We loved house- and pet sitting in Lubersac! From the moment we arrived, we felt at home there. With everything and everybody: the place, the house, the surroundings. And more importantly: the people and the animals. If Siobhan and Craig and the girls had decided to stay away longer, we would have happily stayed on.

The house is old and a long term renovation project. However, we were given a downstairs bedroom with ensuite, which was very comfortable. The kitchen is temporary but still well equipped, so we had no trouble cooking lovely meals there. Which we ate outside most of the time, because it was warm and sunny almost every day.

Horses

There were no less than 7 horses to care for. Failte (28), Galaxy (5) and Melle (5) in the first field, Toast rack (11) and Lyri (1 month) in the second field, and Cello (9) and Tango (12) (the boys) in the last field.

The boys have a large field with shade and didn’t require much. Watering 2 or 3 times per day and applying anti fly spray in the morning. We did some ground work with Cello and that was a wonderful experience.

The girls had no shadow in their fields and therefore had to be brought in during hot days, which were most days. That brought some extra work with it: mucking out stables. Since the stables are big and contain a lot of straw, mucking out took us quite some time, including wheeling muck to the dung heap (about 100 meters away from the stables), bringing in clean straw and hay (about 50 meters away from the stables), and filling the water troughs, using 10 liter watering cans that had to be filled from a source that is about 30 meters away from the stables. We took it all in stride and considered it our sport of the day. And we have a lot of respect for Siobhan, who usually does all the work by herself.

Dogs

Taking care of the other animals was less time intensive. The dogs, Riley and Guinnes, only required food twice a day. They have the run of the place and can go for walks whenever they are so inclined. We played with them, cuddled them and brushed them, and generally enjoyed their company.

Cat

Crumpet the cat was no bother at all. She came in when hungry, demanding the opening of doors and the giving of food. The first week, she kept mainly to herself, but she showed herself a bit more often during the second week. So we stroked her and spoke to her, which she seemed to appreciate.

Guinea pigs

The 2 guinea pigs needed daily feeding and watering, and once a week cleaning of their cages. They were quite afraid of me, thus not easy to catch, and I was really relieved that I managed to clean out their cages twice without any of them escaping.

Chickens

Last but not least: the hens and roosters. Two hens had chicks that were hatched only days before we arrived. One had one chick, and the other one had three. She was named Cauchemar (nightmare), because she was so protective of her chicks. We had no trouble with her at all. Apparently, the aggressiveness wore off after the first couple of days.

We much enjoyed the hens and were sad that Cauchemar lost one of her chicks. One morning, she appeared with only 2 chicks. When we went into the garage, we heard a chick in distress. Christophe found and released it, and it was reunited with its mum. However, when we got back from grocery shopping in the afternoon, one of the other chicks was missing. This time, we didn’t find it, and we suspect it was taken by a bird of prey.

Final conclusion

Siobhan and Craig invited us to visit them whenever we are in the neighbourhood, and we would love to take them up on their offer. We’re curious to see the house and the grounds again, with all the plans they have for renovating and improving their home. And we would love to see them again and spend some time with them, maybe helping with all the work on their to do list, because we feel we have made new friends. And also, we wouldn’t mind at all to house sit for them again 🙂