How To Become A Pen Rider: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pen rider and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Pen riders attend to live farm, ranch, or aquacultural animals, which include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, and other equines, poultry, finfish, shellfish, and bees. They attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. They also maintain records on animals, examine them to detect diseases and injuries, assist in birth deliveries, and administer medications. Pen riders earn a median sum of $54,000 annually or $26 per hour.

Pen riders are primarily responsible for the health and welfare of livestock such as cattle. They look for any signs of injury or illness in the animals while riding through pens or feedlots. They also receive, draft, process, and move animals daily to ensure their safety and welfare. Part of their duties also includes identifying any distressed, injured, or unwell animals and communicating this to colleagues and managers, and keeping accurate records of livestock.

The position of a pen rider doesn't usually require a formal qualification, as on-the-job training is usually provided. However, they need strong horsemanship skills and the need to have their own horses that are suitable for feedlot work.

ScorePen RiderUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,738

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.17%

Asian 1.82%

Black or African American 4.37%

Hispanic or Latino 23.61%

Unknown 3.06%

White 65.97%

Gender

female 24.68%

male 75.32%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a pen rider

Explore pen rider education requirements

Most common pen rider degrees

Bachelor's

37.3 %

Associate

27.5 %

High School Diploma

25.5 %

Start to develop specific pen rider skills

Skills	Percentages
Stray Animals	90.75%
Yard Maintenance	6.12%
Computer System	3.13%

Complete relevant pen rider training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pen riders learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a pen rider based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pen rider resumes.

Research pen rider duties and responsibilities

Review water orders and contact customers determining total CFS need daily.
Review water orders and contact customers determining total CFS need daily.

Prepare your pen rider resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pen rider resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a pen rider resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable pen rider resume templates

Build a professional pen rider resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your pen rider resume.