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.

I'm totally on board with the whole idea that they shouldn't have ridden, but you did she only had to check the horses were upright. Sorry, OP, that's not on, for ten days! I'm worried about mine being checked twice daily when I'm away for a weekend. Checks to me=flyspray, picking out feet, running hands down legs to check for heat etc. To me, it's negligent to check they're just 'upright'. I've known a horse still be 'upright' with a broken leg, only discovered because the owner realised it hadn't moved.

I would be furious if someone id trusted to look after my animals did this! Hell I went nuts when I found out someone had groomed them when I was on holiday without permission.

A daily field check is usually a basic check of the horse being 'upright' (ie no colic, weight bearing and not bleeding), that they have access to water and the fence/gates are ok.

I would complain then never use this woman again. I wouldn't trust her now.

Again - the horses had free access to come in out of the flies if they wanted. My mum's had horses all her life, and has never gone out and checked their legs for heat on a daily basis. No leg problems have occurred as a result. We are taking about a cob and a Welsh pony, they are designed to live outside! They were in well fenced fields, within sight the whole time of someone who was supposed to be checking them. That's really not negligent.

My mum has just spoken to the other woman who had booked her, who was horrified and has said the house sitter will never be coming on her property again.

It's such a shame that you trust someone enough to take care of your house and pets and then they shit all over it!
I'm glad your mum gave her a piece of her mind!

Good. Serves her right that she has lost her next booking.

I wouldn't bother trying to get money back, she's just about to lose all those bookings she's bragged about so job done.

I actually don't think £600 is that much TBH. If you put two dogs in a kennel here it would easily cost that. But I imagine in some parts it's a fair salary, and the sitter was very silly to abuse her position of trust.

Just out of curiosity, what would happen with your insurance if a person unauthorised had or caused an accident to themselves or others whilst riding your horse?

I'd be going absolutely nuclear and I'd ensure that nobody hired her to house sit again.

In your OP you wrote:

She wasn't expected to do anything with the horses.

Now you're saying she was meant to keep an eye on them.

I wouldn't have left 2 horses for 10 days without someone checking on them, regardless of if they were horses that were used to living outside. You haven't made it clear what she was meant to be doing.

By all means leave bad reviews, she shouldn't have done what she did. But I would still advise against contacting people on her FB or wherever she's got bookings, and telling them not to use her. That could end up being classed as harassment, please don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself. You don't want to be the one on the wrong side of the law when she doesn't sound like she fulfilled the duties your mum paid her to do.

I hope this doesn't end badly for you OP. Leave the reviews, if anyone contacts you, tell them what she did, but don't instigate it.

I would take 'not doing anything' with the horses to mean not having to feed them,bring them in/out, groom them, ride them etc. She's said a few times that the woman was expected to check on them.

Good outcome OP, well done your Mum. Putting the pics on Facebook was so brazen of the sitter, she deserved every word of the bollocking.

Why are people so determined to find fault with the OP's mum here, and the plan for the horses? It sounds as if they know what they're doing, and just because she was slightly vague in her OP, for brevity's sake, does not mean that the animals are neglected.

Love the people writing whole back stories on the small details the OP has given about the horses! OP doesn't have to include the minutes of every meeting and chat had between her mother and the rogue house sitter.

Glad that your mother hasn't sat back and posted on an anon forum like some keyboard warriors here and has actually done something about it OP.

I'm still that someone was stupid enough to put children on horses they didn't know at all -absolutely bonkers! My friends Welsh A has the face of an angel, sweetest little thing ever to handle. Put a rider on and it becomes a proper little competition pony, a real second pony -not at all suitable for novices. Would probably have put them on the ground after lulling them into a sense of safety (ponies are bloody smart and know who hasn't got a clue!).

Good grief, all the attempts to clutch at pearls over the horses!
There is nothing wrong with them being left for 10 days with a daily field check.
I have paid money for horses to be turned away for months with a daily field check!

How do all those wild new forest ponies cope without having their feet picked out twice a day..?

It doesn't sound as if you need to take things further in any official capacity. Your mother has spoken to her, she's got the point now (belatedly, but still) and she's already lost one booking in addition to your mother never using her again. And I suspect word might get round, if this is a rural community, and others might also avoid using her.

That's consequence enough, I would think.

Still at the "I object to the word ignorant" poster, using the term "bonafied."

That did made me laugh, clam.

Suspect that she has sobered up now and has no memory of this thread.

I've heard of similar happening in the past, it ended with a child with a broken leg and talk of lawyers.

i wasn't 'determind' to find fault with the OP's mum. Just saying she wasn't clear. 'She wasn't expected to do anything with the horses' I took as she wasn't meant to do anything with the horses - including feeding, watering, checking etc. I assumed most people would think the same.

I hope the OP & her mum cover their backs in terms of the house sitter, if they start contacting all the people who have booked with her & tell them not to use her there's a chance they could see themselves in court on a harassment charge. Trying to help them avoid future legal action against themselves isn't picking fault with them.

I'll start by saying I am not a horsey person, I've never owned a horse or spent much time around them.
That being said, even I know that what the housesitter did was dangerous and stupid.
I would never put my DC, or any other child, on a horse without the owner being present for guidance. They are large, powerful animals with minds of their own. I'd no more allow it than I'd allow my DC to bother an unfamiliar dog.
Not only that, horse care is known to be expensive and the horses could have easily been injured in this situation. Nobody got hurt this time, the housesitter got lucky.
You and your DM ANBU in this case OP.

sparechange exactly what I was going to say.

Although New Forest ponies are owned so do occasionally get clipped, branded etc. But I doubt it's as much as fortnightly

How do all those wild new forest ponies cope without having their feet picked out twice a day..?

That's what I was thinking too. When I had a horse he would go days on end with little more than his water being checked on. That is with both parents being animal care specialist, one of them was a horse care specialist.
A highly strung racing horse might need more care but a Welsh pony and a Cob will be fine.

Perhaps she genuinely doesn't get what a big deal it is? If you don't keep horses yourself you might not understand the risks involved. I would say she's been thoughtless rather than intentionally taking the piss. I would point out that riding other people's horses isn't acceptable. She's lost work now already which is fair enough.

I don't think £60 a day sounds excessive. I have house sat for people and it's a massive hassle. There's packing for 2 weeks,, sorting a schedule for doing your normal stuff and fitting in tasks for the new job. Not to mention you have to keep everything tidy, not damage things, lock up properly and generally be way more attentive than you would be in your own home. As someone else said two dogs in kennels would cost that anyway.