Barn Manager - Retirement/Breeding Farm

EquiStaff•Shelbyville, KY

11h•Onsite

About The Position

This picturesque and efficiently designed rehab, retirement & breeding farm in Shelbyville, KY is home to ~45 horses with capacity for up to 65. Catering primarily to the equine elderly, this facility has spacious pastures and provides a fantastic existence for its elderly inhabitants. It also offers a full-service breeding operation with a full lab in-house for bloodwork and semen analysis. They have the proven ability to stand stallions (though none are currently present) and provide safe foaling care for broodmares along with quality youngstock education. This facility is looking to welcome 8 babies to the world this year, and hopes to increase that number in the future! The owner here has an affinity for unusual rehab cases, and offers a brilliant place to learn in close connection with top vets and farriers in the area. In the future, the owner hopes to open a 501c3 sanctuary for horses as well! We are looking for a dedicated, empathetic Farm Manager to eventually take over the full daily operations of this facility. With a full-time stall cleaner and two additional staff members, the efficient setup of this facility makes for a manageable workload amongst the team. The owner lives on-site, and does all chores herself on Sunday (by herself!!) and is also very involved in the daily care of the horses. She will never ask her staff to do anything she would not (and has not) done herself!! An average day consists of feeding, checking everyone over for any signs of injury or distress, handling the rehab cases, holding for the vet/farrier as needed in the pastures, and ensuring the overall well being of the horses on site. Ultimately this individual will be on-call during foaling season - but otherwise will be able to enjoy long afternoon breaks and often less than a 40hr work week ! Most of the grass upkeep is handled by maintenance staff, but some occasional bushhogging is needed. Being a retirement facility, this individual must be capable of handling the "goodbyes" and tough calls alongside the daily care. Many of the owners are absentee, so this person will also be tasked with sending monthly(+) updates to horse owners and fielding inquiries as needed. This person will also be responsible for sourcing, hiring, training, and firing staff as needed.

Requirements

2+ years proven management experience in a Breeding operation - including foal watch and foaling
5+ years professional work history in equine operations
1+ years experience handling elderly horses
Able to give oral medications, IV/IM injections, bandage legs and wrap hooves
Able to drive truck & trailer in case of emergency
Kind, professional customer service capabilities
Proven leadership abilities
Strong attention to detail
Empathetic, horses-first mindset

Responsibilities

Feed AM & PM including administering oral medications to horses as needed
Stall cleaning in the evenings (~ 1 large wheelbarrow load)
Handwalking/lunging and assisting with rehab cases
Bandaging, medicating, wrapping hooves, and all basic first-aid care
Foal watch/foaling in the Spring
Handling babies & broodmare aftercare
Scheduling and assisting vet & farrier (most routine work done in pastures)
Managing staff including sourcing, hiring, training, and firing as needed
Ensuring facility upkeep (cobwebbing, dusting, raking, sweeping, etc)
Occasional bushhogging responsibilities
Communicating with clients monthly and in the event of emergency
End-of-Life care for retirees as needed
Additional responsibilities related to rehab & breeding as clientele warrants

Benefits

2 bedroom, 1bathroom house fully included w/ spacious basement & fenced yard offsite but close
$250/mo health insurance stipend
Free pasture-board for 1 horse
1 week PTO to be used during Fall outside of breeding seasons
Outside of breeding season less than 40hr work week
Long afternoon breaks
Growth potential as facility develops!

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