Our US Coordinator Courtney Carson discusses a small question - do you polish your boss' boots? - which is really a much bigger question.... Where does a groom draw the boundaries of their job?
"When it comes to working as a groom we take on a lot of additional tasks. One may think that a groom just gets horses ready for competition, mucks stalls, and be there for the big moments.
Those of us who have worked in the industry know that there is so much more!
We start as caregivers, office/administrative assistants, course builders, body clippers, truck drivers, master packers, among other things.
Grooms spend endless hours making sure that the horses in our care want for nothing and are in top form. And as time goes on we become teachers, mentors, therapists, and friends to our riders too.
At what point is the line crossed? Which tasks are not considered a part of the job?
Polishing a rider’s boots is a task that has been highly debated amongst many top grooms over the years.
Cleaning the boots of a rider seems to be the line that most won’t cross because it leads to boundaries disappearing between employer and employee.
Many believe that boots are a personal item and should be taken care of by the rider themselves, others just chalk it up to being a part of the job and another task.
My question though is- where does it stop?
If grooms will pick up and polish boots for riders, who are professional athletes within their own right, and keep taking on responsibility in situations such as that what comes next?
Are you suddenly finding yourself making sure that their riding clothes are in the trailer before leaving for a competition? Does your boss need dress clothes for an event this weekend, and if so do those dress shoes need polished as well?
After all - you do such a good job with the boots already.
This isn’t about me thinking this particular job isn’t for me. As a rider I always took pride in being very good at polishing my tall boots. My father taught me at a young age how to buff and shine until I could see myself.
As a groom though this was never a task I wanted to put onto myself because I wanted to spend my time taking care of the horses, using my elbow grease to make them glossy and shiny instead.
It is not to be said that grooms who do polish their rider’s boots are taking any less respect than those who do not. It is a personal choice at the end of the day.
Taking care of animals around the barn which are not horses can be a grey area. Does your rider have a dog that lives in the house, but comes out into the barn daily? You may feed it and make sure it has water.
This dog sleeps in the house at night and travels with the rider to competitions, but when they go on holiday the dog stays around the farm and now employees are also tasked with letting it out in the mornings and putting up for the night.
Is this a situation where the employee(s) at the barn should be compensated extra?
Or is this also a task that is just considered “part of the job” because the dog is a part of the barn on a normal day already?
It usually isn’t about the act of cleaning someone’s boots or feeding their pets or babysitting their children.
It is the implications that you are willing to do anything for them, no matter the task.
Setting boundaries and not getting overloaded with unnecessary tasks is an important part of the job.
Your priority as a groom is to care for the horses in the program."
What other tasks have been included in your job that maybe didn’t fit the original description or crossed a line?
The IGA is here to help navigate difficult discussions about setting boundaries, both initially and resetting them.
