For those that hire barn help

[Kari]

Hello,

For those of you who hire barn help, how much do you pay them? What all do you have them do? Do you have a set time in which they work in, or do you pay them by the hour?

If you don't want to answer these questions on a public forum, feel free to PM me or e-mail at [email protected]

The reason I'm asking is I hire people to help me feed and clean stalls, and other misc. stuff such as cleaning hooves, cleaning the barn, etc. and I would like to know the "going rate." I currently have 5 minis, but the numbers will start fluctuating in March and not settle until mid-October. Currently, I hire teens to come once a day, for an hour. How do you have it set up? I pay $5/day, is this too much? Too little?

Thank you for helping me figure this out,

Kari

 

[heart k ranch]

I would also really like to know...thanks

 

[Erica]

I'm actually on the lookout for some good help here around home......just to help with cleaning stalls and maybe working a few horses as I work full time outside of the barn and with 50 horses, and a show string of 11 here it gets a little overwhelming and just a couple hours every other day is a big help.

All the teenagers around here, either have too many irons in the fire, don't like horses, or have other jobs...I'm still on the hunt for a good one.

 

[Katiean]

I do not hire barn help. I wish I did. But I made $5 an hour for barn work in the 70's. I think you need to take into account the cost of gas for the kid to get to your place. I would think that if they are working 5 days a week for 1 hour a day I would be more inclined to pay them $50 week. More if they spend more time working. I would not say pay them $10 an hour but give a base pay of $50 and I would think you would keep your help longer.

 

[Kari]

Guess I've been lucky in the gas department, as I've been able to find two good teens within walking distance, and neither one has quit on me! Well, the one will, in the fall, but college is important.

Kari

 

[gvpalominominis]

Wow, I wish I could get help for $5 a day... : ) I too have been advertising for barn help. We have under 20 horses on small acreage and have separate living quarters (1200 sq ft-2 bdrms) and include utilities (power & heat) with a value of $1,400 in exchange for 1/2 day's work and care of the horses when I'm gone at shows. I work at home also, so participate in feeding and bringing horses in and out of the barn most days... just because I like to. It works out to be about $12 - $16 an hour or more time wise. I think the people in this area are just lazy and would rather live in a trailer or their car or mooch off someone they know, then do a little work.

The people that have contacted me usually have horses themselves and more than one other pet that they want accommodations for included... which of course we don't have room for. We offer this set up to either couples, singles or even roommates..... I would have died for a position like this when I was younger... just to be with horses. The last few people have... hidden a rabbit and cage in a clothes closet (and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months).... another...their 3 dogs destroyed the laundry room and howled when they were gone... and the last person's dog also howled when the owner left... it couldn't be left in a crate.. so chewed up the door frame and sheet rock while they were gone... about $400 damage... which of course we never got from the gal when I asked her to leave. Or they have small children that can't be left in the house by themselves and aren't in school..... how do you attend horses with a baby in tow... in weather ... or anytime for that matter?

It's not hard work... our stalls are easy to clean (16) mini stalls.. and it all can be done in 1/2 a day.... leaving time for additional work to pay for any other expenses. Or would be great for a couple.

So if I'm trying to pay people too much for the work.... I'd like to know too... LOL

What do other people pay, where are they located and where have they found good workers?

Joanne

 

[skanzler]

I have tried several different approaches to this problem. First I hired local teens, many of whom claimed to be very interested in horses etc... most of these lasted a couple of weeks then no showed. We paid 5.00 hour cash....I gave up on this after the third teen quit. I felt that if I was going to keep an employee I would need to hire someone for a little more money and a little older. Ok, well older doesn't mean much in this day and age. The mid twenties was not much better. I raised my wages to 6.50/hr, again cash. They lasted a little longer, and then stopped showing up. AGGHHH.

Now I guess I need to expand on this. We own a training center in central Washington State. We take in 15-20 horse during the show season. We own 11 of our own breeding stock. The person we hired was responsible for feeding morning and night and cleaning stalls. Turning horses out and bringing them in. I paid by the hour, so if they were efficient they could get their work done in 2-4 hours. Leaving the rest of the day to hold another job. It was a 4 - 5 day a week job. It was paid in cash, so it came close to what they would make if taxes were taken out, if being paid minimum wage. If they were really motivated I expanded their work to include learning to clip the horses for shows and get them bathed. I paid extra for this.

Ok, so then I decided that I would hire from outside my local area. I went on Lilbeginnings and found a gal outside of Washington State. I offered a place to live plus a monthly salary. She was able to have one pet and a horse. So she got room and board, could keep a pet and have a horse for no extra cost. I supplied all utilities, food, lodging. I also supplied a vehicle for her to get around. I then paid her a monthly wage as well. This was taxed, as I needed to make sure that since I hired someone to this degree I would need to stay within the law. Her responsibilties were to work the horses daily, turn them in and out, help feed. Clip for shows, bath and attend the shows as a groom/handler. She was not required to clean stalls, but usually helped when needed. She was also paid additional for attending the shows with us. This was paid in cash.

