We had a lot of WS previously overseas but we are now starting to have them in the US now that we’re set up on the farm. We’re a smaller program here (10-14 horses)and show regularly from C-AA shows, mostly in the SC area.
We are offering a brand new furnished apt, all utilities, a stall for a horse, lunch included and there will be lots of riding and instruction. Obviously that all has a significant value attached.
However I’m not in a position to offer healthcare (thanks US system!!) and the person will need to earn money to buy staples so I’m going to have a stipend. I’m trying to decide what is fair and I’m throwing it out there for suggestions.
In the US, the working students generally are parent-funded over and above house/stall/lessons. Shows, additional food, clothing etc. are self (i.e. parent) paid.
Most also do not need health care, because they can stay on their parents’ health care until they are 26.
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It’s not every day you hear WS and “money” in the same sentence. 
There is not enough information in your post to quantify a good stipend for the position.
How many hours is this person going to be working, in actuality?
How many days off do you provide, and are these days consistently scheduled in advance or will it be more of a last minute thing?
What is the current going rate for board and/or rent in your area?
What demographic are you hoping for? Young riders? Teens? Older adult ammies? Generally only the latter would need health-care since usually those under 26 are on their parent’s plans.
What riding skill level does this candidate need? Will they be working with young horses, how does your program benefit them?
Realistically, how often would riding and instruction be included? Is there a former WS? How often did s/he get to ride or be given lessons? This is often the very first “benefit” to fall to the wayside in WS programs, so don’t offset this from your proposed stipend unless you are confident you will meet the metric promised to the student.
This is just my opinion having been in the industry and been involved in many WS programs: I would not offset board of the horse in the WS’ stipend if you want to attract your best candidates. While housing another horse on your property is expensive, in my experience the very best WS’ are in it for their horses and having their horse tied to your program typically makes them take their job much more seriously. I can’t tell you how many fellow WS I have watched crash and burn 10-15 days in because the job is so demanding, unrealistic, the clients are exhausting, or the WS doesn’t get any time to “unwind” with their horse. WS positions are typically full time servants: the job may be advertised as 40-50h a week, but when you only get one day off and you live on the farm, the reality is closer to 70-80h a week…
A good Working Student is skilled labor. Do you want a WS who knows how to wrap bandages appropriately, can see from across the paddock when a horse is subtly lame, notices a missing shoe during turn-in? A WS that is respectful to clients, doesn’t start drama with other people, is a pleasure to have in the barn?
Or do you just need a body to pick stalls and occasionally hack a horse? If it’s the latter, it may be better to find a boarder that wants to work off their board.
I see stipends from $200 to $400/month typically, but keep in mind if this is a young adult that is really not much money at all. Car insurance, groceries and food, gas/travel expenses and even showing will consume that overnight.
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20+ years ago I got over $500 a week plus housing (hotels with other WS as I worked on the road), and I didn’t have my own horse at the time but for showing if there was a horse available for me, I only paid the show/office fees for my classes and did not pay stall, shavings, feed/hay, tack stall splits or any other splits. I paid my own gas (which at the time was like $1/gallon) food, and I was still on my parents’ health insurance. And I think my dad paid my car insurance which also wasn’t much because my car was not new or fancy. I rode a few very green or a little rank horses but for the most part, I got to ride very nice horses. I found a niche tuning up equitation prospects and took lessons with the big eq kids. But that was my skill level at the time. Not all of the WS I was with did that. One focused on ponies for example. I needed little supervision or direction throughout the day. It was 14 hour days on a normal day like no night classes to be there for, 6 days a week. Day 7 was like 8-10 hour day. Doing the math, the pay was pretty terrible, hourly.
So while the cost of the things you are including has gone up since then so has everything else your WS has to pay for. You also have to factor in hours and skill of the individual.
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We are offering a brand new furnished apt, all utilities, a stall for a horse, lunch included and there will be lots of riding and instruction. Obviously that all has a significant value attached.
all are which taxable and most likely subject to payroll taxes (SS and Medicare)
I would run this question through my CPA who knows Farm/Ranch taxes
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This just popped up regarding the WS situation.
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We’ve probably had 25+ working students over the years that came to our farm in Argentina from the US, Central America, etc. We don’t have “boarders” - we’re a training facility.
The primary focus of our WS is riding. Yes, they will help with barn chores (we all do!) but it’s not a stall cleaning position (I’m hiring groom as well which is a straight salary + housing). We do require working students to have good riding experience but we also train so don’t expect them to know everything :-). They will absolutely ride every day and lesson every day and tons of opportunities to show if they would like.
Training board around here is generally 1500 a month- basic board is probably 800. An apt is probably 1000 a month. So it’s a not in substantial benefit package…
The stipend is for them to have money for dinner/gas/whatever. We generally provide lunch.
While you aren’t really wrong, this really rubs me the wrong way. It comes off in the “We’ve always done it this way, so we’re going to keep doing it that way” type of way. Just because WS positions have historically been slave labor positions doesn’t mean that it is right or should continue that way. This is not to imply that OP is looking for slave labor - obviously that is not the case when they are looking for feedback on pay/ stipend.
OP - more info is certainly needed. How many hours? How many days? How many days off? Is the apt shared? What all is expected of the WS? How much riding and how much instruction is “lots”? How much is rent and board for comparable places in your area? It is also important to consider who you want to fill the position. A young WS may work harder for less but will often burn out quickly vs an appropriately compensated AA is often a longer term placement (IMO).
