Job Description

Grooming & Husbandry Lead

The Grooming & Husbandry Lead, based at 4-Square Ranch in River Falls, Wisconsin, plays a critical hands-on role in the daily care, presentation, and well-being of the equine research herd at 4-Square Ranch. This individual will work with a population of approximately 40–50 horses, supporting both research efforts and general equine care, while serving as the lead for grooming, horsemanship, and husbandry to ensure horses are consistently presentation ready for tours, VIP visitors, and customer engagements. This is a highly visible, public-facing role requiring strong equine skills, attention to detail, and a professional demeanor. The Grooming & Husbandry Lead will collaborate closely with the broader equine research and operations teams to uphold the highest standards of animal care, safety, cleanliness, and brand representation.

Equine Grooming & Presentation

• Serve as the lead groom for the herd, setting standards for grooming, clipping, bathing, blanketing, and overall horse appearance.
• Ensure horses are consistently clean, calm, and presentation‑ready for tours, VIP visits, and research demonstrations.
• Develop and maintain grooming schedules aligned with research needs, seasonal conditions, and tour activity.
• Assist with training or guiding part-time or rotational staff on grooming and presentation standards.

Horse Handling & Training Support

• Support basic horse training and handling, including haltering, leading, tying, grooming preparation, and standing behavior for farrier as well as the ability to load on a trailer.
• Assist with young‑horse handling and reinforcement of foundational horsemanship skills as directed by leadership.
• Help prepare horses for routine care, research procedures, exercise activities (including equine treadmill training), and public interactions by promoting calm, safe behavior.
• Work consistently and patiently to build horse confidence and ensure safe handling practices.

Equine Husbandry & Daily Care

• Assist with daily barn operations, including feeding, watering, stall cleaning, bedding, and sanitation.
• Safely handle horses across age groups, temperaments, and research classifications.
• Monitor horse health and behavior; promptly communicate concerns to management or veterinary staff.
• Follow all established animal care, safety, biosecurity, and welfare protocols.

Research Support

• Assist with equine research activities, including animal handling, preparation, sample collection support, and accurate recordkeeping as assigned.
• Assist with maintaining clean, organized, and research‑ready animal environments.
• Adhere to all research and compliance requirements, including IACUC standards.

Work Environment

• Combination of barn, laboratory, and office settings.
• Physical requirements: work requires constant physical effort and working outdoors in varying conditions.; lifting 50-75 lbs; shoveling, sweeping, walking, catching and handling horses; operates farm equipment; work requires normal hearing and vision; exposure to rabies and other zoonotic diseases, animal inflicted injuries.
• Requires irregular hours at times, including weekends or on-call responsibilities, especially during foaling season or animal health emergencies. This person will need to be available on holidays on a rotating basis with team.
• 7:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m., Monday–Friday; every fourth weekend; and select holidays (rotational).
• Work collaboratively with the Manager, Assistant Manager, and Grooming & Husbandry Lead to support team goals and daily priorities.
• Assist other team members as needed to maintain overall barn cleanliness and operational efficiency.
• Contribute to a respectful, team oriented work environment.

4-Square VIP, Customer Engagement & Brand Advocate:

• Support VIP initiatives and help host on-site engagements.
• Partner cross-functionally to strengthen customer and consumer retail experience, leading to brand loyalty and product sales through the 4-Square experience. VIP customers include veterinarians, equine influencers, retail channel partners (dealers, farm and ranch, online) and horse owners.
• Brand Representation: Act as a proud ambassador for the Purina brand and 4 Square Ranch, consistently upholding our reputation for excellence and delivering a superior customer journey.
• Professional Demeanor: Maintain a consistently courteous, professional, and composed presence, even in fast-paced or challenging situations.

Personal Development:

• Conduct work in alignment with enterprise and R&D team practices and goals
• Foster a culture that prioritizes Land O’ Lakes values and expectations across all R&D and partner functions/departments
• Engage in professional development, training and team building as needed to be successful in role

Required Qualifications:

Experience and Education

• Associate's degree in Equine Science or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience handling and grooming horses in a professional setting.
• Strong skills in clipping, bathing, and preparing horses for public presentation.
• Ability to follow direction and apply consistent handling and basic training techniques.
• Experience handling foals and young horses.
• General animal husbandry knowledge.
• Solid understanding of general equine husbandry and barn operations.

Competencies & Other Skills

• Physical ability to perform barn work, including lifting up to 50 lbs and working in varying weather conditions.
• Strong attention to detail and willingness to follow established procedures.
• Professional communication skills and comfort interacting with the public.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to safety.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience and Education

• Prior experience in a lead groom, show barn, research barn, or high visibility equine facility.
• Experience working with young horses or supporting basic training programs.
• Prior experience in an equine research, teaching, or agricultural setting.
• Knowledge of biosecurity, sanitation, and animal welfare standards.
• Experience supporting equine research or veterinary adjacent work.
• Familiarity with foaling and basic equine healthcare.
• Experience working around visitors, tours, or customer facing environments.
• Basic familiarity with recordkeeping or data collection.

Compensation: $21.57 - $32.37 per hour

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