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Antiwork

The story of how and why I quit at a horse barn

This is a bit of a longer story but it gets progressively worse, so it might be worth a read. I used to work for a semi big horse barn (~150 horses). I loved the work there, the people not so much. My boss was super nitpicky and a micromanager. We stayed longer at least once a week (unpayed) but lord have mercy if she ever caught us having a sneaky cigarette break or taking a bite. The day before christmas one of my coworkers came in wearing a mask. Turned out everyone in her family tested covid positive yesterday, her test was still negative this morning. She was not allowed to stay home. Everyone else was freaking out, because we would all see our extended family the next day ON CHRISTMAS EVE, which of course included grandparents and people at risk. My mother was recovering from chemo therapy at…


This is a bit of a longer story but it gets progressively worse, so it might be worth a read.

I used to work for a semi big horse barn (~150 horses). I loved the work there, the people not so much. My boss was super nitpicky and a micromanager. We stayed longer at least once a week (unpayed) but lord have mercy if she ever caught us having a sneaky cigarette break or taking a bite.
The day before christmas one of my coworkers came in wearing a mask. Turned out everyone in her family tested covid positive yesterday, her test was still negative this morning. She was not allowed to stay home. Everyone else was freaking out, because we would all see our extended family the next day ON CHRISTMAS EVE, which of course included grandparents and people at risk. My mother was recovering from chemo therapy at the time. None of us, neither her nor us were allowed to leave. I was crying that day because I was so fucking scared of putting my family in danger.

My manager was worse. We had a 16 year old working there as an “intern”. Meaning she made about 400€/month legally for 160hours/week. They said they'd raise her wage once she turns 18 and that she'd get free riding lessons. My manager BULLIED that kid. And I don't mean she made snide remarks. No, she was screaming at her for the entire barn to hear for every mistake. The kid was crying at least once a week because of the things she said to her.
She got a lesson maybe once a month because “she didn't deserve any more for her performance.” Our manager never tried to teach her anything (which goes for everyone working there) so she was stuck doing all the dirty work like cleaning, mucking and feeding all day.
She rode a horse there regularly (owned by a private person boarding thete) and she adored him. When she (understandably) quit her job, our manager asked our boss to ban that girl from the barn to make sure she never saw the horse again. Our boss, of course, did just that.

One day a yearling got stuck in the watering bowl with his front hoof. This is an emergency, because they will panic and worst case tear their own leg off. We managed to pull it out, but as it got free it hit my head with its hoof. (I had to crouch to get an angle).
We put the horse in a different stall where the water was placed elsewhere. The horse was unhurt but I was really dizzy and had to sit down. I called my manager, told her what had happened and waited on the floor for her. She came in, didn't even look at me, let the horse out of the new stall and it ran through the hall where I was sitting. I jumped up and almost blacked out. She then proceded to scream at my for how this could happen, how fucking dare I put that horse in a new stall yada yada all while she knew a damn horse had just fallen on my head.
She told me to sit down in the bureau. She then screamed at me again when I sat on the bench outside because I wanted fresh air. I then asked to go to the hospital because I really wasn't okay. She didn't say anything and just walked off. I drove myself to the hospital where they told me I had a concussion.

Here is where it gets real funny. I quit soon after. I loved my coworkers and work, but our management and boss was just unbearable. I told my manager very calmly that I want to quit. She got really mad because how fucking dare I and that it's better if I leave because my work was shit anyway She then started to insult me personally and that's when I snapped as well.
Haven't been back since and neither has the money they still owe me for my last month there. When i messaged my boss about that, she told me I still owed her money for my horses board and that I should consider myself lucky she didn't bill me. Boarding was free for employees. Unfortunately I don't have the kind of money to start a legal war with them over this, so those miserable asshats get to keep my last paycheck.
I wish that was all. A month ago my former boss called me to delete all my fake google reviews on their site. I was like: “the fuck are you talking about?” Turns out a couple of ex boarders there decided to collectively write a few negative google reviews with anonymous accounts and she just assumed it was me. She then treatened legal action. And I swear to you guys, I didn't have anything to do with that. That being said, if any of you read this far, dm me if you wanna add a few reviews and I'll give you the name of the barn. Because I am so done with their bullshit.

There is so much more I could write about this shit show of a workplace, but I'll leave it at that. Be better than me guys, don't let your employers or managers treat you like this.

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