I’m sure this has been asked before, but I’m just wondering what most people pay to have someone come to their home twice a day to feed, water, turnout, pick stalls, etc. Not staying at the home, just coming by AM and PM. Or if you do this, how much do you charge?
Thanks!
I pay $25 per trip charge. The ladies that do this though will do stalls, feed, t/o, and if it is hot and the horses need a shower, they will gladly do this too. They treat my horses as if they were theirs. I love’m!
I get $50 a horse. I do am/pm feedings, stalls, outside hay nets, blankets (in the winter), and hosing/fly spray (summer), basically I treat them like they are mine.
To have any value you have to know where people are located, prices vary hugely from area to area. I live in an expensive area, and last summer I paid $100/day for someone to housesit, dog and cat sit, and care for five horses out 24/7. Not exactly what you were asking, but thought it might be a bit helpful anyway.
For each visit- $10 + $5 per horse
With 4 horses, and 2 visits per day, that is $60 per day.
When needed, she has called and met the vet, soaked feet, bandaged legs, and won’t let me pay more.
I was just thinking about this, and this just another option thrown out there. In my circle around here many of us barter services. For example, if your house/horse sitter has a horse but no trailer, maybe offer to trailer her somewhere in exchange for her services at a lower rate.
We do this all the time. My farrier shoes my horse for free in turn I started giving her daughter lessons and I watch their dogs when they are out of town.
Just a thought.
The price I was quoted here in Oklahoma was $200/day, and that was for horses out 24x7, no stalls to do. Grain/hay twice a day, top off water tanks, scoop some kibble for the dogs…about 1 1/2 hours work per day. No additional ‘services’ offered - and one person wanted to be able to stay in my house, though they had no interest in staying here, just in using it as a convenience (oh, and please stock the refrigerator and the liquor cabinet).
I don’t know, but I’d love to find out what people in my part of the world - near Myrtle Beach, SC - charge for this kind of thing. All my friends have kind of a reciprocal arrangement, which works great until everyone wants to go away at once. I’d love to find someone I could hire.
$200 per day???
Are they insane–or am I?? At this moment, I’m pet sitting in WV for 2 dogs & 3 cats. I’m staying in the home, bring my own food & can telework out of the house, which is good because I share a vehicle with my son. I sincerely hope I do NOT meet the neighborhood bears :eek:
Non-horse homes start at $35 per overnight stay. Animals with medical issues are more on a case-by-case basis. Drop-in visits have their own rates.
I have one place with 3-4 horses, a llama (in PM out AM) & a veritable zoo of easy indoor animals. They pay me $400 for a week and $140 a weekend.
The home I’m currently watching has given me permission to use the movie projector, jacuzzi tub and huge washer/dryer for my quilts or whatever else I’d like to wash instead of going to the laundromat. I’m toying with washing my horse blankets.
My BO paid a sitter $100 a day to stay in her house and feed and clean for 2 house cats and one house rabbit; feed and clean for about 60 show rabbits in their air conditioned barn (with hosing most cages so only a few to actually clean out), feeding 3 dogs who had their own room and lived mostly outside, feeding 3 barn cats and for feeding 11 horses and ponies 2x a day. Only 2 horses stayed in at night/day, so stall cleaning was at a minimum. Use of all facilities of course in the house. Rural SE GA western side of Savannah.
I charge anywhere between $30-$60+/day depending on how many animals, how much work, how many visits per day, if it’s overnight, etc. etc.
My $30/day folks are mainly just dogs or cats or a couple easy horses that live out. Clients in the $60/day range are large barns with stalls to clean, lots of turning in and out, boarders to communicate with, and so on. Everything else falls in between.
I have three horses and pay $20/day…but all she does is throw hay a.m. and p.m., feed grain that I’ve pre-measured and bagged for her and check the water trough. I have others who clean the paddocks and stalls. My horses have free access in or out of their stalls, and spend most of their time out, so there’s not much else to do, no turnout to manage. My sitter lives down the street. I board my dog at a kennel when I leave town.
I care for 40 horses that are pasture kept 2x’s a day 7 days a week. Grain for all horses and hay to one pasture, top off water, fix water line etc that need attention.
Then I go to stables where I have 6 horses I clean stalls once a day and feed/water 2x’s a day.
I travel approx.60 miles per day and do not get a day off.
What would you charge for that?
I charge trip charge of 25.00 and 10.00 a horse per day. That includes stalls, water tanks cleaned and filled twice per day. Fly spray and hosed as needed. All hay grain supplements and meds given as per owners instructions. I’m in the Raleigh NC area. I also text or email daily updates.
I do this for a farm about 3 miles up the road from me. Check horses twice a day, grain, water, pick stalls (horses are out 24/7 but they sometimes leave manure in the stalls). This time was of a week’s duration and I checked the horses three times a day because one mare had just had a vet visit for mild laminitis before they left for vacation. I received a $125.00 Tractor Supply gift card. I think I’m cheap. 
This is four three full-sized horses and two mini horses.
As part of the “service” I also eyeball each horse each visit and check for any lumps, bumps or cuts. This time the large Belgian had a skin scrape on his sheath that needed cleaning and ointment put on. I also post photographs and message the owners every day, since they like that.
I made about $90 a day to feed/muck/turnout/bring in water, fly spray and shower 3 very spoiled horses about 5 years ago. I’d imagine I was getting paid a great rate but also feel like in Florida that was about the going rate in other places.
You dont’ mention how many horses. That will impact price, because the more horses, the greater risk for problems arising, the more responsibility, the less able I am to block off time to work elsewhere.
If you want someone brainless to throw food, clean poo, fill waters, then pay them $7 an hour and keep your fingers crossed. Any old high school kid should be just fine. Provided they actually show up.
If you want someone who’ll walk a fenceline daily, ensure the water’s off and tub isn’t leaking, check shoes/ pick feet, recognize colic, know how to treat a laceration, flip a cast horse, who can communicate succinctly with your vet and assist in an emergency situation, then the first hour is $35 and each additional hour is billed at a lesser rate depending upon layout of barn, horse manners, equipment, etc.
If someone wants me to stay on the property, prices average from $80 to $150+/ day depending upon headcount, and the items listed above. And yes, it would be nice if you asked me what I eat for breakfast and stocked the pantry with that, but I certainly don’t expect it.
I charge for all things mentions 20.00 a visit
if its 3 visits I get $55 FOR THE DAY
If its a single visit $25.
visits are no less than an hour if its over an hour its additional $10 an hour .
if Im staying at your house its a $100.00 bc you are getting 12 hours of my time. for emergencies . ect.
Most petsitters carry care ,custody and control insurance so we pay this yearly .Thats why we need to charge what we do my premium usually runs $500.00 up front so I have to make this before I see a profit . and doesnt include gas or maintance on my vehicle . Thank goodness I drive a Prus
I pay $25/visit for 6 horses, 3 dogs, and 6 cats. I pay more if I need stalls cleaned or someone needs special care. She also doesn’t charge me extra for the rescue horses who are here (if any). I try to always tip well because I know I’m getting a deal.
And I trust her to do right by me and my horses. She’s had to deal with two emergencies in the past five years and did right by us.
Last summer when I was on crutches I paid a girl $25/day for four months to come in the mornings to feed grain, throw hay, water, turn out and clean stalls for four horses. She would also get the stalls set up for the evening so my mom only had to bring the horses in and put them in their stalls, nothing else required. She was a godsend - kept the barn clean and tidy, even organized my cabinet in the aisle with all my brushes and miscellaneous crap in it. I’m in the far west Chicago suburbs.
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