I am relatively new to my area and have horses at home. Finding a farm sitter has been challenging. Used someone new recently and she was really, really fabulous. Super conscientious, good with the animals, great communication, very competent.
Used her again for a long weekend and just got back. Really think that she had a friend do AM chores instead as stalls were very subpar. Lots of wet bedding left with clean bedding just raked over, lots of ground in manure. Just not at all what I saw last time she was here. Hose was also left on, and being one of those magic expandable ones prone to bursting, itâs just very, very lucky that it held all afternoon and evening. But all animals were happy and nothing terrible happened. Was just very much not what I expected.
Well, former farm-sitter here⊠also someone who struggled immensely to find a farm sitter for my own critters!
If she is currently your only option, I would let it go. Donât burn the bridge of the only farm sitter you have.
Thank her, pay her, but if you are unhappy, start putting feelers out there again for someone new. If it turns out you canât replace her, next time you have her out, I might gently do a refresher on your expectations for the stalls and stress the importance of turning the hose off, etc.
When I was a farm-sitter, I would always try to go above and beyond. I wanted to give 110% every job (and would burn myself out doing so). But sometimes, my own life got in the way. Like getting a call that your own horse is having a vet emergency while on an overnight job elsewhere, etc. That doesnât mean I neglected my farm-sitting responsibilities, but there were unfortunate times when I had to skimp on the quality of some non-essential extras. If you text her to thank her, you may learn something like that occurred.
As a farm sitter myself I would suggest a text asking if all went well over the weekend, mention the hose being left on in a non-accusatory way. On occasion Iâve had crap happen that interfered with doing my best work. Also, please always leave a written note or email with your instructions. People forget that I stay at lots of different places with lots of different instructions and I forget details like when garbage day is and which horse gets which meds. That doesnât excuse doing a bad job cleaning stalls but will help your future farm sitters. Also, if possible, simplify your routines as much as possible. I have one client that has the most convoluted, time wasting chores procedures ( lead the horse up and down the driveway 4 times, soak the nets of hay then place them in a laundry basket and drag it down the barn aisle to the last stall - I always used the hose at the end of the barn closed to the stall ). When I have a farm sitter I delete any non-essential meds and supplements and simplify as much as possible.
Iâm in your shoes. When you donât need consistent help, itâs hard to find someone to come in a few days to do the barn twice a day.
Iâve used the same farm sitter a few times now. Sheâs a nice girl. Sheâs knowledgable. I donât ever have to worry about my horses while sheâs looking after them (she noticed the starts of cellulitis on one of my old guys that I might have even overlooked!) But she doesnât do things the way I do them. And thatâs understandable.
Her stall cleaning skills are not as meticulous as mine. And I feel like she too overlooks some small details around the barn. But I think sheâs too busy reading my list, trying to make things perfect, itâs easy to over look little things. (Like remembering to turn the hose off).
My point - good, as needed, help is hard to find. Donât burn your bridge. You may not be able to replace her. But, next time I would slyly mention that youâre not comfortable with anyone else handling the horses for insurance purposes. Keep it civil. Donât be confrontational, but do say that she is to be doing the work, not someone else.
For the hose I think all farm owners and most home owners should have these on the faucet. I donât know if you should use it in the winter on a frost free- probably not.
I have forgotten to turn the water off to the koi pond or dog wading pool one too many times. Now I just set it to 15 minutes or 30 minutes depending on how much water I need in the pond/pool and it is no big deal if I forget it. It turns itself off. There are ones that are digital and much more expensive but we normally get 2 years out of the mechanical ones. We can normally get them at Loweâs.
It is just one more layer of protection to prevent overfilling the water trough or just forgetting to turn off the hose. It is great for sprinklers too.
This. Used a local knowledgeable young lady who is a college student. Used her first for a long weekend we went to CO and she was great. Then just a couple of months ago while we were in Africa for two weeks, and was just okay. I left meticulous directions about the routines as she was taking care of cats, dogs and horses. Left multiple copies of instructions around and fortunately for the dogs and cats had redundancies as far as feeding and water stations were concerned. Good thing as some bowls obviously never got food replenished and were empty and had been empty. Water bowls dry; water bowls with scummy green water. I called her upon our return and after finding empty bowls and dirty water to see if she had even been out that morning and she responded emphatically that she had. Everyone was okay so I let it go. She was very well compensated, but I do think she had over-extended herself between taking care of my place, maybe a couple of other places in addition to, plus work. I let it go. Didnât like it, but I let it go.
As a former farm sitter, there were definitely times where my work wasnât as great as it normally was. Most of the time, I would go way above and beyond at a clientâs barn (herringbone rake the aisle and sweep/shop-vac cobwebs) since that would always help me get referred to other people. I honestly spent a lot more time and effort at these client barns than I did at my own. But, once I had so many jobs (at one point, I was a 75-hour-a-week sitter/freelance barn worker), there were times when my quality did diminish a bit if I had one too many barns to do on that Tuesday night. It was nothing ever detrimental to the animals, but sometimes the stalls werenât cleaned immaculately or the tank went three days instead of two without being scrubbed.
