Pet sitting for horses - who's done it before?

[Jenny]

Hello everyone!

I was just thinking about those who look after horses on their sits. I don’t think we see as much of that on the Forum, and I’d love to have a thread with some experiences, tips and advice!

For those of you who look after horses, whether as sitters or owners, what do you think is most important when it comes to horse sitting?

Any lessons learned, routines that work well, or things you’d wish you’d known earlier?

Please share your experiences, go-to practices, or any dos and don’ts you’ve picked up along the way. It would be great to gather a range of perspectives in case it could help someone in the future!

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Jenny

PS. We also have some blogs about horse care, here’s a few links that might be useful to anyone considering a sit with horses!

How to set up a horse sitter for success

What is horse sitting and how does it work?

[UKSITTER1]

I would advise don’t do it unless you already have extensive experience - whatever the HOs say. Horses are wonderful but are also:

• accident-prone. If a horse can hurt itself on something, it will!
• able to develop serious health conditions very quickly so you need to know what to look for
• large, strong animals (yes, even the small ponies) that don’t always cooperate and have prey animal instincts, so there’s a risk of injury to you or them if you don’t know what you are doing (and sometimes even if you do know what you’re doing)

[Edith]

I’ve watched horses several times and have another scheduled. I agree with @UKSITTER1, it can be a challenge and shouldn’t be undertaken lightly — a lot can go wrong and, in my experience, often does.
I also read over the blogs you linked. As written, the responsibilities don’t strike me as the purview of an unpaid sitter (groundwork?).

[Visit]

I looked after four once on the edge of Dartmoor. It was great as went out for a ride with the owner prior to her departure. Biut they were out at grass on several acres. All I had to do was make sure a huge bath was filled with water and sweep the yard. And just genreally check they were alrtight. I did sit somwhere else with horses but they had made arrangements for other people to come in and tend to them.
I have seen other sits advertised though that do sound like hard work, as they have several horses want you to muck out stables and collect all droppings in field etc. And on top of that fill hay nets and prepare other feeds. + grooming. They have also had dogs that require walking etc. Have not applied. And there was one once that didn’t even mention a horse in the listeng but had ex[pected you to drive half hour there and back again, each day to feed a horse. I declined.
Some sits with horse s can be quite easy if they are out to grass, but not if several and all stable kept etc.

[BonnyinBrighton]

If you’re a sitter who’s thinking you don’t need special knowledge horse sitting…. here’s a fun test

1. A horse is cast, what should you do? Why are ropes useful?
2. A horse is kicking its belly repeatedly is this a serious issue of colic?
3. Did you check each equine all over with the owner and note any ‘normal’ lumps/bumps on legs?
4. The Farrier arrives what should you do?

[toml]

I’ve only had 2 horse sits and wouldn’t do another if the horse responsibility was mine. Looking back it amazes me that folks ‘trusted’ me with their horses.
My first was with a horse who lived outdoors, rain or shine. My tasks were to make sure his troughs were filled with food and water and open a gate so that he could move from 1 pasture to another. It was a short sit and the HO and I had a long conversation about my lack of horse experience. It went just fine, and the horse was okay - but he was a very calm and relaxed horse - actually was a civil war reenactor horse so was familiar with loud sounds and such.
The second was with a pair of minature horses who lived in a standard city sized back yard - maybe 50 ft by 150 ft - covered with pea gravel and had a shed to spend the night in. My tasks were to feed them, get them into their shed at night, and shovel their manure into a wheelbarrow and then to a pile on the edge of the property. Was about a week long as wasn’t too difficult, the horses were pleasant and seemed to like hanging out with me when I’d read in the back yard. The HOs had only had the horses about six months and I see their listing now shows only chickens so maybe they decided miniature horses didn’t really make sense in the city. Shoveling and disposing of the manure wasn’t really too much different than sitting some big dogs and disposing of their waste - some ways easier because we weren’t out and about and I could use a shovel and wheelbarrow.
I don’t really look at sits for horses (or any other farm animal now - except chickens and ducks).

