I am having a very hard time finding barn workers. What avenues do you use to find barn help?
i am just looking for basic barn chores not show grooming or horse care.
Check in with your local ffa, colleges, post on bulletin boards at the feed store…Facebook has been hit or miss on help wanted for us.
Craigslist - anytime I hear or read Craigslist for anything, I think Serial Killers.
I once inquired about a leaf mulcher and told the guy that DH and I wanted to come and look at it. All of a sudden he started discouraging me from looking at it, stating he was sure it wasn’t what I wanted. That was at least ten years ago and I have not looked at CL for anything since——.
We can’t find help either. The high school and college age kids say they would rather work at McDonald’s for less $$ so they can meet girls.
we rely on three young men where DH works who are go getters. However their side hustle is a landscaping service so they aren’t always available unless we have a big job like putting up hay or sawing a sixty foot tree off the fence:(
best of luck, OP, in your search:)
I find my barn help through the local 4-H horse and pony club. I put a notice on the table where members come into meetings (I did this in January) asking for stable help and making it clear that the job was to clean stalls and do general barn work --no riding (some kids think if you say stable work they will be riding the horses). I made it clear that the worker would have to provide his/her own transportation. The girl I hired is one of ten-15 I’ve had over the last 30 years –
I get good help because I pay well (I am competing with McDonalds), I am extremely flexible on hours --kids can work around their sports practices, and I never expect a worker to do something I cannot or will not do. Further, I was a high school teacher for 40 years —I do praise a good job when deserved, and gently critique a job that needs done better. But I mostly reward with cash --do a great job --you earn extra money. All the “Wow, good work!” doesn’t mean as much as an extra $10 in the day’s pay. And I involve parents --I show the parents (who are picking up said kid) the great job he/she did on the painted gate; the nicely cleaned barn, and other things done well.
Until the kid is 16, I work with them in the barn (or close enough that I can see him or her). Worker may be cleaning stalls, I may be mowing —but I do not leave anyone under 16 unsupervised.
This may be more than you want to do —but it has worked for me for 30 plus years --my stable help often becomes my farm sitter, and the job is handed off to younger brothers and sisters when the current help leaves for college.
But make no mistake --i am not friends with my help. At almost 70, I don’t need a 16 year old friend. So we keep it professional —
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might go the Tom Sawyer when he was painting the fence route and hang a sign out “No Help Needed, Stop Asking”
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As a barn worker myself, I look heavily on yardandgroom and Facebook. I specifically like yardandgroom because I can contact people off of their posted ads but also employers looking for workers can contact people. As for Facebook, I find a lot on Facebook groups (ex: Area II Eventing Facebook Group) Craigslist is ok, but I’m also on that stereotype that it’s sketchy. LinkedIn and Indeed pop up a lot, but I don’t think those appeal to the people like me that are under 25, in my opinion. You could also put ads up at local horse shows. I also agree with contacting the local schools through their 4H and Ag programs.
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Another vote for FFA. I know of someone who found an outstanding, mature, reliable, young woman through the local high school.
Thanks, tried the facebook route a few times. Been very hit and miss. I will try yard and groom as well-thank you
I hire local Amish kids to do misc. farm work like picking bales etc. they are always looking for a way to make money and they work super hard. You usually have to go pick them up and drop them off though unless they have some other way to get to your place. I hire the same five kids each year to pick and stack hay. Including drive time to and from the field they can usually get all 600-ish bales put up in under 8 hours. Phenomenal work ethic so I make sure I pay them well because they are worth every penny.
I’ve found the same thing on FB–frankly, the people who are good at the work probably have enough of it that they don’t need to trawl FB for it :-/
Word of mouth seems to be the best. Ask every person you know who knows anything about horses if they know if anyone who might be interested.
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And offer to pay them well! So many barns pay absolute crap and expect the help to work their butts off.
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Locally we have a couple of FB groups that are specifically for barn jobs (ISO help or looking for work.) FB does have a nice feature that lets you do a bit of screening before you contact people - they apply and you can have them respond to questions like whether or not they have their own transportation, etc.
I have just a small private place, not a show barn, but I want anyone working here to have experience handling show horses, even if they are just doing basic barn chores. I am willing to pay for that experience, because it is peace of mind for me, and means I have to spend less time managing my help - so I can focus on MY job which is what pays for it all.
Currently I have 3 horses at home and the job is AM feed, mucking, turnout and tidying the barn, then coming back in the afternoon to bring in, do a light grooming and change blankets if warranted. It is a pretty efficient set up - no long walks to the paddocks, horses are all well behaved, and we muck into a spreader so no need to trudge back and forth to a muck heap. It takes about 2 -2/12 hours a day, 6 days a week and I pay $375 which is a very attractive hourly rate. For that reason, I have had no trouble finding competent, reliable help.
If you are a boarding barn ask fellow boarders if they would be interested in doing some barn work for discounts on their board price. Find a younger girl/boy that cannot afford horses the opportunity to ride a horse in exchange.
I have a friend coming over twice a week to feed and picking up stalls. If she strip the stalls, I pay extra. They key is pay well, VERY WELL. It’s so hard to find good independent worker, especially for the small herd I have. The extra pay is for the trouble she incurs to have to drive to my place, also for her independence and reliability. I work full time and don’t have time to supervise anybody. She is given a lot of flexibility. She comes at the hours convenient to her, and I have no problem at all if she needs to switch days. If she wants to bring the kids over when she work, I’m totally fine with it. When you find a good worker, treasure him/her. They can be your god send, or nightmare.