She might have had something else going on in her life that affected her work - not that that is an excuse, but sometimes things happen. If her work is normally good, I would just pay her, thank her, but ask how things were. Definitely donât be confrontational at all about it. If a client ever asked me, I would be straight up with what had happened and apologize profusely. Be nice and understanding about it all, especially if she is the only person you have right now. If you have another experience with lacking quality, I would start looking for other help, but donât burn this bridge right now.
I donât think she did a bad job. I donât think SHE did it at all. I think she had a friend come over and do AM chores. I donât know for sure, but the whole style of stall cleaning was not what it was last time.
I leave a detailed description. I am easily available. The job is as simple as it can be. I am not a huge stickler and understand things will not be done exactly so. I pay well, with a stocked fridge.
Would you all be okay with a farm sitter who âsubletâ out parts of the job to someone youâve not met, without telling you?
I donât want to burn this bridge, if possible, but Iâm not okay with someone else coming out and doing the work, if thatâs what happened.
Praise her for the first job completed then
explain because
YES
SHE needs to know ⊠face to face ⊠explain the hose and ALL your concerns ⊠she needs to know ⊠you do not want a hose left on during the winter !
Reitereate you would like to have her âhorse sitâ in the future.
Good Luck and also start looking for another possible sitter or two.
No, I would not be happy with someone who âsub contractedâ some of the work; especially if I wasnât informed. However, ask yourself which youâd prefer - no one coming out at all, or the farm sitter getting a substitute worker when she was in a jam?
Having been a farm sitter/free lance barn manager for a lot of years, I agree with the other farm sitters who have posted - sometimes you end up waaaaaayyyy over committed and you have to make some hard choices. Itâs the nature of the business - itâs not a full time, regular job - you accept most of the work offered and try to figure out a way to schedule it all. So if I had a new injury at the previous barn that required clipping, cleaning and 20 minutes of cold hosing, and I am 30 minutes behind schedule when I get to your place, I might pick stalls rather than do a thorough job so Iâm not late to the next barn.
And no client/farm owner is happy being the one with the picked stalls or the unswept barn aisle; but if the horseâs care wasnât truly compromised, I would let it go.
BTW, I think that the farm sitter was overextended is a much more likely scenario than the substitute worker.
Have you talked to her at all since you got back? Yes, having somebody else come out to do the work without telling you is an issue, but if something major happened, there might not have been an option that still allowed for your horses to be taken care of before. I was headed to a barn one afternoon when I found out that my father was being taken to the hospital, so I went there instead and had my coworker from another barn run out and do chores. Thankfully, the client knew the other girl, so it wasnât a problem, but something like that couldâve happened. On the flip side, Iâve been called before to go do afternoon shift at a barn that I hadnât worked at for years because the manager had her personal horse at another barn had a field accident and couldnât be there to work with all of the volunteers. She called me out of the blue after we hadnât talked for about two years, but I went to help. The owner was told that I was coming and was ok with it all. I would just talk to her. Again, be understanding, but make sure that she knows where you stand on all of this. Props to her for making other arrangements if she had an issue elsewhere, but she definitely shouldâve asked you first.
Would you feel comfortable asking her in a non-confrontational manner if she did have someone help her with the work? I know it can be hard doing that by text because thereâs so much room for miscommunication, but at the same time a phone call can make it seem more serious if you usually talk by text.
If you donât want to be direct, you could say, âHey, I asked my neighbors to keep an eye out for unusual cars while we were gone and they said they saw something other than your car one morning. Did you by any chance have someone else help you with chores?â Thatâs obviously deceptive and only works if you have neighbors within sight, but it doesnât introduce the additional friction of starting the conversation with the observation that her work was below expectations.
If she says yes, you can explain that for next time, that is not okay short of an emergency (and in the event of an emergency, she needs to clear the person with you first or use your designated backupâI always leave contact info for a backup). If she says no though, youâre in the same position, and now youâre also wondering whether sheâs lying to you, which is even worse than subletting the workâŠ
There is unfortunately always the risk of having someone get mad or quit when you try to talk about an issue, and you should obviously not burn a bridge that you canât afford to burn, but I would argue that part of being âgoodâ farmsitter is being professional in oneâs dealings. That includes being able to field sincere questions or concerns from a client.
In any case, I think you have to decide which bothers you more - not knowing why some chores were not done well and the possibility that the same will happen in the future, or the possibility of losing this farmsitter.
For the record, I think that it would be totally reasonable to call her up or have an in-person chat (would avoid text to avoid misunderstandings of tone). If someone sincerely said to me, âhey, I really appreciate your help and the horses look great, but I have some concerns about the condition of the stalls and the equipment, can you help me understand why they were so different than the first time you were here?â I would not be offended. Depending on her answer, you can evaluate where to go next and theoretically let her know how youâd prefer it handled in the future, whether that would be to get your permission in advance, or just let you know whatâs going on. Or perhaps it tells you that you donât trust her, either because you think sheâs lying or because she just. . . didnât do a good enough job.
I think you need to address this. Not in a confrontational way, but just sort of matter-of-fact. You can either do this now or when you engage her for the next time. I would vote for now, but that is just me.
