Hiya, looking for some advice/recommendations please…
We pet sit as a family of 4 and looovvveee it!! We have completed over 20 sits and have looked after so many amazing different pets. We hope to pet sit ponies and/or horses in the future but understand experience is very important. Would love to hear from sitters who perhaps did not grow up with horses in their lives but acquired knowledge and experience in adult life and now confidently apply for sits with horses/ponies? What do you recommend we could do to get started ?
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My husband and I did a sit with horses a couple of years ago; it was a really special sit and we enjoyed it very much. Prior to this we actually didn’t have any horse experience and the host was okay with that–she specifically said in her listing that it wasn’t necessary. She spent a few days with us prior to her departure showing us their routine, and everything we needed to do for them was actually pretty straightforward.
So unless a host specifically states in their listing that they only want a sitter who has cared for horses before, it can’t hurt to apply. Depending on what specific tasks are required of you, they may feel like it isn’t necessary to have a lot of prior experience, and can easily show you everything that you need to do.
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We also started with a sit who weren’t looking for specific horse experience, they were outdoor horses who only needed fed twice a day and some hay hung up. We returned to that sit again and I asked if we could be shown a little more so groomed them on that occasion. This experience then led to getting another 6 week sit where we had to walk the horses to a field daily and muck out stables along with cleaning hooves. We built confidence during this time and now feel comfortable doing any horse sit (except riding them!)
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We also had a similar experience to @KC1102, we learned all that we had to learn spending an hour with the home owners during handover. They were perfectly fine with us not knowing much about horses, perhaps the biggest hurdle is being comfortable near these very large animals.
Most of the time you will just have to feed them, make sure they have water and scoop up wheelbarrow-fuls of poo! Yup, one horse poops the average of half a wheelbarrow per day, but is not too disgusting to clean up. 
And as to how to gain experience, you could possibly apply to “low application” or last minute sits, or in fairly remote areas.
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Do you have riding stables around where you live? Or local people with ponies? You might find they’ll be delighted to have a bit of extra help - certainly the ones around where I live would help you help them help you.
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I’m an equestrian who would never have left my horses with inexperienced sitters. The risks are simply too great. I had 5 horses and had sitters for decades.
Most responsible horse owners wouldn’t choose a non equestrian sitter but there’s a few who will…possibly if they can’t get anyone else?
Can you with confidence deal with a horse whose rug has ripped and it’s wrapped around its belly/legs. Can you approach/catch the horse and take the rug off undoing clips in high risk areas under its back legs/belly.? This is just one scenario. What would be your plan if a horse gets out of its field? Can you lead a horse down a busy road for example? Please also look up: laminitis, signs of colic etc on YouTube.
Princess Anne was recently injured by one of her own horses whilst walking through a field. Horses can be unpredictable.
I studied Horse and Stable Management for two years just to get a handle on the basics when we first owned our own horses despite having ridden and helped at riding stables for years. There was a lot to learn.
Also with sitters being responsible for vet bills (T&Cs) if the HO hasn’t made prior arrangements there’s a risk of a very high vet outlay also you’d need to be able to manage a large animal distressed and possibly in pain when the vet arrived. At the very least you’d need to catch the horse… lead it and control it.
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As another life-long equestrian and previous horse owner, I would never leave my horses with someone who has no or little experience. There is too much that could potentially go wrong and having a million five star sits with cats, dogs, goats fish, sheep, or any other animals does not give a sitter enough to care for horses. That said, if you have a humane society or horse rescue near by which would allow you to volunteer in exchange for experience and education that would be a great place to start. Good luck in your search.
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Hi @BonnyinBrighton, please, what is this “rug” that you mention? The horses I took care of only wore a halter.
Thanks to all of you who offered suggestions, much appreciated and I have taken note.
I will mute comments now
Many thanks 
Some Horses wear winter rugs or summer fly rugs. A horse should never be left in a field wearing a halter as this can be dangerous if it gets hooked up on something. Horses have been known to even get a hoof caught up in their loose halter….mad I know!
It’s important to know how to catch a horse and put a halter on and lead it as a minimum. Also how to deal with needing to remove just one horse from maybe a group of 2/3 horses in a field that’s when accidents can happen or a horse escapes through the gate… managing horses is complicated and a small error can lead to a huge horse sized problem 
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Anyone believing a horse is a straight forward pet to care for consider what you’d do if a horse in your care was ‘caste’ this means stuck and unable to get up. If you know you know, but you stand where the red X is, tie 2 ropes around one front and one back furthest away fetlocks and flip/roll towards you with your knees leveraged in the back of the horse. Easier with 2 people but it can be done by one person.
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If you didn’t know horses you’d possibly just think someone was having a lazy morning lie-in!
@Shauntel I would look to gain experience in an environment where you have other people around who can give you pointers and talk through situations as they happen, eg. local riding stables. Horses can be unpredictable, and a lot of staying safe around them comes down to having a bit of insight into how they think, and the experience to be able to anticipate how they might react in a situation. I’d build that experience in a safe environment rather than on the hoof (sorry!), especially if kids are learning too.
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Do you possibly know anyone in your community that have horses that you could ask to volunteer to help them for the experience? Maybe try some vet clinics they may know of ppl who have horses. There’s lots of ppl that have horses they use for kids therapy. Good luck.
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You made your point!
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