live in groom?

digitalangel

digitalangel

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Like everyone who works full time i am really struggling with time for the ponies, my lunch hour is taken up with mucking out or recieving yard deliveries and the like and the ponies are really only being ridden on the weekend. I have 2 in work and a companion pony.

Shortly ill be moving house, ill have 2 spare stables, some spare turnout and a spare room in the house. I was planning to hire a groom to help with the mucking out mon-fri so i could have more time, but now i am thinking of combining the two ?

Ie, offer a peppercorn rent for the room/stables in return for help with mine? Also it would be great to have someone else around to compete/ride with.

Is this something i should consider? would a groom he interested in that? what kind of problems would there be? has anyone done this? would love to hear your experiences!
 
Just that its hard enough to find a lodger you like living with but think it would be harder if you combine home and yard. ..
 
I used to rent (for free) a one bedroom bungalow within the grounds of a family's country home, in return for looking after her horse full time including riding him three times a week. I took my horse too which was £20 per week livery for him. Just to give you something to compare to.
 
Good point luci - perhaps i am better getting a non-horsey lodger and just renting out the stables?

Irishbabygirl - how did it work out for you? did you find that was a fair arrangement? i wouldnt want mine looked after full time, just during the weekdays - mucking out and either a turnout or a bring in.
 
It would be less complicated to rent the room separately (you can earn up to about 5k tax free under a govt scheme doing this) and rent out the stables separately. If you combine accom with groom job then it gets sticky with the minimum wage regulations, there are restrictions on offering benefits in kind instead of money and you dont want to end up giving all the goodies AND having to pay min wage rates on top!

Also it means if groom doesnt work out you wont lose your lodger too!
 
I have a lodger in ym house as had 2 spare bedrooms and was strugling with mortgage payments on my own has been very hit and miss some have turned out horrid but my current lodger has been with me 2yrs and i love her. I keep my horse 10min walk away from house and all though she doesn't ride her daughter use to have horses and she loves them and will happily pop mine in for me if am running late bless her.
I personally would love the situation your offering but would need to work full time too, but i comfortably mange mucking out etc before work then i just water hay and put to bed in evneings i dont curently ride as my lad isnt back yet but i can imagine you would easily find someone who would appreciate cheap rent / free stable in return for a little labour maybe someone who works part time or can work from home
 
I was very happy with the arrangement, I worked full time elsewhere but looked after her horse to the same standard as my own before and after work and as they were the only two horses there it worked really well.
 
ideally this person would be someone who did freelance, or self-employed, who perhaps already worked as a groom, and if i ended up renting out both, the rent would be a nominal amount. its not a full time job to do 3 horses, i do them myself at the minute i can normally get them all done, ie muck, hay+water in my lunch hour. ( i work full time )

But as others have pointed out, i will probably rent everything out separately.
 
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