I had a position that advertised a furnished apt which ended up being shared with another person, and was furnished with old, crappy, dirty furniture with a kitchenette vs a full kitchen. Part of the expectation (which was not outlined in the posting or in the interviews) was that I would take care of the BO’s 7 dogs and 5 cats in the house in addition to all of the horse chores. I was assured I would have time to complete my online college courses which didn’t happen. The measly stipend that was included barely covered food and water (which had to be bought as the water at the apt wasn’t drinkable) and the gas to get to and from the store which was 30 min away.
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How many hours a day/week are they expected to work and be at the barn?
If they live on premises, are they also expected to do night check?
How many days off do they get? If they get a day off? Or only half days?
While it may be true that any young rider would be thrilled to cut their teeth on riding client horses, the tone of your posts make it sound as if providing riding opportunities is a favor to the WS. And I may be reading into something that isn’t there based on my experience, which is entirely possible!
If your[g] program provides training rides to client horses and you[g] are charging for clients for it, you are not doing the WS a favor/kindness that has “significant value” by providing ride time and/or training said WS to ride client horses correctly. The WS are doing you a service by exercising the horse - and should be compensated for it. Otherwise what you would be doing is double-dipping - charging the client for training rides and then offsetting the WS’ stipend in light of providing riding time.
Some very simple math that could be a starting point - figure out how much you would have to legally pay someone (including overtime) hourly/weekly/yearly to do what your position entails. Then, factor how much that would cost you a month. Then subtract board and/or rent from that to get a better picture of how exploitative WS positons are. There’s a bell-curve that isn’t in the WS’ favor. Most WS work more than 40h a week, and are legally entitled to OT which is of course rarely paid. That OT pay they never receive would pretty quickly pay for rent and board.
Just some perspective coming from the WS side. I don’t think I ever had a WS gig that was fewer than ~60 hours a week.
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South Carolina does not have minimum wage or overtime laws nor does South Carolina specify a minimum wage
What? This isn’t true. I lived in Aiken, South Carolina for years and worked at several barns and a tack retailer. I often picked up shifts at the warehouse and made OT, which was time and a half for my employer. Even the landscaping company I was with in Aiken paid OT.
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Unless it is for the convenience of the employer.
I’d be interested to know what OP means by the term “working student”. It might be different in US v overseas.
I’ve rarely seen any full time gig in the horse business that was less than 60 hours a week. That’s “only” ten hours a day if you get a day off each week, which many people don’t get.
And “only” a ten hour day at a horse show would be a rare treat. Lol.
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@clanter: Then federal laws govern: South Carolina does not have any state-specific labor laws or overtime statutes . As a result, the Federal FLSA (fair Labor Standards Act) is applicable."
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Our working student program is basically a three month to 12 month intensive riding clinic. They generally ride multiple horses a day, travel to shows and see what it’s like to run a professional program. It’s not a stall cleaning position and it’s certainly not a professional groom position, which is a very different skill set and paid differently. Generally, our working students are going onto a gap year or break from school and are considering becoming professional and want to see what it’s like to ride and work in that capacity. Out of all the ones we’ve had I think only one has gone onto a professional career. Most decided that they would much rather work a 9-to-5 job and have a horse as an amateur and pay someone else to do the work 
Riding multiple horses a day is hard, whether it’s fair or not it’s not really what I’m asking. I’m more just pondering what type of stipend is fair and reasonable, and what people are giving or receiving as working students…
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I just wanted to say that I was very disappointed I didn’t get the chance to apply for your program when you were in South America (I had reached out, unfortunately life didn’t end up giving me a gap year). I read a bunch of past WS blogs and it sounded like a real once in a lifetime experience, and everyone adored your horses. I still follow your FB and wish I could take a half year vacay to take advantage of your program, even if these approaching middle age bones don’t bounce quite as much as they used to!
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- is on the business premises
AND - the employee must accept the housing as a condition of employment
All three criteria must be met for the housing to be exempt from income and payroll taxes.
Any CPA or HR specialist can assist in this issue. It does not need to be a farm or ranch specialist.
I did the live in working student thing for several years. I made $150ish a week + housing (5.5 days work). I also had opportunities to teach, body clip, groom for special occasions, take client horses for off site training/exposure rides (off site trail rides or schooling shows) for extra cash from the client directly. One of the best times of my life!
I did not have any support from my parents. I had already paid off my loan on my (at that time) 10 year car and it was in great shape. My only other expenses were my cell phone, some student loan payments and car insurance. I learned how to body clip and used that money to pay off the balance of my student loan the first winter. I think I actually saved money when I was a measly working student!
A lot of that really depends upon the culture/atmosphere in the barn. “Fair and reasonable” depends a lot on the quality of your teaching, and the quality of the WS skills. I see a lot of people wanting already highly skilled help. They don’t really have the capacity to teach much, at all. They offer a highly trained person the opportunity to TEACH THEMSELVES in the middle of a level/situation they cannot access another way. There are people who are such a dream to work for, and people that no amount of $$ will be enough.
Your post is putting a lot of the responsibility upon outside/mechanical factors. But the biggest are internal to you. Are YOU fair, are YOU reasonable, are YOU a good teacher/mentor, etc? I have seen miserable jerks at the fanciest farms, and angels of insight running a barn of delighted clients and workers at marginal dumps.
Are you a great teacher/mentor/paragon of grace and gratitude ? That is a huge factor in the equation of “what people are giving or receiving.” That’s the biggest key. That’s the biggest factor.
WS positions rarely offer ‘results.’ As in, it rarely provides a building block to future success. So an excellent experience, is really all that can be reliably provided.
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