[Lokstar]

I have always loved horses but have not had close contact with them since I was a teen and my hubby has no previous experience at all.
Despite that we’ve done two sits with horses- both of which went very well.
The first one we just had to give the 2 horses hay and pellet feed twice a day- easy peasy & only 3 days..
The second one was a 3 week sit in rural France for first time hosts. We took care of several hens, 2 cats and 2 horses. We really enjoyed the sit - lovely home with gorgeous pool- even though it was quite a lot of work with the horses. We overnighted with the family before their trip so were able to run through the evening and the morning routines.
Our daily tasks were;
to fill hay nets for each horse twice a day and feed them pellets in a bucket,
fill up their water buckets daily,
Let them both out to graze for the day and bring them back in at night
Mucking out their stalls and poo picking around the stables (at least one wheel barrow full daily)
Hoof picking when needed (which was most days)
Light grooming.
Both horses were elderly rescues and very gentle but in retrospect it was a risk, with so little experience, to be left in charge! The hosts put a lot of trust in us! Anything could have happened! But we rose to the challenge.
The chickens were sometimes time consuming too- letting them out to roam the large property by day and trying to get them in at night- in June- when its very long light. Sometimes it took till 10pm!
Also collecting eggs, feeding and cleaning their coop.
The cats were no work at all!
Fortunately they took the dog with them!!
This was all a great ‘one off’ experience, and the hosts are lovely people, but I would not repeat this sit- too much work- even though they gave us a fabulous review and have invited us back more than once!
However we did visit them again last year when on another sit nearby (with one little cat!)

[GotYourBack]

@jenny, we completed a housesit on a Calgary ranch that included four horses. Really lovely location and thoroughly enjoyable experience. My spouse has horse experience. That said the Pet Parent was extremely upfront during video call - our horse responsibilities were framed as ‘every couple days then go and count their legs’. Really. Anything beyond that, contact the neighbour. For context, Pet Parent primary concern was that a horse somehow fell over and could not stand up (hence counting legs). Horses had ample food, automated fresh water and spent their days wandering Pet Parent fields. No riding, mucking out or other responsibilities. Horses were lovely. When we walked the fields then the horses sometimes followed behind us … sort of a walk ?! Cute.

[DanaNedelcu]

I just had a sit for two horses. I wish I knew about one of the horse’s condition. He has chronic lung problems I didn’t know of and he had a crisis with me.

Next time will ask about their health condition.

[toreishi]

I’m always on the hunt for horse sitting opportunities as these beasts were my first animal loves !
I would encourage those interested in caring for horses to volunteer or get a good amount of experience BEFORE taking a sit with horses. They require diligent and observant eyes which can pick up on behaviours and/or changes which may indicate problems. Someone with little or no experience cannot do this even if told by the owner what to watch out for (and I’d have serious concerns about a horse owner who would leave their horses with someone lacking the experience and skills to care for them).
Further, even as an experienced horse person, I require an on-site, face-to-face introduction to the animals and insist that the owner and I go over each horse physically so that I am aware of any concerns.
Sure, they’re beautiful and fun and all of that. They’re also a great responsibility which, in my opinion, is not for the inexperienced in this context.

[weltenbummler]

I totally agree. In addition to the responsibility, it’s a lot of work if you want to do it right by the horses. Many years ago we were happy horse owners. As sitters, we used to take care of four Friesians for seven years, twice a year for six weeks. They are amazing creatures and we truly enjoyed their company, but we spent a lot of time mucking out their stables, changing the bedding, cleaning water troughs, moving bales of hay, grooming, applying oral antibiotics and eye drops, taking their temperature, attaching fly masks, talking to them… You get the picture. If you want an easy sit, don’t pick one with horses. If owners say ‘No experience needed’ they are irresponsible and probably desperate to find a sitter.

