I will be using a horse sitter this Christmas break for the first time. She will be stopping by our farm once a day to refill hay and water, check on the horses, and muck the dry lot while we’re visiting family for nine days. We live in Wisconsin so it’ll likely be pretty brutal in terms of travel due to road conditions and doing chores in the cold/wind/snow. I know this differs due to location, but in general, what do you think I should expect to pay?
In NE Kansas, I have a friend who does this for 10/hr, though she did say she knows others who do it for a lot more than her.
Can she stay at your place during this time? It would make driving hazards go down at the least which I am sure she would appreciate? You can always pay her hourly for the actual barn care, but throw in staying at the house and avoiding driving in bad weather as a perk? 10/ hr is normal around here for barn care. I have dogs, cats, and a pony but before the pony we would be gone Sat to Sat and pay our house/ animal sitter like 200 for the week. She was in college living at home so having our house, the TVs, wifi, free “eat whats in the fridge but please clean up before we come home” worked out great! I came home to food not being spoiled bc she would eat it, house cleaned up and she would even wash our sheets, whatever she did in them who knows, again college girl, but our animals were happy healthy and the bed was clean haha.
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I pay $20/day --I would say you could do less since you are a once a day --but the mucking the dry lot in the winter changed my mind. I figure $10/hr +$10 to make the trip. I have 4 horses that I expect to be given hay and have water checked + put in/put out to eat their concentrates and supplement. Suggestion: Post clearly in your barn and text your address to the person --if there’s a problem, telling the vet where you live might be difficult without handy access. Second, have a spy. The first time I use a person, I have a friend come by to “borrow a saddle pad” on a random day. I tell the horse sitter that, “Oh, Debi might be by to borrow a saddle pad --she’ll text you to see when that’s good for you.” Then leave a random saddle pad out with Debi’s name on it. That way, the spy can check that tanks are filled and hay is out. Or someone could just stop by and ask the horse sitter if you are around. Do tell the horse sitter that “Debi might be by,” so he/she doesn’t think the spy is a thief seeing if you are home or not! Finally, give your vet a head’s up (i have a letter on file there) that assures him/her that if the house sitter calls, you will stand the bill. I
I have the horse sitter call the vet first, then have the vet call me. I do this because I don’t want to waste time trying to find out what’s wrong, when the vet can better assess the situation. But I travel overseas and maybe that’s different. I still would rather pay a vet call for no reason at all than take a chance on a horse being in pain for the extra hour or two it takes to reach me in Timbuktu --if I even have service there!
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Hasn’t farmsitter set a rate?
That sort of worries me, thinking whoever doesn’t have much experience.
If this is the case, @Foxglove 's suggestion of a drop-in is a good one.
FWIW:
I always call my vet to let them know who is authorized to call in my absence.
& tell farmsitter to call vet first, me 2nd.
I’d rather pay for a farm call not needed than be unavailable or miss a call from farmsitter.
Agree with @carman_liz about having them stay at your place.
Added benefit of having farm appear lived-in.
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹Holidays can be house break-in times too.
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I wouldn’t expect someone to drive over in Wisconsin winter and pick poop for less that $20/hr. The cold and discomfort + the very real possibility of a weather related car accident just wouldn’t be worth it for less.
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How far is the sitter driving to get to your place?
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Traveling in the snow in Wisconsin during Christmas for NINE days?! Why isn’t she staying at your farm? What if there is a major storm and she can’t get there? I would be very uncomfortable leaving horses unattended for that length of time with someone only coming once per day. I would charge you at least $50 a day. It’s over the busiest holiday of the year and during a brutal season.
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I pet sit and used to farm sit as well. I’d be charging a minimum of $50/day for what you’re asking. If I was staying overnight, it’d be minimum of $100/day. I know it’s expensive, but quality pet/farm sitting is hard work, especially in bad weather and around a holiday.
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Depending on how many horses and size of dry lot to be mucked, I’d expect $35+ per visit.
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Agreed! What did they say they would charge you?
