Question for all Grooms

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

Hi All,

I haven't been on here in a long time, and in that time I've had a career change. I now work on a private yard as sole groom. I'm interested to hear how long this would take you to do, as either I'm slow or my boss is unreasonable in thinking I should be able to do it quicker! I'm new at this though so don't have experience in how long it should take.

Yard of 10 horses all living in. So how long to muck all out, and everything else that comes with running the yard, feed, hay (some soaked), changing rugs, boots on / off, turn out / bring in, pick out feet (all horses in in winter but turn out in lunge pen for short periods of time), making up feeds, harrow 60x40 ménage, sweep etc etc, oh and hand poo pick all fields in summer

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Goldenstar]

Not a groom but I have a groom .
Our days but vary there are five horses one lives out with a shed .
To muck out four turnout sort yard feeds do shed etc for outside horse
Catch up groom and exercise once (about an hour )do some other jobs like tack cleaning bathing a horse etc .
My groom starts about eight and finishes around two to two thirty .

 

[be positive]

They will always want it done quicker and better, in reality each horse probably takes around 30 mins of your time each morning depending on what the beds are like, how far you walk to much heap, to and from various areas and the size of the yard to sweep up, if you have to do individual waters, fill haynets and make up feeds with different supplements it all adds up.
In the evening skipping out, topping up water, hay and feed probably 10 mins per horse but if you have to groom that will take far longer, you make no mention of washing off, grooming, clipping, trimming etc, tack cleaning or dealing with the farrier which all take time out of what is already a fairly busy day.

I do 7- 9 each day but most go out all day, several are small ponies that I semi deep litter, I generally leave them in turnout rugs and if I am in a fast mode I can get them all done, boxes ready to come in for the night in under 2 hours, another day when things go wrong or the farrier is here it can take the whole morning but it is my time so if I finish late it doesn't matter.

 

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

Thank you both for your replies, albeit they seem to be very different! Be positive I don't know how you get all that done in under 2 hours!!!

 

[BobbyMondeo]

I work on a livery yard

It takes me 3.5 hours to turn out 6 horses and muck out 9

Other days I turnout all horses poo pick and muck out 4 make haynets and feed for 17 (normally takes me untill 12 so four hours) then bring in yard feet rugs hay and feed takes me about 2 hours


Your job would probably take me most of the day depending on quality

 

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

Thanks all. Varying replies. I like to do a job properly, I'm paid 8-3.30pm (someone else feeds etc in eve) and normally get it done round about there, sometimes an hour over. However in summer with poo picking I struggle. And I'm working non stop from second I get there till I finish, I don't stop to eat or drink it's all on the move. I fail to see how I can get it done quicker but a couple of people have other ideas. Appreciate your replies

 

[be positive]

Thank you both for your replies, albeit they seem to be very different! Be positive I don't know how you get all that done in under 2 hours!!!

I cheat with my own some days, the liveries stables still get done properly and the yard may get a cursory brush but some days you just need a break!! I also fill extra nets the evening before, I have a trough full of water and keep several buckets for carrying water to the tubs in the stables, this saves a lot of time as I never wait for a bucket to fill. Today with riding 1 was about 4 hours.

 

[be positive]

Thanks all. Varying replies. I like to do a job properly, I'm paid 8-3.30pm (someone else feeds etc in eve) and normally get it done round about there, sometimes an hour over. However in summer with poo picking I struggle. And I'm working non stop from second I get there till I finish, I don't stop to eat or drink it's all on the move. I fail to see how I can get it done quicker but a couple of people have other ideas. Appreciate your replies

Part of the problem is trying to muck out a horse that has been in for the best part of 24 hours without the box being skipped out in between, by the time you get to the last ones they will be filthy and it will take longer, not your fault but it is not helping, it seems a lot to do in the time especially as it is just the same every day, you are not so much a groom as a mucker outer, or **** shoveller with not even time to grab some lunch, I would see if Goldenstar wants another groom as her regime seems far more fair and you would get to ride.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I think it would take me most of the day to do it all to a high standard if it were my yard I would rather pay 2 people to just do it between them in a mornings work, than expect one person to do it all in record time, I worked on a yard on my own and some days I had 11 to muck out and 25 turnouts and I soon got sick of it its just too much to expect one person to do it all everyday.

 

[horsesense]

I think it is completely unreasonable for an employer to expect a groom to do all of what you describe with ten horses, and you must be exhausted if you manage to do that on a daily basis. i don't think the employer can be interested in the quality of the horse care either as it would be impossible for one person to do all of that safely and to a high standard.

 

[ihatework]

10 to a good standard, no riding but all other associated tasks is a full time job as far as I'm concerned.