[mam1996t]

My first sit that was not local was for six horses in North Carolina. I have owned horses and felt comfortable recognizing any problems they might have. The homeowners were very thorough in their instructions and the horses were very well trained. They had to be put in separate stalls to feed And it was easy to get them to do that. The owners actually put different colors on each of the horses so I would know who was who. It was still a lot of work picking up after six horses feeding and watering them twice a day. But it was a wonderful experience However, I agree if you do not really know horses it is not safe for either you or the horses to take on a horse sit . A good horse owner will have all the instructions you need and all the back up set up that you need. this homeowner had the truck and trailer ready to go if the horse needed to go to the vet and the neighbor‘s phone number to take them. So my messages if you wanna take on a horse sit, make sure you have the most responsible owners and all the information you need. I don’t think that often people with dogs and cats understand just how quickly a horse can go down and have extreme issues.

[rosawoodsii]

Here’s another to add to the list.

5. Do you know what founder is? Could you recognize the difference between grass founder and road founder, i.e. the likelihood of which was showing up?

[angelac.california]

Thinking About Horse-Sitting? Read This First.

I’ve done one official horse-sit through THS, but I grew up around horses and knew what I was getting into. I actually wanted the challenge. If you’re considering a horse sit and don’t have significant experience, I strongly recommend thinking twice—horses require far more attention than dogs, and certainly more than cats or fish. It’s a real step up in responsibility from fish to cats to chickens to dogs and horses.

If your primary goal is sightseeing or exploring the area, a horse sit is not for you. This is a commitment to put the animals first, no matter what comes up. And things will come up.

My sit started off sounding simple with just feeding the 6 horses twice a day (at the crack of dawn folks no matter the weather), keep an eye on them, and enjoy the countryside. In reality, it turned into one of the most intense, rewarding, and dramatic experiences I’ve ever had.

A once-in-20-year rainstorm hit during my stay. The back pasture turned into a lake within two hours, and I had to relocate six horses to higher ground. I used a mini bulldozer to move the feeding troughs out of the water, even though the HO said it wasn’t necessary, but I just couldn’t put their food on the ground in the unflooded pasture. The backup neighbor, who was supposed to help if needed, wasn’t prepared for any of this, but I was. I just stepped up and handled it.

Other events was the house lost power, then one of the four dogs turned on a burner while trying to reach breakfast leftovers. I returned from grocery shopping to find the house full of smoke and the stove on fire. And one of the newer younger dogs kept running across the road to the neighbors’ vineyards to “play” which was a major no-no, but the new electric fence didn’t work. It was one thing after another.

Also, one of the horses was elderly and in poor health, requiring close monitoring. I ended up calling the owner to flag a serious issue and helped relocate that horse to better conditions requiring more attention. On top of that, the hay delivery was delayed, and the barn had to be cleaned before the new load arrived—something that wasn’t my responsibility, but I did it anyway. You don’t want to pile fresh hay onto wet, mucky ground.

I received a great review for my efforts, and honestly, I loved the whole experience. It’s still one of my favorite sits. But it was anything but easy as we all thought it would be going into it.

My Advice?
If a homeowner says, “All you have to do is feed the horses twice a day and rake out any stalls” take that with a grain of salt. Ask yourself honestly: Am I prepared for anything? Because that’s what horse-sitting demands.

[angelac.california]

Here’s another one for the list: Are you prepared and know what to do if you’re sitting in a fire prone area?

[alegría]

There is an app you can use to see where current fires are. Sorry, I don’t remember the name but it was easy to find when we wanted it last year. We mostly sit cats, so knowing where the carriers are is important.

[OnTheRoadAgain]

@alegría

There is an app

Watch Duty

[avidtraveler]

Its named Watch Duty. Very informative

[angelac.california]

Here’s another self-question to ask before horsesitting without experience, do you know how to move them if an emergency such as a fire event happens?