Yes, I’ve known grooms that worked five days per week.
No, it’s not the norm.
Just because the norm is six days per week doesn’t mean it is okay. It’s incredible to me when BOs wonder why their turnover rate is so high 
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This is important to find out because at $2k/month that could be a very unpleasant surprise. Tax season is almost here so you’ll know soon! If you’re interested, you can see the IRS guidance on employer-provided housing here: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b#en_US_2020_publink1000193699 (search for or click on “Lodging on Your Business Premises”). Basically the housing is non-taxable if:
- Housing is on the employer’s premises – check
- It’s provided for convenience of the employer – this one is pretty fact-specific but I think you could meet it
- On-site housing is a condition of employment – probably check, since I’m guessing it’s part of your job to be available for horse emergencies at all hours and in all weather
I lived on-site at a farm once and my housing was not taxable, for the same reasons.
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that is not a given even it appears to be, the housing may be located on property that is leased to a corporation thus not on the employer’s premise
When we had our farm running it was a separated corporation that leased the land and buildings from us, this was done specifically to separate the liability of the horses from our personal assets
(but the IRS usually only stumbles across these arrangements while investigating the owner, Big fish verses little fish stuff)
Was the corporation not the employer in this situation?
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I don’t know what your financial situation is, but speaking as a single woman in her forties, I’d be a bit concerned about long-term security (retirement as well as health insurance). I hate bringing up age, and I’m sure you’re a very tough horsewoman. But for someone in her twenties, I think that what you’re doing right now might be a good life experience for a few years, even if it was hard on your body and you took a slight financial loss. With age, particularly if you don’t have much of a financial cushion, looking for a better situation might be advisable.
And that might be the best way to think of it. What are your other options (in the horse world and otherwise)? If you weren’t working where you are, where would you be?
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Another (old) comp for you, for reference - about 15 years ago, a private barn paid approx. $575/wk, one week paid vacation, housing provided (LCOL area), and basic health insurance provided. Six days a week when not showing. Duties included full care of show horses (any and all chores, incl. some exercise riding), approximately 5 horses/groom, no property maintenance.
For a single person, in that area, this compensation generally provided a reasonable amount of discretionary income. Could save for retirement, pay off debt, buy some luxuries, etc.
It couldn’t keep staff from burning out, though. That happened despite the good compensation.
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A couple thoughts:
The NoVa area is expensive — for a 1BR/1BA apartment you’re looking at $1500-2000 per month. So the fact that you are being given free housing (and utilities) is a significant perk. I’m going to assume you’re in/near Middleburg (“private 8-horse family barn” sounds like the Burg); “affordable” housing there is an even more precious commodity and should be valued accordingly.
It’s never wrong to want to renegotiate your contract terms. But what sets employers’ teeth on edge is doing it in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. Don’t lead with “I need more money to pay my expenses” or “It’s not fair that I always have to work Christmas.” You knew the terms when you signed up.
What you can do is say “I know we had agreed to an annual review [you do have some sort of yearly review planned, right?], but in view of the fact that we now have 8 horses in the barn (3 more than when I started), I think it’s important that we clarify my role and responsibilities. Adding three more horses has meant my regular morning and evening routines have expanded by X minutes per day, for a total of Y hours per week. I’m also exercising 3 more horses and cleaning 3 more sets of tack every day. Overall, my daily workload has increased over 50%. I want to be able to continue to provide the same high levels of service and attention, but I’m worried that with all the added responsibilities and even less time to recharge, something might slip through the cracks. Can we talk about ways to balance my time, like an additional day off, a helper for the evening routine to ensure everything is checked off by the end of the day, or a week of PTO I can use if I’m sick or want to plan some downtime (in coordination with your schedule)? I’m happy to work with you to find the best solution for everyone, especially the horses.”
Finally, do you not have any health insurance? Working around large, unpredictable animals, heavy objects, and pokey bits of metal is a guaranteed trip to the ER. Please get yourself even a very basic plan so that you are not bankrupted by what would otherwise be a minor injury.
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I pay for my own health insurance. I have already been to the ER twice. Once I got my toes stomped on by a big draft cross- not broken but badly bruised. Also, bad fall off horse and broke 2 ribs and separated my shoulder. It was my fault because the girth wasn’t tight and the saddle slipped over a jump. I did not claim workmen’s comp on either. My employers helped me work the first week after when I was in a sling. Then I was back full time except for riding.
@ridingagain You say you are in your 50s now.
Have you thought ahead to retirement?
I ask because my brother worked some very well-paid jobs, but most paid him under the counter, so no taxes taken out or paid by him.
Now, at retirement age, he qualified for a mere $600/mo SSI.
Hardly enough to live on, so at 69 he still works from home, but with today’s economy his job has been severely impacted. TG, he qualifies for Unemployment (& wisely put aside the $600 goose), but that is not going to last forever & his current job is a truly non-essential type of business & might not survive the pandemic.
