Life as a groom?

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ballyduff

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Hi everyone hoping there's people out there with advice on the subject. I would love to work on a yard (not just **** shoveller!!) to gain experience and i want to work with horses.
I know that it's hard work, long hours, awful pay and I don't plan to do it forever as I want to work in the police or move abroad one day! I would like to have a job where I am riding and have my own horse as well as stable duties, preferably a competition environment(show jumping as I own a showjumper, but also eventing). I have had my own and competed in numerous disciplines all my life and brought on a couple of young ones for different things, that's sounds so cocky oh god!! I'm sorry this is so long and badly written but just would like so information on anyone that has been there/done that! Thankyou so much to anyone in advance and sorry again!
 
Not sure what you are wanting to know? It's hard work, long hours etc but you will already know that. There's good and bad jobs or rather employers, I tend to take note of anyone that appears to have a high turn over of staff and try to find out about employer / yard / horses before applying for anything.
 
Grooms are ***** shovellers! Its the nature of the job! If you want to ride on a competition yard you are either looking at a working pupil job or having a pretty good competition record behind you so they take you on as a rider.
 
I'm a groom... In the mornings I muck out 25 horses then sweep the barns. In the afternoon I skip out 25 horses, sweep the barns, change a few rugs and maybe turn a couple out. Sounds awful but I actually quite enjoy it!
If you want to ride, look for a working pupil position. They usually receive tuition as part of the arrangement.
If you love horses it's great but wage is very poor, I scrape just enough to afford my horses and car. I have no savings and no social life though!
 
FrankieCob said:
Grooms are ***** shovellers! Its the nature of the job! If you want to ride on a competition yard you are either looking at a working pupil job or having a pretty good competition record behind you so they take you on as a rider.
Click to expand...

haha yes I'm not bothered about that though, similarly to dumbo I quite enjoy mucking out too! just realised what a spoilt, cocky little so and so my post made me sound like- so embarrassing I'm sorry! what I meant to say was that I would prefer a job where it was not purely mucking out, I would not be expecting to be employed chosen purely on my riding ability lol haha no chance! thankyou so much though and sorry again!
 
Dumbo said:
I'm a groom... In the mornings I muck out 25 horses then sweep the barns. In the afternoon I skip out 25 horses, sweep the barns, change a few rugs and maybe turn a couple out. Sounds awful but I actually quite enjoy it!
If you want to ride, look for a working pupil position. They usually receive tuition as part of the arrangement.
If you love horses it's great but wage is very poor, I scrape just enough to afford my horses and car. I have no savings and no social life though!
Click to expand...

thankyou haha I enjoy it too I'm weird! that's good idea thankyou I will look into it, I'm like chief super scrimper already so probs suit me alright! thankyou!!
 
If you look hard enough and wait long enough you'll find something that suits you
I got a job working with 5 international show jumpers. They were private horses and I had total day to day care of them, plus when the owner wasn't there I rode and lunged all of them. I rode one at least every working day. Pay was good, but owner expect the world. However I learnt loads.

I didn't have huge amounts of experience, but what I did have counted for a lot, along with my references and qualifications..
 
TandD said:
If you look hard enough and wait long enough you'll find something that suits you
I got a job working with 5 international show jumpers. They were private horses and I had total day to day care of them, plus when the owner wasn't there I rode and lunged all of them. I rode one at least every working day. Pay was good, but owner expect the world. However I learnt loads.

I didn't have huge amounts of experience, but what I did have counted for a lot, along with my references and qualifications..
Click to expand...

Thank you that sounds like what I would want to do! I'm not in any desperate panic so should be able to wait! Thankyou so much that was very helpful ����
 
Chances are you will have to start on an apprentice wage... around £80 a week for 40+hours. You WILL be a '**** shovellor* for probably the duration of the 1st year and then you may be allowed to lunge, turn out etc, regardless of what experience you like to think you have. What actual groom experience do you have.