You need to tell her that you appreciate her work and her knowledge, but you found two concerning things when you arrived home.
Ask her outright if she had someone else come to do the work. Donât get into a story about neighbors keeping an eye out (unless this is true). Just ask her. And if she says yes, and then explains why, let her know your stance on this. For me, I would most likely be okay with a substitute, but would want her to be proactive and let me know. I would not have to necessarily know ahead of time to give permission, but I would appreciate her sending me a text saying something like âemergency came up and I had to ask XXX to feed and water this AM. Let me know if all is not okay when you return home.â I would think that a reliable sitter who had to ask a friend to substitute would want to know if said friend did not do a good job.
Do you have proof she had a friend do the chores? (cameras, etc.) I would not make any sort of accusation of the sort unless you are positive it occurred. Even if done tactfully and politely, youâre probably going to burn your bridge. I like to think I am reasonable and professional, but if someone asked me if I did the work myself when I did, the next time they called, Iâd turn down the job.
If you are truly concerned, your best bet is to speak to her in person and state what you observed. âI noticed the water was left on and it looks like someone left in a hurry, was everything ok?â (I may or may not mention the stalls)
Itâs a tough situation. I completely understand how you feel-- I believe most people would be upset to learn that a farm sitter âsubcontractedâ their job to another, if that was indeed the case. But then again, I would also rather a farm sitter who is responsible enough to make sure the work gets done no matter what instead of neglecting their charges because something came up in their own life.
Also, speaking as a farm sitter, the communication issue when events happen in your personal life can sometimes be tricky. You donât want to unnecessarily worry your clients with your personal business, but you also donât want them to feel like you are being deceptive. I would never text an out of town client something like, âhey, my own horse is colicking so Iâm going to be in a rush when I clean your stalls this morning,â because Iâd be concerned the clients would worry unnecessarily whether or not their animals were receiving appropriate care. I would, however, text/call a client, âI have to go to the hospital with my colicking horse so Iâm going send a friend over to clean your stalls this afternoonâ if that were indeed the situation. Others might feel differently.
I think you should bring up your concerns, but in a way that keeps her as your farm sitter. It sounds like she may have done your work in a hurry and didnât do as good of a job on the stalls and forgot to turn off the water. If I were you, Iâd probably only bring up the water being left on, as that could potentially turn into a huge problem. The stalls being not as clean as youâd like is a non-issue to the short term health and welfare of your horses and your farm.
I do some farm sitting for a very particular person and always try to do my best job. I have forgotten minor things, like the schedule that each stall gets 1/2 bag of shavings added, or leaving a gate open in an empty field, but nothing that would jeopardize the horses, farm, or future work.
I find it interesting that so many people are âdo not offend the pet sitter no matter how poor of a job they doâ.
When I did pet sitting it was all about communication.
If the pet sitter had an emergency that required her to do a less than best work or have a substitute fill in then the pet sitter should have communicated that by now. In this day, there is no reason to not text or email or call.
I am not saying that leaving the hose on does not happen at my own house, but if I was being paid to take care of a barn it is my job to pay attention to the small details, and a hose being on is one of them. I would, if nothing else, would have wanted the opportunity to apologize to the home owner for missing that (hose being on).
Not much to add, besides the fact that Iâve been on both sides of this and neither is a great side to be on.
There is also the possibility that she had a friend (boyfriend, whatever) come along with her and while he/she cleaned the stalls, she fed and turned horses out and then didnât check his/her work. If your farm sitter is overcommitted or just had to get to someplace on time that morning, I can see them dragging some unwilling party out of bed to help. Our pregnant petsitter brought her boyfriend along to clean the boxes, and he was NOT a cat person. The house reeked. When I learned WHY, I was ok with it. Until I learned why, I was pissed.
I think âdo not offend the pet sitter no matter how poor of a job they doâ is extreme in this situation. Poorly cleaned stalls and leaving a hose on are not ârake the pet sitter over the coalsâ offenses.
The issue of whether or not there was a substitute performing the duties is a serious one, but from everything the OP has said so far, the only hint that the pet sitter might have not done the chores herself is the sloppy work. The OPâs gut instinct might be dead on, but those of us who have done the job for a long time also know that there are a million and one reasons why you might perform less than your best.
Should the farm sitter have communicated? Sure. I know I usually would leave a note or send a text, âIâm so sorry the stalls are sloppy-- I had to run out because XYZ happened!â But forgetting or not thinking to leave that type of communication is a pretty minor lapse in judgement, all things considered.
If youâve had challenges finding a sitter in the past and the only verifiable complaints are poorly cleaned stalls and leaving a hose on, it does not seem like a good idea to upset the apple cart in my eyes. At least not without finding a replacement first.
If I were a farm sitter, I would quit if someone made up a story about the neighbors to pry into whether someone else did the workâŠ
If I were the farm owner, I wouldnât say anything about either of the issues, I would just do a refresher of the chores and emphasize that the hose needs to be turned off (without saying it was left on) before the next vacation.
I know I am a sensitive person, but I still like to treat others how I would like to be treated and that involves giving people the benefit of the doubt when they have not royally messed up. If they have royally messed up, then donât use them againâŠ