I would expect to pay no less than $50/day for this, more for bad weather issues - or at least I’d be willing to tip upon my return. Going away for 9 days is a luxury that most horse/farm owners do not get to have. I’d be prepared to pay more for more check ins or I probably wouldn’t be enjoying my vacation anyway - worrying about the horses.
I would want a daily check in from this person to feel comfortable with things.
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I’m paying $50/day for two dogs and two donkeys (feed/water/muck stall) for four days/three nights over Thanksgiving. Responsible experienced adult. I’d pay the same to board one of my dogs. Bargain.
That spy idea is incredible!!!
It depends how close you are with the person and all that I think as well. My house/farm sitter was my daughters babysitter first and also worked with me at the place I boarded at for years so we were kinda friends as well. Didnt hang out outside of the barn life, but still. She knows my horses knows what shes doing and respects that we trust her with our animals and home. It also depends if they are doing it more as a favor to you, or if you know they are knowledgable but need the cash. Mine always said whatever you are comfortable paying me. That being said she also knew we were grateful that our older dogs would be able to stay at home in their comfy house n nap on the couches per their usual, so she knew whatever we paid her would be a decent amount. One year she told me she really liked my paddock boots I had but never wore, so I knocked 75 off what we paid her n told her she could have them lol.
Here in Maryland, I pay $25 per visit to feed two horses and 3 cats, plus muck out stalls and dry paddock. I have the critter sitter come AM and PM, so basically $50 per day. I also have a friend come every other day or so at midday to check on things. I write a ‘contract’ email, specifying exactly what dates and what duties and leave a detailed list of instructions in the barn as well, with emergency phone numbers for vets and horse experienced friends. So far, it has always worked well for us.
That said, we live half a mile down a private road which we have to plow ourselves in snowy weather. Therefore, we have made a conscious decision to travel between Nov-Mar only for emergencies … deaths in the family type things. I don’t want someone to be either trapped in the house or blocked from getting to the house because of snow and ice. But that’s just me …
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I get paid $50/day (but that is for two visits), but that is in good weather. I think a set day rate would be more attractive than an hourly rate in this case. Typically, I charge a day rate when I am horse sitting, which is a bit different than if I were doing it as a regular part time job (at which case, I charge $10/hr).
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I pay 25 per visit for one horse and one donkey and one cat. Twice a day equals 50 per day. It’s really not so much the time spent for my guys it’s the sitter blocking out 2 trips in her schedule every day. She is a teacher and horse owner and does pet sitting on the side.
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I pay $10, + $5 per horse, for each visit. With 3 horses, and 2 visits per day, that is $50 per day. Cats and dogs are another $15 per day.
The horse-sitter I use, and most of the others I know, have their own home, with their own animals, kids and/or husband to feed and care for. So they would not want to stay overnight.
She lives about 10 miles away, and we are roughly on her way between house and work.
carman_liz --the spy idea isn’t original with me (I’m a trusting soul) but with my neighbor who set up a “Nanny Cam” in her tack room to make sure the horse sitter (her niece) was giving the correct amount of feed and supplements to the horses, or at least putting them into the correct buckets and taking them out to the barn twice a day (where there was no nanny cam but may be now). Anyway, what she found was the niece was feeding ONCE a day instead of twice, giving horses double feed and supplements at that one feeding --the “second feeding” was spent in the tack room with a handsome young fellow from her school --in various stages of undress. The neighbor did not confront the niece, but did mention to the parents that she thought the girl had “someone with her” when she was feeding --neighbor never used the girl to feed again. Since then, I have a spy for the first time I use someone. Since everyone was over 18 --and the horses didn’t fall ill from the overfeeding, I guess she made the right decision to not use the girl again --or tell the parents (or send them the video).
I pay $75 a day for my sister to stay at my place and take care of 2 horses and 5 house cats. She always argues with me and tells me not to pay her but I insist. I also stock up the pantry, refrigerator and provide spa-type items - gourmet chocolates, wine etc ( I have a wonderful Jacuzzi tub) and usually give her a gift card to a local restaurant.
I paid her extra last February when she was here. We had a bad snowstorm and the power went out, I felt horrible for her. She was shoveling snow and dealing with the generator while I was enjoying the sun and water on the south Florida Gulf Coast…
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