To think this house sitter was bloody cheeky?

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

My DM recently got a house sitter for 10 days whilst we all went on holiday. She had used her once before and all seemed fine. She seemed very professional - took detailed information about all the animals, signed contracts, she is fully insured etc.

She was supposed to sleep at my DM's house each night, although my DM was aware that she would need to pop back here and there to exercise her own dogs (she lives with her parents).

She was paid over £600, and for that she had to look after 2 dogs and feed a cat. There are also 2 horses at my mum's, my mum's horse who is a big cob, and my daughter's pony. She wasn't expected to do anything with the horses.

While we were away the house sitter emailed to ask if it would be ok if her partner's kids came to meet the horses. My DM said that was fine. When we got back, my mum had a good chat with her and the house sitter said that the kids had come over and groomed my mum's horse, but not my daughter's pony because she was grumpy (she is grumpy).

I was the first to go into the tack room, and noticed that the bridles weren't in the right place. I didn't really think anything of it. But today my DM said that there is grease on the bottom of her saddle, from where the saddle pad hasn't been put on properly and it has rubbed the horse, which she wouldn't do. Also her bridle had been done up all wrong. The stirrups on both saddles were at different lengths to how they'd been left by Us. She suspected that the house sitter had taken the kids riding on our horses. This was confirmed when she went for a ride around the village today and a neighbour (who has booked the same house sitter) said that the house sitter had emailed a picture with the kid sat on her horse!

Not only is riding someone's horses without their permission incredibly rude, it is also a really stupid thing to do. She knew nothing about our horses, they could have had any kind of quirks, and putting 2 kids on them (when she doesn't appear to know much about horses herself) was just bloody dangerous.

Not only that, but my DM said there's no way that the bed was slept in for 10 nights, so she suspects that the house sitter had left the dogs overnight which she wasn't supposed to do.

WWYD? I absolutely think that something should be said to the house sitter, but my DM is veering towards leaving it, and just locking the tack room if she uses her again! She was paid a lot of money, and in my opinion, took the piss.

Fuck him. If he is allowing his partner to wheel him out as being an obviously reliable type as he is in uniform, hence bolstering her chances of getting work, then pissing around on your horses with no permission, putting up photos on FB, not taking them down when requested, not apologising when told he had no permission then a letter to his CO is entirely justified.

And JSOtherhalf makes a good point so his judgement sucks and he could be putting himself and his partner at risk of some future nefarious plot. He is a dick.

Any further updates OP?

Not much to report. They've received a letter from her claiming that she has a picture of the damage on the saddle before it was used by them. She says there was a misunderstanding because they were not told that they couldn't ride the horses. She doesn't exactly say that she was staying there every night, but asks what evidence they have that she didn't. She claims to have managed a stable with 10 horses which we know isn't true (they know the person whose stable she claims she managed). It's all a load of skirting around the issues and justifying what happened. They are going to take the letter to a solicitor and get them to write a response.

Oh...and the letter to the CO has been posted.

She is trying 'smoke and mirrors' to deflect the fact that she didnt stay there (or she would have said so) she shouldnt need you to PROVE she did and the mess the cat and dogs made is pretty strong evidence that she didnt anyway and the fact that she is lying will only go against her.

What a stupid woman, does she really think that anyone else will think your mum saying she could take kids to see the horses meant carte blanche to ride them?

That seems to be the angle she's going for. And she wasn't even given permission for the kids to see the horses, UNLESS she was insured for them to do so, which she's not. She still hasn't provided a copy of her insurance documents, which she was asked by my mum's partner to do.

Who photographs a saddle before using it in order to prove they don't cause damage to it? If anything, it was more likely to be taken afterwards so someone could pretend it was a before shot!

I know, it doesn't really add up does it?!

Why would a military person be wearing uniform when not on duty? I assume he wasn't on duty if he was visiting other people's houses with his partner?

He wasn't wearing uniform but there's a picture of him in his uniform on her website.

Oh I see, although I'm guessing that in itself is a bit iffy

Yes, I don't think his employers will be best pleased.

I doubt it Lucy. In the current climate having your photo in readily identifiable uniform on a website is not clever, and goes against all the security advice.

He may just get an interview without coffee, bu the fact that someone has felt strongly enough to write to complain about his behaviour will have been noted. It does not reflect well on him and thus it doesn't reflect well on his branch of HM Forces.

Lucy
I dont think bringing the armed forces into disrepute will go down well.
Posing in his uniform to promote his gf's business and then taking property that doesnt belong to him for him and his kids to use is a very irresponsible thing to do. What if his kids were hurt? What if the horses were hurt...all down to him as he was the one riding them. Not good publicity for his unit at all.

What happens next time he does it? Might be a tragedy and too late then.

Lucy. I doubt it. I have a friend whos dh is banned from wearing his uniform off the site (unless its for a proper function) and certainly wouldnt be allowed to post himself in the uniform on fb in this situation. I think its since lee rigbys murder, which is very sad.

londonrach whether you can wear uniform in public or not changes with the security threat and has done for years, way before Lee Rigby was murdered.

His judgement in having his pic in uniform on her site would certainly have earned him an interview without coffee from my dh, given everything else, or a word in his ear without it.

I've been to my mum's today and read the letter, it's unbelievable. She actually says that my mum gave suggested to her on three different occasions that she should take her horse for a ride. She said on the first two occasions she declined, but on the third occasion she said that she might, and says my mum replied "you should, he's a lovely horse to ride". Obviously she is claiming that her partner was there during all these conversations.

He said, she said. There was no written permission. What matters is insurance and contract.

I'm intrigued by the idea of an interview without coffee. If you're really bad, do they give you instant instead?

I would be going batshit as well OP if someone rode my daughter/nieces shared pony.

We have two welshies. One is an inhand show pony. She is a lovely girl until you try and tack her up then she can cause serious damage. The rideable pony is a second pony and loves to canter around the field with my daughter. So neither are novice rides and could cause serious damage. and my sister in laws old horse may have looked lovely but broke someones arm in his racing career. They were paid to just keep an eye on them .Thats what sleeping in would have been for as well so there was someone on site 24/7

I would be doing what your mum is doing as well

my mum's cob has a hock problem, and the pony is under a legal contract to only be used by my daughter. The house sitter responded to this in her letter by saying that this had not been mentioned in the contract, so they weren't to know. It wasn't mentioned in the contract because obviously never in a million years did we think that they would ride them!

Gabilan An interview without coffee is probably a short, sharp bollocking, possibly with further consequences down the line. Might be equivalent to what, in my MOD days, would have been called a one-sided conversation.

More serious than it might sound, though.

Thanks Raspberry. I get that it means an interview without social niceties, I'm just tickled by the phrase.

Anyway, the info is in the hands of his employers so it's up to them what they do with it.

I work as a groom. At no point when i am mucking out do i think 'Hey ill just ride this horse for shits and giggles' or 'ill just put my daughter on the pony;

Its not the done thing.