Position Detail - Stable Assistant

Position Type: Staff Full-time

Hours per week: 40   

Weeks per year: 52

Work Schedule: Thursday through Monday, 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

Department Summary & Job Purpose:

The Equestrian Center at Mount Holyoke College is a state-of-the-art facility providing exceptional horse care. Our team is dedicated to ensuring our horses receive the best care and attention, focusing on their safety and well-being.

As a member of the Equestrian Center team, you will be responsible for maintaining the facility and equipment in top-notch condition. This includes regular upkeep and repairs and ensuring that the environment is clean, safe, and comfortable for our horses.

In addition to caring for our horses, you will also play a crucial role in creating a welcoming atmosphere for all visitors. This includes students, boarders, prospective students, and the community. Your helpful and friendly demeanor will significantly impact the overall experience of everyone who visits the Equestrian Center.

At Mount Holyoke College, we take great pride in our Equestrian Center and are committed to providing the best possible environment for our horses and visitors. Join our team today and be a part of something truly special.

Core Job Duties and Responsibilities: 

As a stable assistant, you will have a range of responsibilities to ensure the comfort and safety of the horses under your care and maintain the cleanliness and functionality of the stable facility. Some of your specific duties will include:

• Providing hay and clean water to horses: You will ensure that your assigned horses have access to enough hay and clean water to keep them healthy and hydrated.
• Feeding horses according to grain cards and supplements: You must follow grain cards to ensure that each horse receives the correct amount and type of feed. Additionally, you will need to monitor each horse's supplements and ensure they consistently get any assigned supplements. This may entail reminder notes to boarders or advising the stable manager if and when their supplements run low.
• Turning out horses and rotating turn-out regimes: You must ensure that each horse gets enough time outside their stall to move around and stretch their legs. You will be responsible for rotating the turn-out regimes to prevent overuse of the same paddock or pasture.
• Cleaning stalls: You must clean 12 to 13 stalls daily, and occasionally more if needed. You must remove any soiled bedding, manure, and debris and replace it with fresh bedding and hay.
• General maintenance: You will be responsible for the general upkeep of the stable, which may include sweeping, mopping, and neatening the aisles, cob webbing the ceilings, cleaning drains, cleaning wash stalls, changing trash bags, opening hay, moving hay & grain, cleaning outside tubs, mucking paddocks, raking up hay, leaves, and other tasks as assigned.
• Facility maintenance: You will be responsible for regular facility maintenance projects and some seasonal/special projects as assigned. Examples include dragging arenas, raking outside areas, moving jumps, cleaning/dusting knee-walls in indoor arenas, readying paddocks for overnight turnout, preparing for boarders' return, and others as assigned.
• Horse care: You will be assigned a group of school horses whose care and maintenance you are responsible for. This will include some basic first aid after consultation with the Stable Manager or Director. If necessary, training on first aid will be provided. You will be expected to know a horse's normal temperature, any normal lumps, bumps, swellings, normal behaviors, ordinary drinking behavior, and turnout preferences.

Following these duties will ensure that the horses under your care are healthy, comfortable, and happy. Additionally, you will help maintain a clean, functional, and stable facility to benefit the horses and their owners.

Qualifications: 

• Previous horse handling, husbandry, and general farm experience is a must.
• Must be able to work both independently as well as on a team.
• Some minimal computer knowledge, a general understanding of horse rehabilitation care, or the ability to learn both are required.
• We are looking for longevity, so the desired hire will be long-term.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years experience in a professional equine facility of at least 30 stalls is preferred.
• Experience with Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds, and various breeds involved in jumping and/or dressage is also preferred but not required.
• Additional preference to candidates with experience in a school horse/lesson environment.
• A level-headed approach to horsemanship is required.
• Experience operating farm machinery is a plus but not required.
• No riding experience or riding is required for this job, although lunging knowledge is an added bonus for the hire.

License/Certifications:

• MassDOT Hoisting License required upon hire.

Compliance Requirements: 

Physical Demands: 

• Must be able to work on your feet for the tenure of the duty day (8 hours)
• Can lift a 55lb hay bale overhead
• Must be able to squat and lift a fully loaded 10-yard wheelbarrow and push it up an incline to be dumped.

Working Conditions: 

• This job requires the hire to work in all types of weather, including snow and rain conditions, varying temperature conditions (occasionally in extremes consistent with current New England weather), uneven terrain, and non-improved surfaces.
• Known equestrian hazards of working with large animals in differing environments, temperaments, and tight quarters are part of this job.