Paying my Daughter

[Eli]

Is it wrong to pay my 15 year daughter to train my horses? I pay my daughter 10 dollars each time she works with my horse it has to be at least one hour of training time and twice a week. It usually ends up being 2-3 hrs. I get home after dark most of the time so I don’t work with my horse. Some people at work think I’m paying her to play. They have no idea how much time goes into training a good horse. Im better off money wise working more and paying my daughter to train. And she is probably better than I am any way. I just wanted to ask people who know horses. I think a lot of people would love a live in horse trainer to work with horses for 10 dollars per session. Thanks Eli

[Pete Jesse]

Training horses is definitely not just playing with them, she will earn her money. The opportunities to actually complete real work and earn money are lost to many in your daughters age group. Any opportunity for youth to “work” should be view as a benefit to them. My son is now training his second riding horse, the first one was trained to ride and drive. He was told by many that he would have to have a “professional trainer” take over at some time but he has trained them with out these professionals (Maybe that makes him one). These opportunities result in a natural increase in self esteem and self confidence that extend to all other areas of life.
Keep up the good work.

[Jonathan Shively]

In dollars and cents I never really paid my kids. Bought their school lunches and one week’s worth of gas if they wanted to drive to school. Otherwise, they bought their own 4H livestock unless it was from one of our cows or sows then they could have it for free and mom and dad bought feed. All money made from the project was theirs. They both when getting off farm jobs told their co-workers how easy the work was in town. “Go work for my dad one day my youngest daughter told one of her co-workers after stocking some shelves.” They didn’t feel underpaid, now they love it cause mom and dad feed out a hog and a calf and they each get half for their freezers. They pay the processing. They both told their husbands just a couple of weeks ago after getting their beef, “dividends, that is what this is, our dividend check!!”. Do what your heart tells you, not what the sheepie of the world say.

[Eli]

Thank you for your replys. I am sure she is earning her money and it is good for her self esteem and confidence. We milked cows 20 years so the older kids always had all the work they wanted, but we sold them 4 years ago. So my daughter didn’t have the opportunity to make money milking cows. I am lucky to have some one to train my team without leaving the farm. Today when I got home she helped me put the harness on my horse and worked her in the arena for a wile. Good for me good for the horse and good for my little girl. Its all good. Eli

[Billy Foster]

We work it this way at our place:
If whatever they are doing is for the house and family they do not get paid, it is part of being a family.
If they are doing something that we will get paid for, i.e., farm chores, cord wood, vegetables, then they will get paid.
Not sure if it is the right way but it is the way my mind works.
Billy

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