, looking after their horses, and I love it!

 

[Happy Hunter]

Oh how many times I have thought this!!!!
Trouble is the job adverts dont really mention wages,,,

 

[Cuppatea]

contact feed merchants for rep jobs and maybe try the on-line equestrian shops?

 

[Perfect_Pirouette]

You are in EXACTLY the same predicament as me at the moment.

I work in an office and am starting to hate it, the past couple of months I have been thinking I would love to work with Neds, but I just don't know if I could afford the drop in pay (although to be fair my salary isnt that good ) Plus, I followed my head instead of my heart when I left school and did A-levels and went to uni so I don't actually have any formal horsey qualifications so I'm kind of screwed in that department

Don't worry, you are definitely not the only person thinking like this! You obviously have the experience so maybe you could take the plunge (in the spring when the weather's nice ) and say to yourself you'll trial working with the beasties for 6 months or something and see if you like it.

 

[Angelbones]

My head girl gets paid £550 a month and gets seriously nice accommodation valued at £650 per month thrown in. If she wasn't living in she'd get the full £1,200 before tax. She works 5.5 to 6 days per week (currently 08.30 - approx 3.30pm but will go up when horses are in), and has a 2 part timers to help her out and keep her company as we want everyone to he happy, stimulated and socialised!. They earn approx £6.50 / hr. She gets her hunting / bloodhounding paid for and the yard covered in her absense (this is not a requirement of the job - it is offered as a bonus), and if she works an extra day (even if that is bloodhounding for fun on a sunday) she gets a day off in lieu. We do a rota of 1 in 3 Sundays when horses are in 24/7. We provide insurance, usual holiday entitlement etc, work gear and safety equipment and competition wear as required. We also have instructors in to give lessons to improve the girls' skills to get more out of the horses and enhance everyone's all round working environment. If she had her own horse then it would be kept for free but worked in her own time.

It seems to work very well and everyone is very happy - no bitchiness and we all bend over backwards to do our bit; two way street. When we were advertising for staff we had hardly anybody ring up - they all wanted 16 hours a week so they could get their tax credit. We advertised for yard help - personality more important than experience - and we have found a fab girl who probably wouldn't have applied otherwise, and she fits very well and is improving daily, and she is on £6 / hr currently.

 

[hudsonw]

Wow, some great advice guys.

I've been looking on websites tonight but not much going on in Cheshire at the mo. I'd seriously have to have a look at the finances but if I could livery my own horse included in the wages it might be possible?!!?
OH thinks I should go with it if I'm not happy with my job but I also apprechiate that my job pays for my hobby and do I really want my hobby to become my job aswell?
I've looked at a rep job for Monarch Stables. Looks intresting and might give them a call in the morning about it?
Anyway, thanks again everyone, you've given me something to think about

 

[Winklepoker]

Angelbones... please can I come and work for you

 

[Sanolly]

Me too!! LOL

I do 6 mornings a week 8-1 and earn £180 c-i-h. I love my job but it is blooming hard work! Again like a previous poster I go stircrazy in a 'normal' job, in fact I was actually signed off 3 times in the year I worked there - never had a problem since!

 

[stencilface]

My friend get 17k (pro rata) and gets to keep her horse there for a 5 day part time week. She also gets lessons paid for on her bosses horses, and competed two of her bosses' horses at BE (up to PN they are only babies) this summer.

Its the cushiest one she's had! She started off working for a WEG eventer earning £20 a week or something daft for a 6 day week and caravan accomodation and no horse!

 

[emm0r]

I am a groom on a competition yard. I take home £909 a month before tax with all accomodation cleaning products and my horse paid for extra. I work a 5 day week and do freelance some evenings and weekend charging £9 p/h I also do the odd bit of teaching £15 an hour !! This tops my wage up nicely

 

[Seahorse]

OMG how things have changed!!! I worked in a competition yard about 13 years ago and got paid £100 a week including accommodation and use of a car.

I got another job in Lincolnshire a few years later and earnt £10k a year including a house but I wasn't there for very long.

 

[Bens_Mum]

When I left school I was working 10 days on then 4 off for £205.00 (for the ten days- £2.20 ph!). It was 8am till 5pm with NO other staff and tons of mucking out. I loved the job but realised I wanted to move out of home etc and I just couldn't live off it! In the last couple of years i've done other peoples horses at their homes and done quite well out of it but they were only part time jobs and would have been no good if much travelling had been involved due to the hours. I was on approx £7ph for both of these jobs one was mucking out/riding in morning for 3 hours and then on to another lady to bring in/ do afternoon yard/ tack cleaning etc for 2 hours. There seems to be very little in our area at all though so I think it would depend where you are as to whether its easy or not to get a job and what the wage would be. I've not got any qualifications and have never found this a problem with any job i've applied for, I have also got jobs through recommendation so might be worth calling around yards/ hunts and see if they know of anything rather than just the websites..

 

[RobinHood]

Where I am the starting wage for yard staff is £5/hr for under 16s at the weekend and £6/hr for senior staff. It goes up according to performance to a maximum of £7 per hour. The day is 7.30 to 5.30 with an hour for lunch and a 20min morning break. The work is a mixture of yard work and perparation for shows (moving jumps about, putting out dressage arenas etc.) The staff all do different numbers of days per week but the maximum is 4.5 days otherwise you're too tired and stiff to be any use! It works out that someone on the maximum wage of £7 per hour doing 4.5 days gets £1220 before tax.

When I was a hunt groom for a family I earnt £6 per hour for as many hours as it took me each day. There were 8 horses in work and 5 out of work so it was a lot for one person .