Draft Horse Lead Teamster

Draft Horse Lead Teamster – Charmingfare Farm, Candia NH
$22–25/hr plus tips. 40 hours a week, September through March. Housing provided. Relocation assistance.

We’re a working farm and year-round attraction about 20 minutes east of Manchester. In season we run 10 draft horses, a team of mules and a pair of oxen. Fall is wagon rides, then Christmas, then sleigh rides every time we get snow. I’m looking for one experienced teamster to lead the driving.

The driving

You’ll be on our Percherons and Belgians, singles and teams, wagon and carriage rides in the fall and sleighs all winter, with families sitting behind you the whole time. It’s a job with a lot of independence. Once you know our place and our horses, the days are yours to run.

As lead teamster the horses are in your care. Their condition, whether they’re right for that day’s work, and harness that fits properly every time. You’ll also train our weekend drivers and work alongside them all season, which is a good part of the job if you like teaching.

Driven in front of the public before? Carriage work, wagon or sleigh rides, fair hitch, logging, farm work. Any of it counts. Give me a call.

The rest of the week

About two thirds of your time is horses and driving. The rest is animal care and general farm work with the crew: feed and diets, daily health checks, records, pasture and enclosures, haying, and our events on and off the farm. Our collection goes well past the drafts. We keep farm livestock plus North American wildlife species you won’t see on most farms.

About you

• Someone with paid experience driving a team, ideally with the public aboard, who’s also spent real time caring for horses and livestock. You can look at an animal and tell what’s normal.
• You’re comfortable making your own calls in the moment. You like people, which matters here, because the guests are riding right behind you and you’re a big part of the day they remember.
• Weekends and holidays come with the territory, and so does weather.
• Valid driver’s license, 18 or older.

What I’m offering

• $22–25 an hour depending on experience, plus tips. Tips vary a lot from driver to driver, since guests tip for the experience you give them, but over a season they add up to a real part of the income.
• 40 hours a week from September through March. By February 1 we’ll sit down and talk about whether it makes sense for both of us to keep going year-round.
• Housing. I have two rooms in the farmhouse and will work out room and board for the right person. If you’d rather have your own place, Manchester and Concord are 25 to 35 minutes out and I’ll help you find something.
• Relocation. Tell me what a move would cost you and we’ll work it out.
• If you have your own team, let’s talk.

Call me, John Pyteraf, at 603-490-6650, or email john@charmingfare.com.

Charmingfare Farm, 774 High Street, Candia NH 03034