As someone much younger getting hirses out of my system I worked on a. International yard. I had 6 to do, started at 7, finished at 5 and was flat out most of the day. It was however immaculate standards (all tack cleaned every day, everything swept, all horses hot cloth & strap) and I'd often exercise 1 or 2.

 

[Goldenstar]

I think it is completely unreasonable for an employer to expect a groom to do all of what you describe with ten horses, and you must be exhausted if you manage to do that on a daily basis. i don't think the employer can be interested in the quality of the horse care either as it would be impossible for one person to do all of that safely and to a high standard.

I agree it's too much work everyday .
I was a groom once and there's nothing more demoralising than trying to run between jobs with the knowledge no matter how fast you go you won't get in done in the time .
I try to be fair and some days here are much more action packed than others .

 

[ester]

If they were all going out all day and you had to do turnout and then set everything fair I think you *might get that done* in your hours.
Faffing around putting them in and out of a lunge pen, the extra hay/skipping out they then need doing in the day and poo picking the fields by hand. Nope! I used to do 10 boxes in 2/2.5 hours but that was boxes only, no hay/water etc and probably not as good as I would do them now!

 

[Damnation]

It is illegal to work that long with no break.

Also, I used to be a groom so this was my routine (8 - 5:30).
Morning:
Feed, hay muck out and turnout (inc. creams, rug changes, boots) about 7-8 horss, sweep the yard and level off the muck heap. That took me until 11:30am then a 30min morning tea break. There was three of us and about 22 full livery horses so if one person was having a bad day you would help them and vice versa.

After break, 40 haynets, 40 feeds to be made, took until about 12:30ish to our 1hr lunch break.

Afternoon:
Bring in, legs hosed, rugs changed, grooming and tack cleaning for certain liveries. This took until about 2:30. If we were lucky we could ride until about 4pm.

4pm we would skip out all horses, hay and feed for the night and put top stable rugs on. This took until 5:30.

On the days the horses were in, we wouldn't have to turn out but we would have to hay them instead at lunch time which took similar amounts of time. We rarely had nothing to do.

 

[HashRouge]

I think it's doable in the time you have OP, but it sounds like one slog and frankly not much fun at all. I spent 18 months as a groom, working on two different SJ yards and I (mostly) loved it, but you couldn't persuade me to do your job!

It can be very stressful, very hard work when you're a groom on a busy competition yard but other aspects of the job more than made up for it - a fun team to work with, lovely horses to ride, a real variety of jobs so never bored etc. The purely manual labour side, which you do, is not much fun on it's own and it's even worse when you have to do it alone - they should be grateful that they have someone!

 

[benz]

I am sole groom for a family with 7 horses. I do all you do and exercise them in 40 hrs per week. However I refuse to poo pick by hand as was taking too long so boss got me a machine which is amazing.

With 10 horses but not exercising (and not including poo picking by hand 10 horses!!) I don't see why you can't do it in 7.5 working hours per day BUT you need to have a lunch break! How can you do all that work with no fuel?! So realistically 8-4.30 with a 1 hr break.

 

[zaminda]

It sounds to me like your biggest problem is the faffing turning out and bringing in with the pen, boots and rug changes. That can take forever, and seems strange to me. It also does depend on how the beds are, and the layout of the yard.

 

[JanetGeorge]

lol, do you wat a new job, OP? I normally have 4 girls doing stables (27), haynets etc while one gets on with working. Then they all share riding, lunging, log-reining depending on their individual capabilities. I have a couple of part-timers too - to cover folks days off. They work 9-5 with an hour for lunch and 2 coffee breaks.

 

[LHIS]

It's not quite the same - but my two cents. I take on groom duties a few evenings a week. I've been tonight and it's taken me 1hr and 10 mins to muck out 4 stables, top up the beds, do 6 haynets, mix and distribute 4 feeds, groom the one that's mine, and sweep up.

 

[ester]

lol, do you wat a new job, OP? I normally have 4 girls doing stables (27), haynets etc while one gets on with working. Then they all share riding, lunging, log-reining depending on their individual capabilities. I have a couple of part-timers too - to cover folks days off. They work 9-5 with an hour for lunch and 2 coffee breaks.

IIRC you provide cake/bacon sarnies too??

 

[*Whinney*]

Wow I can't believe how quick some of you can be!

OP it sounds like a lot is expected and I dread to think how long it would take me to do all that! Maybe in my late teens/early twenties I might have been up for the challenge but not now in my forties.

It all depends so much on stable/bed sizes, bedding type, how far for water, hay, and muck but it does sound a bit unreasonable for a working day. Is the manege harrowing every day? By hand or quad? Can you give some more information?