Trying to get a decent grooms job for us established grooms is hard enough let alone for a little experienced young person like yourself. You will have to start at the bottom and work your way up from there. The pay will never be great, even now running my own business I get paid less than a 16yo apprentice. Grooms do it for the love.
 
ballyduff said:
Hi everyone hoping there's people out there with advice on the subject. I would love to work on a yard (not just **** shoveller!!) to gain experience and i want to work with horses.
I know that it's hard work, long hours, awful pay and I don't plan to do it forever as I want to work in the police or move abroad one day! I would like to have a job where I am riding and have my own horse as well as stable duties, preferably a competition environment(show jumping as I own a showjumper, but also eventing). I have had my own and competed in numerous disciplines all my life and brought on a couple of young ones for different things, that's sounds so cocky oh god!! I'm sorry this is so long and badly written but just would like so information on anyone that has been there/done that! Thankyou so much to anyone in advance and sorry again!
Click to expand...
If you want to join the police then get a job more relevant, if you can ride then you can try racing, provided you are not too heavy.
Sounds to me as though you are a bit nervous of tackling the big wide world at the moment.
 
Dumbo said:
I'm a groom... In the mornings I muck out 25 horses then sweep the barns. In the afternoon I skip out 25 horses, sweep the barns, change a few rugs and maybe turn a couple out. Sounds awful but I actually quite enjoy it!
If you want to ride, look for a working pupil position. They usually receive tuition as part of the arrangement.
If you love horses it's great but wage is very poor, I scrape just enough to afford my horses and car. I have no savings and no social life though!
Click to expand...
Sounds totally horrific to me!
 
Yup I was a groom on a competition yard. Started at 7am, had the 20 horses in my section mucked out by 10am then got going on changing rugs, putting horses on walker or turning out. Taking horses from the riders and untacking, grooming, putting in solarium then back in stable. Then start filling haynets for evening. After lunch bring horses back in, groom and wash dirty legs, change rugs back and back in stable. Then clean tack of horses that have been ridden. Then skip everyone out, then feed them, then go home at 5 - 6 depending what time we get it all done by.

I got to ride once and it was a hack ;)

I was pretty well paid as far as grooms go but was still less than minimum wage. I did enjoy it for a while but I have an enormous amount of respect for the people who do it every day as a career, I could never have done it forever.
 
I've worked on 2 yards
The 1st was an event yard
we were on the yard by 6:45am - fed & hayed then mucked out & left beds up & filled haynets for night. by 8am we were ready for the 1st hack did between 2 & 4 hacks depending on what the boss was riding then came back. turned out as we finished riding so by the time the last lot were ridden they were all out then we bedded down & had lunch. Pm we did all sorts depending on what was going on around the yard, tack cleaning, poo picking, sweeping walker, cleaning auto drinkers etc
days before shows were different as had all the bathing, cleaning out stud holes, cleaning & packing the lorry etc.
we also built courses for him, did the fences whilst jumping. we also held comps so we helped with the course building etc.
& attended events.
it was hard work ! depending on what was happening we could finish our normal time which was 5 or not till 8pm at night !

I then worked at a dealers, most of the ponies lived out but if we got new 1st they were in isolation for 2 weeks & some lived in so there were probably 15 stables ish to muck out between 2 or 3 of us. Then the rest was riding, rode between 3 & 8 ponies/horses a day depending on how much other stuff we had to do. I also competed them in dressage, sj & hunter trials & took them xc schooling.

both were badly paid but I learnt a lot & I would never regret it! I miss it sometimes now I work in an office again
 
I worked as a groom previosly, before I had my own horse, and loved it. Went off to uni, worked in an office for a good few years, then returned tto being a groom. Still enjoyed it but this time I had my own horse. I found that because I was working and riding horses all day, doing my own became more of a chore, than a pleasure. Days off were either spent at my place of work doing my horse but getting asked to help it questions off liveries and clients who didn't realise I wasn't working (or who did but didn't care!) Or I didn't ride, didn't enjoy my horse and felt guilty for not seeing to her.

I'm back in the office, no I don't love my job but at least now I'm back in love with my horse, spend more time with her, the yard is my social and down time and I can spend more time doing the things I want, ie bank holidays back, and weekends for competition.
 
Im a groom, i work with dressage horses. The pay is rubbish BUT not actually that bad when you consider i have my horse on livery there and get training, plus i live in.

I muck out 6-8 horses in the morning turn some out put some on the walker then im tacking up for the rider, get to ride my own horse. Have about 1 to 2 hours for lunch depending on how busy the days been then its skipping out and putting to bed in the afternoon.

Its hard work but enjoyable, and if you find the right place and the right employer you wont want to leave!!

Im very lucky in that i have Saturdays off and im close to home and friends so i go back on a friday night and see friends and spend saturday just chilling out then i come back to work early on a sunday morning.
 
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