Horse & Pet Sitter Rates

[PonyPilot]

I’m going to be using a horse sitter for the first time in a few years this November. I have two horses, two cats (indoor) and one dog (indoor). I’ve had her out to meet me and the animals and she’s happy to watch them. When I asked what her rates were she told me whatever I thought was fair. I’ve been out of the animal sitting game for a while, so I’m not sure what the rates are these days for caring for my animals while I’m away.

I was hoping there were some horse/pet sitters or people that have used a horse/pet sitter recently that might be able to share some insight on what a fair price is for this service. I will be gone all day on a Saturday and returning in the next afternoon on that Sunday (1 day and 1 morning I’ll be gone). This means she would need to do two A.M. and one P.M. with the animals. She said her routine for a day is to do the A.M. routine, then come back for the P.M. routine and then she comes back later at night to let the dog out once more before bed. How great is that? I didn’t think I’d be able to find someone to come let my dog out before bed. Anyway, I just want to make sure I’m paying her fairly and am mostly worried about not paying enough! I should also mention I live in MD.

What does everyone think is a fair per day, per hour, per whatever amount? (Apologies if this is posted in the wrong area. I thought this question would fit best here.)

[kaya842]

I have 2 horses ( and inside pets but family takes care of the inside pets) and pay $25 per feeding for the sitter to pick either stalls or paddock, top off water (I always scrub everything the day before we leave and fill to the max), check hay (only has to do hay if I’m gone for 3+ days), and dump grain which is all prepackaged. She does a great job and I usually tip on top of the pet feeding.

[MorganMaresVT]

I have someone I’m using for a very similar visit schedule and she only charges $60/day, which to me seems far too low. She’s helping us out for a 5 day trip this fall, and I’ll probably add a “tip” to get closer to what seems more reasonable. I was fully expecting to pay at least $100/day and even after I told her that she stuck with her usual rate.

[Gardenhorse]

I pay $30/visit just for two indoor cats. You guys are getting a bargain!

[trubandloki]

When deciding on the price, make sure she is actually making something above what it is going to cost her to drive there.

You might start with estimating how much time things will take, grab a fair hourly rate and then add fuel charges on top of that. Compare that number to the numbers tossed out here and wherever else you ask.

[clanter]

@PonyPilot

When I asked what her rates were she told me whatever I thought was fair.

we care for some dogs who do not do well boarded at a kennel, their owners pay us the local high end kennel rate for their two large dogs of one hundred dollars a day.

[ClearDonkey]

I pay a gracious amount to any sitter that is willing to commit to my level of care, so that they’ll want to keep coming back. We had a teenage boy come and do twice daily check-ins when we had a kitten that’d be home alone solo for the first time, at too young of an age where we were concerned it’d negatively impact her long term. For two visits a day, for a few days, we paid him around $30/visit or $60/day. His Mom made him come back and try to give us some money back!

If I were to pay for my two dogs, cat, two horses, and fish tanks to be cared for in a house-sitting deal, I’d readily pay $100+/day. I’d likely pay her $200-300, as well as providing a thank you card and maybe a gift card to a local restaurant. Finding a horse sitter around here is near impossible, so I’d want to pay well to maintain the contact.

[PonyPilot]

I was thinking something like $100 a day ($50 per visit) for horses alone! This is great information, thanks for sharing!

[PonyPilot]

Great thought! She lives less than 10 minutes from my house so the commute is super easy, but I’d still want to cover what gas she does use getting here.

Are those Bull Terrier ears I spy in your profile picture? I have a BT too

[PonyPilot]

Great info, thanks! My poor boy would be a nervous wreck in a kennel situation.

[PonyPilot]

I am right there with you on this! I want to know what a fair wage would be so I can pay over that and make sure she wants to come back again! It really is hard to find someone you can trust with your animals. I get so anxious leaving them, so it helps to know someone who is responsible and competent is there to look after them. I love the idea of adding a gift card to a thank you card as well. That’s a really nice touch.

[victoriakent]

So much depends on how long it takes and what they have to do. I will usually pay a friend’s teen/college student $50 a night to stay at my house with my two dogs, which just includes feeding them twice a day and opening the back door for them to run around before work, after work, and a few times in the evening. They also get to use our paddle boards, kayaks, fishing access on the water too, and I will sometimes allow a friend to join them if I really trust them. Half the time they are just excited to get out of their parent’s house a bit.

