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AIBU?

To think this house sitter was bloody cheeky?

818 replies

Littlefluffyclouds81 · 18/06/2016 23:38

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.

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ingeniousidiot · 19/06/2016 01:48

Beetroot, with the best will in the world, you don't see the problem - that's fine, but it is actually a great big fucking huge problem. It's horses - they're expensive, dangerous, unpredictable, and the sitters behaviour was appalling.

It's like your baby sitter popping your child in the front seat of the car, no seatbelt, door open, and doing a lap of the M25 at rush hour into oncoming traffic, then saying 'no lasting damage, you're over-reacting' if they emerge unscathed. It's big lots of high-risk stupid.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 01:52

I don't know how old she is, I would guess mid-late twenties.

She didn't have to do any direct care of the horses, as I've previously mentioned. They had 3 fields and a water trough, and could come in the yard if they wanted. The fields
Are right behind the house, so the horses would have been visible at all times. I expect my mum just said something along the lines of 'please check that the horses are upright once a day'. For the money she was being paid, I don't think that was too much to ask.

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beetroot2 · 19/06/2016 01:54

I get you Little but if she's not horsey how would she know. Naive yes.

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MariaSklodowska · 19/06/2016 01:54

OK I see.
Totally out of order! Unbelievably bad behaviour.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 01:55

It's not just the horses (although it's mostly the horses). It's all our equipment that they used without asking too. We now have no idea if the hats were dropped in the yard, which would make them unsafe to use. My mum's saddle cost £1k, it was her 60th birthday present, and there's a picture of her boyfriend on it with his kid on the pommel!

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MariaSklodowska · 19/06/2016 01:55

beetroot she is 'horsy' enough to tack them up and get on them - how does her non 'horsiness' excuse her?

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 01:56

She knew it was not ok beetroot, otherwise she would have told my mum that they'd done it.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 01:56

She does claim to be horsey, but clearly isn't as horsey as she makes out.

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beetroot2 · 19/06/2016 01:57

Goodness, ok. Chill Grin No one died.

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MariaSklodowska · 19/06/2016 01:57

Try to calm down a bit though fluffy - I seriously doubt the hats would have been dropped hard enough to damage them like that.
I totally agree with you though.

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WTAFisgoingon · 19/06/2016 01:58

OP well, I think objecting to what she did on horse safety grounds (and btw I totally agree with what ingenious said about the risks*) would be a massive double standard if you / DM were happy to leave them unchecked by a knowledgable horsey person for 10 days!!

I can only assume therefore that your concerns are more related to her taking the piss, in which case, it's bad but get over it..... And prioritise the horses more!

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BirthdayBetty · 19/06/2016 01:58

Little are your horses ok?
If so put it down to ignorance. The sitter may not understand it.

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BirthdayBetty · 19/06/2016 02:00

Sorry X posts!

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Somtamthai · 19/06/2016 02:01

Dangerous and stupid. I'd email her for a detailed explanation!

Re house sitting trustedhousesitters.com for future sits.

Hope you get some answers.

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MariaSklodowska · 19/06/2016 02:01

Betty - ignorance is no excuse with horses, no excuse at all. If you are 'ignorant' about horses then you don't tack them up and sit on them with no experienced person there.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 02:01

Again, she did claim to be horsey. The first time she housesat, she did do a bit of horse care as it was back when the weather was not so good, which she was paid for.

At this time of year, the horses were fine to be turned out (though they normally come in out of the flies during the day when we are there). Plenty of horses lived turned out all the time, being checked on once or twice a day. There is nothing negligent about that.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 02:03

The horses do seem fine, luckily, thanks Betty.

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WTAFisgoingon · 19/06/2016 02:03

I actually think OP's / her DMs behaviour was worse - especially as there seems to be more concern over the vague possibility of damage to a £1k saddle than for the horses who she was happy to abandon for 10 days with only a newbie checking them!

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BirthdayBetty · 19/06/2016 02:04

Maria I totally agree that ignorance is no excuse.

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WTAFisgoingon · 19/06/2016 02:04

Sorry, X post....

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 02:04

No the hats probably weren't dropped. But they could have been and we won't ever know. One drop from a hand to the hard floor is enough to damage them.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 02:05

So I mention the saddle, once, on page 3 of the thread, whilst saying that the main thing is that the horses were used, and somehow I'm more worried about the saddle? Hmm

Okaaaay....

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BirthdayBetty · 19/06/2016 02:06

Little I'm relieved your horses seem fine Smile

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beetroot2 · 19/06/2016 02:07

? ignorance. Id just call it not knowing about horses to be fair.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 19/06/2016 02:09

So if you don't know about horses, don't set up a business looking after people's animals, including horses, whilst pretending you know about horses.

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