Horse caretaker

Briefly explain what you do for a living.

I work as a horse caretaker, in other words, I take care of the feeding and watering of the horses, keeping them in the paddock and blanketing them and cleaning the stalls. I monitor the welfare of the horses daily and take any necessary medical and care measures. The work also includes cleaning and maintenance of the stable and its surroundings as well as customer service.

I work as an entrepreneur, so my working sites may vary. At the moment, I mainly work at a riding school with 40 horses. I also provide equine massage therapy for various clients.

How have you ended up in the profession of your choice?

I went to an agricultural school. When I graduated, I had a horse in a private stable that was going to shut down. I gathered all my courage and became a stable entrepreneur. When my horse had to be put down, I also decided to stop running a stable.

I started to study the horse industry. After graduation, I ended up running a private stable in new facilities for another couple of years. After some time, I came to the conclusion that acting as a stable entrepreneur is too stressful and unprofitable. Therefore, I started working as a horse caretaker in an entrepreneurial role. At first, I mainly worked as a substitute in different places until I was given the caretaker responsibility at this big riding school.

Describe your typical working day or week.

Routines are important for horses, so working days often have a similar structure. As a rule, the day begins with the morning feeding of horses. Then the horses are blanketed if the weather so requires, and then taken out to the paddock. At the same time, I ensure that all horses have drinking water in their paddock. Once the horses have been taken out, we start cleaning the stalls and the stable. Of course, sometimes we encounter surprising situations that make it necessary to break these routines.

I give the horses hay at noon and in the afternoon. In addition, I drag the riding arena and the manège and carry out small maintenance tasks, such as repairing and building paddock fencing. If the horses are ill or have some ailments, I administer their medication and give any other necessary treatments. The day also includes taking horses from one place to another, for example for riding lessons. At the stable, I talk with the clients and help them, if necessary.

In addition to my shift at the riding school, I may substitute a caretaker at another stable or provide equine massage therapy on the same day.

What kind of work environment or working hours do you have?

Everyday work of a horse caretaker involves a lot of outdoor chores. Physical labour and the dusty environment expose people to strain injuries and occupational diseases.

I usually work five days a week for 6–8 hours a day. I may have a morning shift at the stable that lasts from 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or an evening shift that is from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

What kind of competence or qualities are required in the profession?

In the equestrian industry, experience is more important than education. One must be able to interpret and understand horses’ behaviour. It cannot be learned from books only. The work requires coherence and determination, as you cannot manage with a large animal by using force. It is important to understand the species-specific behaviour of horses. Horse caretakers must enable it in the stable environment so that they can take care of horse welfare in the best possible way.

Working in the equine industry requires flexibility, as animals must be looked after regardless of the time of the day or your own engagements. You must be able to react quickly to changing situations. In addition, the work requires problem-solving skills, a systematic approach and common sense.

What is the best thing about your profession?

The best thing about the horse caretaker’s profession is having the opportunity to work with these great animals. Once you get to know them, they start to feel like family members. In this work, I may have an opportunity to follow at close quarters how horses grow and develop for many years.

What are the downsides of the profession or what seems challenging?

This is one of the few fields where education is not of great importance. The salary is often the same, whether you have education or not. You should not enter this field for the sake of money, as compensation is not proportionate to the amount and complexity of the work. Furthermore, there are hardly any opportunities to advance on your career. The profession also has a high risk of accidents.

As horse welfare must always come first, working days may stretch and holidays turn into working days. Burnout is a common challenge in the sector. You should take care of your own well-being, but it may be difficult in practice. One way is to hire an employee, but for many, the threshold is high when you are used to stretching your own boundaries.

I think there are some unwritten rules in the industry, which you often must learn the hard way. You also need a thick skin, as some people focus too much on criticising others.

What would you tell a person considering the profession of a horse caretaker?

A horse caretaker is a vocation for a person to whom horses are more than just a hobby. If you also enjoy outdoor work, want to exercise a lot during the working day and like routines, you could enjoy working as a horse caretaker.

How do you see the future of your profession?

There will be horses as long as people have enough money. Problems start arising when a stable has many horses but not enough money to hire an employee. At the moment, the situation is like this in many stables. I would like to believe that the equine industry has a bright future. But I must admit that there are dark clouds hanging over the industry, which are linked to low profitability.