I'm wondering whether I have the courage to post my jobs list and see how long it takes everyone. I might die of shame I do handle the boys in a relaxed manner though which isn't the quickest but that's how both I and their owner, and the boys, like it.

 

[WandaMare]

I once kept my horse on livery at a big equestrian centre which employed 6 grooms full time. When I first moved my horse there they had 6 or 7 horses each on full livery to look after each per day, 8 to 4.30 but after a couple of people left and weren't replaced, they were given 10 horses to do each in the same time. This didn't include much exercise because most owners came down to ride most evenings. The standard of care did drop a bit but it was still good enough, but the grooms complained all the time about not having enough time to do the horses to the standards they wanted to and they felt exhausted looking after that many every day. To me they never seemed to stop. I think your employer is on a good deal OP.

 

[huskydamage]

I used to do groom work 10-13 horses one yard on shavings but the other was full straw beds i was being paid part time money so i tried to be fast but it was impossible. I think i did 8am till 2ish (not fast enough to make my pay min wage!) then back in evening to feed and bring in which needed to be half hour but took ages as well. I cannot fully muck out a straw bed in 10mins.15 is the fastest i could do (if the horse wasn't messy). There were so many other jobs that turned into marathons also. This is the reason i stopped doing groom work you have to be super fast or your pay is peanuts. Personally i can't rush a proper job. I never understood why people spare no expense for their horses but are so stingy paying the grooms who care for them.

 

[Ceifer]

Op. I am an ex-groom and all round cynic lol! I've done 'team roles' and solo Although sole charge jobs have their benefits- no bitchy team mates, disagreements etc. The downside of this is that you have nobody else there for sanity checks and are at the mercy of your employers opinion. I find that solo jobs are great to start, but in the end they are the most draining.
Without knowing how far your muck heap is, how many trips you have to take to said heap etc. It's difficult to work if out. But if you are having doubts you need to consider if you are truly happy. I spent 2 years working for a clock watcher who made me feel slow and a bit rubbish. Ironically when I finally did see sense and went to work for an international rider I was quicker than all of her grooms and got promoted within 6 months.

 

[SecretAgentBilly]

I was thinking of posting a similar thread, but by the sounds of it I'm not actually as slow as I think I am! Basically I do rug changes, muck out, hay, water, poo pick by hand, bring in and turnout between 11-13 horses. It generally takes me from 8-3.30 and then I have my own horse and occasionally another to ride. So I generally don't finish until 4.30-5ish. Sometimes I have half an hour to get some lunch but mostly I don't. I get paid £30 a day, set rate. If I did it every day I would be exhausted - I couldn't do what you do OP!

 

[horsesense]

The OP's account of her working conditions exemplifies the exploitative attitude of many equestrian employers. Frequently young people who are keen to learn will accept that this excessive workload is the norm, and will comply with it in order to gain knowledge and experience; meanwhile their greedy employers reap the benefits of cheap labour. Frequently the employees become embittered, the standard of horse care deteiorates and eventually the employee departs often to enter a completely different area of work. I am surprised how many of those replying to this thread are so accepting of this type of situation.

 

[Ceifer]

The OP's account of her working conditions exemplifies the exploitative attitude of many equestrian employers. Frequently young people who are keen to learn will accept that this excessive workload is the norm, and will comply with it in order to gain knowledge and experience; meanwhile their greedy employers reap the benefits of cheap labour. Frequently the employees become embittered, the standard of horse care deteiorates and eventually the employee departs often to enter a completely different area of work. I am surprised how many of those replying to this thread are so accepting of this type of situation.

Totally Agree

 

[EmmasMummy]

when I had a summer job at at stud farm back in the 90s I started at 8am and by 12 had to have all 9 horses fed and mucked out and groomed and the stallions turned out in rotation whilst they were mucked out. . Then I would clean tack as I ate lunch then had to prepare the horses to be ridden. I was also walking back and forth from the stallion yard to the breaking yard to move horses about. Riding a few. general tidying up. Make evening feeds. All for the princely sum of £0.81 an hour...

 

[Pinkvboots]

when I had a summer job at at stud farm back in the 90s I started at 8am and by 12 had to have all 9 horses fed and mucked out and groomed and the stallions turned out in rotation whilst they were mucked out. . Then I would clean tack as I ate lunch then had to prepare the horses to be ridden. I was also walking back and forth from the stallion yard to the breaking yard to move horses about. Riding a few. general tidying up. Make evening feeds. All for the princely sum of £0.81 an hour...

that is terrible poor you! I remember a yard job I had years ago and got £3.00 an hour and thought that was bad I was positively rich compared to you.

 

[JanetGeorge]

I get paid £30 a day, set rate. If I did it every day I would be exhausted - I couldn't do what you do OP!

Unless you're 16, that's well under NMW!!