When my barn owner is out of town I usually just volunteer to take a few shifts since she doesn’t charge me nearly enough for board anyway.

[luvmyhackney]

I’m traveling in Oct. I’ve gotten rates across the board from 75.00 a day to 175.00 a day for two dogs, 2 horses, 1 pony, 2 goats. All chores are less than 30 minutes and less than 800 steps depending on where you park and coming out 1x per day in the evening. Technically my husband is home and they won’t have to touch the dogs but still including them just in case.

I am requiring them to be insured.

[Libby2563]

I’m also in MD (greater DC suburbs) and have a similar number of creatures. Over the past 10 years I have paid between $35-75/day for 2-3 horses and 0-2 dogs (sometimes family takes care of the dogs). I would expect to be on the higher end these days with inflation, the job market, and the increased minimum wage.

This summer I paid a trusted college kid $75/day for three visits a day (AM bring in/feed horses and dog care, midday dog pee break but she also opted to pick stalls and check hay/water, PM feed/turn out/clean stalls and dog care). A friend came over in the evening for pre-bedtime pee break because I didn’t want to ask her to come four times a day. She tried to charge me $25/day because she said all of it only took her an hour a day added together. I told her no way was I paying her that little and sent her $75/day. If you can find a good person, the peace of mind is well worth erring on the side of more money so they want to come back. Sadly she is off to college so I’ll have to find someone else anyway.

My neighbor is apparently living in 1990s prices and expects to pay no more than $10/hr for barn labor or $20-40/day for farmsitting. Shockingly, she can never find anyone who thinks that’s worth their time… I also think it’s weird that often horse people expect to pay less per day than you would for just dog sitting.

One thing I try to keep in mind is that when I’m away, the pay should reflect the farmsitter’s level of responsibility in the event of an emergency or unexpected chores like a broken fence. I expect to pay more per hour than if someone just turns out and cleans stalls for me one afternoon because I’m stuck at work.

[IPEsq]

In the ballpark of $100/day for farm menagerie sitting.

[Janet]

I have had the same horse sitter for almost 30 years. She is very reliable, and has handled some significant crises. Usually the horses are out 24/7 with access to their stalls, so minimal mucking and no hay, just feed and water. But she won’t let me pay extra if a horse has an abscess and needs to be soaked, or given meds, etc.

She charges $10 per visit plus $5 per horse. I have 2 horses, so $20 per visit.

This year one of mine is confined to the stall most of the day because of IR, so more stall mucking. I have been adding on a bit, and she has not said anything one way or another about it.

[DiamondJubilee]

What a timely post! We are going away at the end of next month for a week. The farm sitter I use was an FEI groom and has taken care of 3 of my ponies and 1 dog while I was at a horse show with 2 of my other ponies. She lives close but lived in my house as she could work from home. My chores and ponies are pretty easy and with feeding, stalls, turn ins and outs, it takes about 1.5hr/day to do everything (split up of course). My dog was fairly easy and just needed a few walks around the property to tire her out. She asked for $100/day which I easily paid.

She is coming back for me at the end of September to watch and care all 4 of my ponies - one will still be in rehab but should be easy with just some meds in the am, round ring turnout and stable bandage re wrapped every day, I will have my dog and we sold one of our ponies. She is asking for the same amount ($100/day) and will be living at our house as well when we are gone.

[Foxglove]

I have 4 horses, one dog, two cats. I pay the house/horse sitter (she stays in the house) $60 every 24 hours for non-hay days (summer), $100 every 24 hours for days when she has to put out hay (winter). I usually add $ if it is an extended time as I ask her to vacuum before she leaves (pet hair). She leaves the place in perfect condition and washes her own towels and sheets.

[MapleFarm]

In VA (Western)- $25-30 / visit for two horses whether they come in (and need stalls cleaned) or not. And one barn cat. She also scrubs buckets and takes great care of them! So, $50-60 per day. I can’t remember if she upped it to 30/visit from 25, or to 25 from 20 last year, but in that range.
To be fair, we live within 15 minutes of her, so it isn’t a great distance to drive.
Not sure what her rate is to house sit totally. I normally tip and extra visits worth of $, but haven’t been away more than a few days yet. If we were gone a week I’d probably tip more like $100.