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 Regular
Posts: 58
Location: Pa | Here's my problem. I have a 2nd job a few days a week cleaning stalls for a ranch with 16 stalls at this time . This use to be my full time job when there were 26 stalls I would feed, clean stalls, ride a few of the horses in training then feed agin . Now we are doing stalls in the evening because I have a full time day job and the other girl who cleans them is still in high school. I cleaned them last night and it took almost 3 hours. There was not much sawdust in the stalls and they were very wet. So I added sawdust (which is outside ) to most all the stalls. Then my boss makes a comment that I took to long... The other girl honestly flys through the stalls but she doesn't keep them very full of sawdust . I am a big fan of sawdust and when I clean a stall it's CLEAN .. Maybe I'm way to meticulous ? When I went home to my fiancé and told him he said " your stalls look like there's never been a horse in them you take a long time but you make them perfect " now I know you're all just going to say " ask her if I'm taking to long or ask if she wants them done fast or thorough " but that's not the kind of person she is... You don't ask stuff like that it's hard to explain . What I am asking for is advise on how to do them faster or if I am just cleaning more than necessary.. Any tips ? |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
  
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Is she paying you by the hour are stall? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| I have cleaned stalls for a long time and the first thing you ask is are you getting paid hourly or by stall? If she wants them done faster and is okay with less thorough then that's how you do it. They are her horses, her $, and if she's okay with it then you have to be or you move on. Also, don't be surprised if she tells you you are using too much sawdust and costing extra if the other girl is just going to scoop it all out or not clean and leave urine in the stall. Good luck to you, this is why I now only clean my own pens. LOL |
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Regular
Posts: 58
Location: Pa | $10 an hour |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Izzy+coy - 2015-11-13 9:36 AM $10 an hour
Since she's paying you by the hour, I would not worry about all the extra time you are spending on each stall, just pick and put in the bedding. Your boss must not care how extra clean they are but just wants clean. So dont spend any extra time on them. Maybe you are striping the stall and that does take awhile, so I would be asking if she wanted the stalls striped all the way are just clean the poop out and replace what you took out in the bedding.
I'm like you I want my stalls as clean as possible when I would haul, but at home I dont have stalls they just have large pens, that would try me crazy if I had to clean stalls everyday. |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | I prefer clean to but with boarding barns they like picked and wet spot picked and just fluffed up . Then weekly you can strip or monthly.. it can be costly if your stripping every day and adding shavings.. 16 stalls.. 8 each side about hour and half about...
Edited by Bibliafarm 2015-11-13 10:26 AM
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 Expert
Posts: 1367
Location: mi | I do think 3 hours for 16 stalls is a bit long even if you are totally cleaning and adding bedding. But I am not sure how far you have to go to dump the dirty and to pick up the new. I have times myself and I totally flip every spot in my stalls and add fresh I am no more then 5 minutes a stall. Now I have a spreader so I just have to wheel my full muck bucket to that. maybe 75 ft max. and my bedding is fairly close. But my 5 minutes a stall also adds hay and I have hay bags so that takes a bit of time.
What really makes a difference in my time is that I use a basket fork so I can really fill it and I can aggressively shake it without shaking out the poo. I also use a fine flake bedding so it shakes out pretty quickly. The few times I have had to resort to the big flake bedding it has added quite a bit of time to the job.
I would suggest since you are getting paid by the hour that one you step it into high gear and not worry about every single tiny poop that might be hidden. get yourself a basket fork. and 3 have a chat with your boss about the fact that if the other girl is doing quick picks that every once in awhile they are going to take a bit longer to get them done well. You can't do quick picks continually or you end up with a mess. But I could see taking it down to just one time a week of you really getting in there and thoroughly flipping and rebedding.
Good luck. Its hard when you are not the one doing it daily. and its even harder when you are a tiny bit OCD about them and the person the day before you was not.
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | 3 hours for 16 gross stalls that you had to add bedding to... I feel is fine. It takes me about an hour for my two PIGS to add bedding, wet it down, spread it out, and sweep it back. I, like you, prefer my stall CLEAN. I am the only one in our barn that takes a long time to clean stalls 15-20 mins per stall others have dirtier regular stalls but spend 5-10 mins each.
If you do the math you are taking 11 mins and 25 seconds to clean those stalls (the right way) and lay bedding down... I guess it's her choice what she wants. 11 mins a stall isn't bad considering they were gross before you started.
Edited to fix typos
Edited by Crowned Image 2015-11-13 10:55 AM
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Yeah... 3 hours for 16 stalls with sawdust is about right to do a good job. Picking a stall is a lot easier and faster with straw than it is with shavings or sawdust. So, one person does a quick job and one does a thorough job each day and you can keep the stalls from getting gross. Two quick jobs every day and pretty soon you will have a mess. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | I agree to but unfortunately a boarding facility usually doesnt want them done as well as we do. lol. maybe you can get on a set pay.. then do it as well as you want to.. |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| i hate paying by the the hour in fact i won/t i give job discription you tell me how many $$ then its done or we negoiate
i see to many paid by hour screw around |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | Let's break this down a minute though. You're getting paid $10/hour. You clean 16 stalls in 3 hours. $10/hr x 3 hours= $30. She's paying less than $2 per stall to have them properly cleaned and bedded. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | it does sound cheap..but some owners rather not pay the $$ for a good clean stall.. and owner doesnt want to pay 210 a week to have stalls done.. either talk to owner and explain about other one leaving them wet or go salary. Im sure you have to drive there right.. so fuel etc..
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I would skip the shavings and only put them in 1x a week. I'd say get the major clumps out and leave the hidden ones.
I use the Pelleted shavings and they break down into sawdust--saves me TONS of product with my lazy barn owner who won't shake the poop. I only put shavings in once a week. |
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Regular
Posts: 58
Location: Pa | Thanks everyone .. I'm starting to think every single little tiny piece of poop doesn't need out. (No matter how crazy it makes me personally) I'll try doing a more quick run through next week. I appreciate it . |
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Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Izzy+coy - 2015-11-13 2:08 PM
Thanks everyone .. I'm starting to think every single little tiny piece of poop doesn't need out. (No matter how crazy it makes me personally) I'll try doing a more quick run through next week. I appreciate it .
No! The poo is dry matter.. It's the wet stuff you have to worry about... |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 516
| Izzy+coy - 2015-11-13 2:08 PM
Thanks everyone .. I'm starting to think every single little tiny piece of poop doesn't need out. (No matter how crazy it makes me personally) I'll try doing a more quick run through next week. I appreciate it .
I'm the same way you are - I want to be able to lay in the stall myself and not feel dirty doing it. Before my current boarding facility, I got paid $2 per stall and it usually took me about 2.5 hours for ten stalls (granted getting shavings and dumping manure was done the hard way). Being in college, I didn't have a lot of time so I learned if I really wanted I could whip through in an hour and a half, take the wet spots and big manure spots and leave the rest... But I had to battle with my OCD lol |
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 Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | Sounds kinda like the other girl is able to take advantage of your hard work and get done faster, plus the stalls look fine when she's done because she is picking up piles of shavings along with the poop. Which is much faster. But, it leaves you with the harder work of getting to the wet bedding and putting back shavings that she has just taken out. |
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