working as a stable girl?

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sophieh88

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I was thinking of getting a job as a stable girl in a horse racing yard as I have always wanted to work with horses

but I have been told by lots of people that it is a really bad job to have and that all stable lads/lasses are miserable all the time is this true ??

also the pay is really bad ?

so is being a stable lass really all that bad ?
or can it be a good fun job ?
 
I did work experience at a point to point and hunt yard for a week when I was 16. It was in the middle of summer, and a lot of the horses were on their holiday.

As fabulous as the week was, having fun riding etc, it was hard work! And from that week, I can safely say, I would not want to work with horses.

I think with most yards you could work on, it is hard labour, long hours and small pay. Of course there will be highlights and fun involved, but you have to be prepared to work your backside off and prove yourself.
 
RiderLizzie said:
I did work experience at a point to point and hunt yard for a week when I was 16. It was in the middle of summer, and a lot of the horses were on their holiday.

As fabulous as the week was, having fun riding etc, it was hard work! And from that week, I can safely say, I would not want to work with horses.

I think with most yards you could work on, it is hard labour, long hours and small pay. Of course there will be highlights and fun involved, but you have to be prepared to work your backside off and prove yourself.
Click to expand...

^^^ this.

I worked as a stable hand/groom at an eventing/dressage yard. The hours were long, the pay wasn't great but there were some awesome highlights and I did really love it. I think it depends on your boss and the environment you are working in though.

In summer, we would start at 4am and be finished by 2-3pm and then head off to the beach with some of the horses, I got to ride horses that I would never ever be able to afford in my wildest dreams and as I was riding so many different horses every day, my riding improved in leaps and bounds... the downsides were doing the stables, digging out the stables, refilling the stables, working in 38 degree celscius heat with no fan, working after a competition (sooooo much washing and cleaning to do!!!) and getting soaking wet when having to work outside in the rain. I made many great friends and contacts whilst there. Technically I never left as I still go in when they get stuck to feed, do stables and work some horses and I also groom at events when I am not getting my own horse ready but, I could no longer afford to work full time with horses and had to go and get a "proper job".

You will without a doubt learn a lot, it will help your riding a lot (if your job entails riding too) but it was super hard work although never dull. :)

Maybe see if you can work on weekends or do one or two days a week to start off with? Even offer to do work experince to prove yourself and see if some work comes out of it... that way you can try before you buy, so to speak - figure out if you like it before jumping in the deep end.
 
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I did it for 20 years and for the most part loved it. Very hard work and winter can be pretty dismal at times when the weather is really bad, but most of the time it doesn't really matter. I have also had a couple of really bad experiences with very odd employers!

Had to give up when arthritis set in, you need to be fit, but if you can move about the country there are some lovely low-key jobs too.

Of course, things have changed a bit in the last twenty years I expect....:D
 
I have a lovely job riding out for a horse agent. We have some lovely horses and my riding has improved a huge amount. I even managed to take a lovely well bred dressage pony home with me to compete on and then sell on. I've ridden horses that are 10x out of of my price range and my boss is lovely and so are the other girls on the yard.

Having worked for a not so nice person in the past it has really made me realise that its not so much about the job but who you work for.

You have to be prepared to accept the pay is often less than minimum wage and difficult to make do on so you may need to get a second job to have somewhere to live and food on the table. Personally id rather be paid what I do and absolutely love getting up in the morning to go to work than hating my job.
 
Racing is a fantastic job if you are prepared to work youth backside off . I've been doing it for 9 years and its more of a paid hobby. The pay is ok, the work hard but there is nothing quite like watching a horse that you have worked and produced head out onto the track and give you their all. There are many highs but also some devestating lows. We aren't all depressed all of the time - only when the weather is vile! And yes, you ride out whatever the weather.


Koko has it wrong - in racing you get slightly more than minimum wage. The Jockey Club have their own minimum wage which is 20? Pence above national minimum wage.
 
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I work with horses atm pm me if you have any questions but it is the BEST fun you will ever have in your life, you will most likely not be paid amazingly but you will probs have free accommodation which makes it worthwhile. Some of the people can be very hard to work for so it's definitely not a job you want to be in if your not tough. Working on a yard like this is so much different to a ridin school/livery yard. Most people have no idea what goes on behind the scenes...
 
I spent two seasons on a top jump racing yard before moving home last year for a spell in a hunting yard. I have now left the hunting yard and am going back into racing because I love it so much and miss being a part of it! :D:o

It is hard work and I remember riding out in -10 in the morning and saying "I need an office job!" but when my pride and joy ended the season winning a Grade 1 at Aintree it was one of the best moments of my life and I knew I wouldn't want to do anything else! The highs always overcome the lows IMO :)

The British Racing School is a good place to start before working in racing as it sorts the wheat from the chaff, some people cannot hack it from a couple of weeks into the course. But it stands you in good stead I think and you learn a fair bit. Good luck
 
I havnt worked on a racing yard, but the job I had working on a dressage/ livery yard was the best job ever. You can't beat getting up early in the summer with the sun coming up and being outdoors all day instead of stick in an office. Yes the pay is rubbish but its the life style.
I'd say go for it but try to get a good idea of what the boss and other staff are like before, I asked the staff if they enjoyed it when I went up for a look around and they seemed happy and I also made friends that have lasted for years since leaving.
 
Hi, I work on a racing yard. I do all the yard work minus proper mucking out as I don't start that early!
So I groom, tack up babies, skip out, hay feed rug turn out and get on and off the walker aswell as washing off and keeping the yard as tidy as possible.
Some mornings I'm run ragged, some I saunter round with coffee in hand.
I enjoy it, it's a small yard and I get on with the other people I'm also very confident at handling the horses (which us a must- they can at times be total wombats!). Hours wise mine is particularly easy as I told them I could help but only between certain hours and at the time they were pretty desperate. I don't ride having lost enthusiasm and I have a bad back and hip!
Pay wise I've done better but also worse and if I got going earlier I'd get a decent wage.
Some days I may be guilty of being slightly miserable but I think that's the way of any job? I usually cheer up when I get there tbh so can't be too bad ;)
 
Its definatly something you have to do for love because you wont make any money!

I enjoyed it though, not everyone who works with horses are miserable, skint yes but unhappy no! :)
 
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