For myself, I am thankful I paid into SSI since I was 15 & my income from that is enough to get by. But I can’t afford my horses (at home) & health insurance, so I manage on Med A & B & GoodRX for meds.
And while I was pretty fit into my late 60s, I am finding things a lot harder at 70 & don’t expect my very light barn chores to get any easier. Horses live mostly out so stall keeping is minimal, I feed 2-3X daily & hired out mowing a couple years ago. TG for helpful neighbors - also my hayguys - who can do the Heavy Lifting chores & repairs on my small acreage.
Please consider Plan B for when this job is no longer possible for you physically, let alone financially.
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I used to work for a top trainer in the PNW and got $500+ a week (I got frequent raises, but that was the starting rate) and two days off. My husband used to work for a top barn here as well and got $5k/month plus health insurance and 2 days off. Except my husband had to go to shows and didn’t get paid extra for that, so a bit of a bummer there.
It’s convenient to have the grooms work 6 days a week because show horses are typically worked 6 days a week. It also keeps everyone’s schedules the same if you’re showing constantly.
However, every other 24/365 business (medical, retail, etc) manages to work schedules so everyone works 5 days a week (or less) or gets overtime. It wouldn’t even cost the employer any more in this case because they do not offer benefits. It’s just quite difficult to find someone who’s looking for a very part time position and is reliably free on Mondays and Tuesday’s.
I believe there are a handful of show barns where the grooms work five days a week and even get overtime, at least at home. But they are usually connected to places that are run like a real business, which is pretty rare in the horse world. I’m thinking of places like Ox Ridge and Fairfield, which are attached to clubs that also include other activities.
I’m not sure how they work it out when the grooms go to horse shows for extended periods.
I have seen barns where they had full timers who worked during the week, and then part-timers who just did weekends. But they were usually places where those workers were feeding and doing chores, not tacking up, etc.
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These are fox hunters, not typical show horses. My boss is retiring at the end of January, so I’m assuming she (and the groundskeeper, who does my Monday basic chores, cuz the horses get it off, too) would be able to handle Tuesday.
If I were you, I would focus less on the industry standard (which is not great) and more on what YOU need. For you to be happy in this position, what would it take? More money, 5 day work week, holidays off? Figure that out and go from there.
My last groom job burned me out, and I left to work in a different facet of the horse world. I was underpaid, no benefits, and worked 7 days a week with no guaranteed day off (averaged about one or two days off a month, depending on the time of year- sometimes none). We regularly worked 10-12+ hour days, longer when we were competing. It was a cool job, but I really hit a wall. I loved grooming and I was GOOD at what I did but I don’t think I will ever do it again, beyond some freelance show grooming. Don’t let that happen to you.
A 5 day work week is not standard, but that’s because the industry takes advantage. Health insurance is not standard, but most people who are “independent contractors” are very obviously legally employees and should be provided with insurance. Yes, horses need to be cared for on holidays, but there is no reason you need to sacrifice every holiday. This would not be normal at another job. Working a few, sure, but not all. It is the owner’s job to have a good business model- this includes coverage for employee time off, allocation of benefits, and contingency plans should you be injured (like breaking ribs while on the job). It is THEIR job, not yours, to create a sustainable plan.
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Not an accountant but it’s possible that the value of the lodging might not be taxable. (Consult an actual expert though!!) This article matches what I recall:
The lodging must meet three tests under Regs. Sec. 1.119-1(b): (1) The lodging must be on the employer’s business premises; (2) the employer must provide the lodging for the employer’s convenience rather than for the employee’s convenience; and (3) the employer must require the employee to accept the lodging as a condition of employment. Thus, the employee must need to live in the lodging to be able to perform the duties of the employment.
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You need to go to the owners with what would make you happy. Vacation, a sum to help with insurance, a weekend off a month.
For 8 horses, how long are you spending on chores, any way to make it more efficient, and easy on the body? Nothing you can do about the riding time, but chores can usually be cut down a bit. Maybe set different expectations with the owners to cut back the hours on a few of the days.
I would be burnt out quick without at least a weekend a month off and no holidays off.
If you removed the word “horse” from your job discription, would you consider the workload to be reasonable? If you were working in IT or local government or …?
Get your head into gear, talk to your employer, say with extra horses it is now too much work for one person, that you are heading for burnout and that you need to discuss some changes. GET A PROPER CONTRACT for the protection of both parties.
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It’s a shame more grooms and other barn workers don’t think along these lines when they are young. As you say, these are jobs for the young, but not for a lifetime career unless the person has other income or skills that can be used later in life. And by then its often too late to start building up sufficient retirement funds.
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I was a teacher and have a Masters degree in education. I have some retirement income through that and an investment account. I’m doing what I love now, I’m not in it for the money, obviously!
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I know a few barns that run Tue-Sat, and the ‘weekend’ staff is Sun/Mon.