She has since moved out into a place of her own and we had to adjust her wages accordingly. Since she was no longer living in the provided housing on the ranch. It came to about 9.00-10.00/hr. Since she was on a salary. If she was able to complete her work in a timely manner, she was actually making 10.00/hr, if it took her longer, then of course she was making less.

Of note, when I inquired about hiring teens for doing certain extra stuff, I found that there are certain laws that you need to be aware of. Parental permission, school permission etc.....

It is very difficult to find good reliable farm help. I feel very fortunate to have found this person. She has helped us tremindously. I am hoping when she no longer can work for us that I will be able to find someone as dedicated to replace her.

 

[LC Farm]

Since my daughter had a baby last fall and i decided to be the babysitter for her and her hubby we had to hire the neighbor kids to do chores for us in the morning. We have all the feed mixed and put in metal cans for the different horses. Hay is put in a bucket for each horse. We like this the best as we know that everyone is getting their correct mix. The kids give the grain to everyone then do the hay rounds then go back and pull buckets. They put the buckets back in the feed room double check all doors are locked and they are done. We pay $10.00 for this. Forgot to add they give everyone the once over when they grain. It takes them less than an hour.

 

[SweetOpal]

I too have hired lots of people that wanted way too much money....I am now paying my son, he gets a $ 1 per stall, with 15 horses he is making good money, luckily for me he doesn't clean every day, so the days he doesn't I do it...but it does really make a huge difference having help.

I did have some teenage girls that would come over, it lasted a few months, it was worth its weight in gold....they still feed for me when I go out of town, and if they clean while I am gone they get paid extra. Right now they get $ 30 a day to feed horses and dogs....they have to come morning and night to check on the animals feed and water.

I have a seperate person who comes and clips when I need it and she charges me $ 50 per horse. I have often thought about hiring someone to live on the premises to help and like Cindy it would only be part time but with a place to live.

 

[Brandi*]

I have had a few jobs around my area at local barns. They paid $9 and $10 an hour.

 

[Miniv]

Kari,

Back when we could afford it, we had a young man 8 hours a day, 5 days a week as barn/farm help. When we let him go, 5 years ago, he was getting $10/hr. He was a godsend at the time, as he had been brought up on a farm and had a lot of basic knowledge, but he wanted to get married and needed a job with benefits, which we couldn't give him.

We've also had friends at different times board a horse with us for Free, in exchange for basic mucking out the barn type stuff........If you have any extra space, you could check out that possibility. Be sure to have an arrangement like that in writing.

 

[shadowpaints]

Wow, I wish I could get help for $5 a day... : ) I too have been advertising for barn help. We have under 20 horses on small acreage and have separate living quarters (1200 sq ft-2 bdrms) and include utilities (power & heat) with a value of $1,400 in exchange for 1/2 day's work and care of the horses when I'm gone at shows. I work at home also, so participate in feeding and bringing horses in and out of the barn most days... just because I like to. It works out to be about $12 - $16 an hour or more time wise. I think the people in this area are just lazy and would rather live in a trailer or their car or mooch off someone they know, then do a little work.

The people that have contacted me usually have horses themselves and more than one other pet that they want accommodations for included... which of course we don't have room for. We offer this set up to either couples, singles or even roommates..... I would have died for a position like this when I was younger... just to be with horses. The last few people have... hidden a rabbit and cage in a clothes closet (and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months).... another...their 3 dogs destroyed the laundry room and howled when they were gone... and the last person's dog also howled when the owner left... it couldn't be left in a crate.. so chewed up the door frame and sheet rock while they were gone... about $400 damage... which of course we never got from the gal when I asked her to leave. Or they have small children that can't be left in the house by themselves and aren't in school..... how do you attend horses with a baby in tow... in weather ... or anytime for that matter?

It's not hard work... our stalls are easy to clean (16) mini stalls.. and it all can be done in 1/2 a day.... leaving time for additional work to pay for any other expenses. Or would be great for a couple.

So if I'm trying to pay people too much for the work.... I'd like to know too... LOL

What do other people pay, where are they located and where have they found good workers?

Joanne

Re you still looking for help?? if so how far are you from Vancouver?? please email me! i have someone who NEEDS a job and is a very hard worker!! my email is [email protected] thanks!

