Horse Sitting

What they do

The yard day has a rhythm: morning feeds and hay, health check while rugging or unrugging for the weather, turnout to the field, mucking out stables, soaking or steaming hay if that is the horse's routine, and waters scrubbed and refilled. Evenings bring horses in, pick out feet, check legs and shoes, feed again, and settle the yard for the night — with every horse's normal known well enough that 'not himself today' gets noticed.

Feeding accuracy is critical. Horses may be on different hard feeds, balancers, supplements, and soaked or dry hay, with strict rules for horses prone to colic or laminitis — including restricted grazing, muzzling, or soaked hay to reduce sugars. A horse sitter follows feed charts to the scoop, never introduces a new feed or treat without permission, and keeps feed rooms secured, because a horse that breaks into feed can become critically ill.

Daily checks are skilled observation: appetite and droppings, water intake, lameness at walk, heat or swelling in legs, cuts from the field, loose or lost shoes, and the early signs of colic — restlessness, flank watching, pawing, not eating — which mean calling the owner and the vet immediately, not waiting until morning.

Unlike farm sitting's breadth across many species, horse sitting is depth with one demanding species, and it may be live-in, twice-daily visits, or full yard cover including exercising by separate agreement. Riding is never assumed: many sitters are excellent grooms who do not ride clients' horses, and that honesty is a strength.

Services you can expect

• Morning and evening feeds to individual feed charts
• Turnout and bring-in, with rug changes
• Mucking out, bedding, and yard sweeping
• Hay preparation, including soaking where required
• Feet picking, leg and shoe checks
• Health monitoring with colic and lameness awareness
• Field, water trough, and fencing checks
• Vet, farrier, and owner liaison in emergencies

What to expect

• Feed charts followed exactly, including supplements and restrictions
• Feet picked out and legs checked daily, shoes checked for looseness
• Stables mucked out properly and beds put down as you do them
• Turnout and rugging matched to the weather, not the sitter's convenience
• Any injury, lost shoe, or behavior change reported the same day with photos
• Yard left secure: feed room shut, gates chained, lights and water as agreed

How to choose

• Require genuine yard experience — ask where they have worked and with what horses
• Watch them handle, lead, and rug your horse before you book
• Test feed knowledge: ask how they would manage a horse on restricted grazing
• Confirm they know colic signs and your vet's emergency number by heart
• Ask whether they ride, and only include exercise if you have seen them ride
• Check references from horse owners, ideally with yards and routines like yours

Questions to ask

• What yard experience do you have, and with how many horses?
• How do you spot colic or lameness, and what would you do first?
• Are you confident following soaked-hay or restricted-grazing routines?
• Will you meet my vet and farrier's details before I go?
• Do you offer exercising, and can I see you ride first?
• How many other yards are you covering on the same days?

Red flags

• Riding experience offered as proof of yard competence, with little care experience
• Dismissive about feed charts, supplements, or grazing restrictions
• No clear answer on colic signs or emergency actions
• Feet, legs, or water checks skipped in their described routine
• Covering so many yards that visits are clearly rushed
• Happy to ride any client's horse without seeing it first or being seen riding

What affects the price

• Number of horses and whether care is live-in or visiting
• Full muck-out versus skip-out service level
• Feeding complexity, including soaking hay and supplements
• Exercising or lunging included by agreement
• Yard size, field distance, and winter conditions
• Holiday periods and length of cover