Becca

 

[targetsmom]

I guess I am pretty lucky - there is an Ag Science School in my town and I get teens from there, through the Equine Science teacher. Last year I had 2 super ones, one that even showed one of our minis for us. She now has her own mini that she got through a rescue situation. The students in the Ag Science program have to do some sort of "work study" (it has some acronym I can never remember) and they seem to love working with the minis. I also use it as an opportunity to teach them about minis, so they do more than just stalls. Of course they can only come after school and the one that was supposed to work today called in sick!! I think the rate of pay would depend on the going rate in your area and what people are willing to work for.

 

[Genie]

We pay 20.00 for a man to come in the afternoon and clean the barns (27 miniature horses here)bed the stalls, feed for the night, and get hay, straw and shavings down for the morning..

He gets 20.00 and if he can be here and gone in 1 1/2 hours, more power to him.

We only get him on the occasional basis when we have to be away for the evening cleaning and feeding.

We clean our stalls morning and night.

 

[disneyhorse]

I pay someone $10 per day to come once and grain, clean, and free lunge my ponies while I'm gone (not too often!) it is about an hour's worth of work.

Andrea

 

[MiniHGal]

This is a very interesting subject. Depending on what they are doing, you may want to raise the amount a bit, especially if they ever have to drive. But I would have been plenty happy to get 5/hour as a young HS student at a barn within walking distance.

Now in college, I take care of (including feeding, watering, mucking, etc) a couple's horses(18 total), sheep, goats, chickens, other assorted animals, etc, etc 4 times a week in exchange for boarding two horses (same pen, their feed). It takes about 1.5-2.5 hours per feeding. Before I moved my horses there, I was working for them for $15/hour, which may sound extreme, but they really wanted to keep me and really were very happy with the job I was (am) doing. The farm is 5 miles from where I live.

Where I live, I take care of a herd of horses ranging from 40-60 head, depending on the season, in exchange for free room/utilities. It is also right on campus, which is a major plus. This includes feeding, assisting with some barn chores, and giving any night meds (which can amount to quite a bit sometimes), as well as mucking out the stallion stalls on weekends.

I think most of you sound like you are giving darn good deals, especially if they live on the place! But then, you can see I take advantage of such deals whenever possible. In fact, even though I have two horses and myself to feed and house up here, I only have to pay for food and gas.

 

[dannigirl]

Dave and I hire someone occasionally and when we do, we know about how long it will take to do the job correctly. We then figure what we could about get done in one hour and figure $10 for that job. We pay so much a stall, so much for each job. The only catch for them is half done is not half pay. They finish what they start and we are sure to tell them exactly what we expect of the job--don't forget even the smallest step and write the steps down if necessary. Some of our kids work like crazy and make up to $15.00 per hour and others only make $6.00. It is up to them.

 

[Heart L Ranch]

I currently have a 20 something young mother of 2 boys cleaning stalls for me every other day. I pay her $8.50 per hour and she does a good job and does not dilly dally like some kids I have used in the past. Her husband is out of work right now and she is hired as contract labor so I really cannot dictate her hours. She knows that she is not covered under my insurance and that she is responsible for paying her own taxes. I will issue her a 1099 misc at the end of the year. She advertised a Craigs list and she lives about 30 minutes away. Her husband watches the kids while she works. I also have a home schooled girl that was cleaning stalls in trade for boarding her horse here but since the roads are so bad and she has to rely on someone having to drive her out, she has stopped for the winter. I have 20 stalls currently being cleaned. My gal will also fill waters while she is cleaning and she puts the horses out on the hot walker while she cleans. I must also say that this girl is VERY experenced and raises Arabian horses so I don't feel like I have to be out there watching her.

 

[wildoak]

I've had pretty good luck with high school girls - haven't found many willing to do the job, but the few I've had have been great. I have someone 3-4 days a week, they come after school and clean stalls (usually 2-6), feed 30 plus horses, work a few and whatever else might need doing. During show season there might be more horses to work, some help with clipping, etc. I've been paying $6 an hour and it's about time she got a raise. With just a few days a week it doesn't amount to a lot of income, but it's extra spending money for her and is a tremendous help to me. She's usually available on the weekends if I'm gone, and I try to be very flexible with her schedule - stock show is this week, so I'm feeding today since she is clipping her goats!

Jan

 

[muffntuf]

I think it depends on where you are, what the local wage is, etc. I have paid up to $60 a day for my help. But that is two feedings and cleaning stalls, etc. But I contract to hire by the job. It is up to the person contracting how long they take to do the job. It's $30 a trip out here. If it takes just 1 1/2 hours, they are making good money, if they goof around, then it is less per hour. But I tell you what, she is worth it. And she does dilly dally, she likes my ponies and miniatures. She makes it a family affair and brings her kids and grandkids out. The dog gets played with, the horses all get turned out, I basically come home and do night feeding and have time to work or groom horses.

If you find a gem, work it out! I have also had some people that weren't as desirable.