Volunteer With Horses Abroad

What you will do when volunteering or on your working holiday

Accommodation

For these working holidays you will be staying in dorms with 2 to 4 other volunteers and sharing bathroom facilities or in home-style accommodation. The rooms do not come with lots of frills, but are clean and comfortable, providing everything you need.  Each volunteer has a bit of their own space to put their belongings. There is a great sense of community with all volunteers staying together and enjoying meals together. 

The highlight to all the programmes’ accommodation is their location. You will be living surrounded by Africa’s nature, woken up with the sounds of the dawn chorus in the mornings, feeling wonderfully refreshed and ready for the day’s horse riding. Not only are you surrounded by nature, but you also have access to a swimming pool in many of these locations, perfect for cooling down after a long trail ride in the bush!

Who goes on our volunteer/working holidays?

We often get asked if there is an age limit for our working-holidays. The answer is a giant no! All opportunities welcome volunteers of all ages and are equally enjoyable whether you are 18 or 81! Granted, I would say the average age is between 18 to 30 but we frequently have a wide range of ages, with the Wild Coast often having older working riders. At all the programmes, the staff are incredibly welcoming, and you certainly will not feel out of place. Much more important than your age is your attitude and enthusiasm to embrace working at an African horse stable. Volunteers that get the most out of these experiences love to get stuck-in and are keen to embrace a different form of equestrian culture. 

How long should I go for?

The minimum stay for our volunteer holidays is 2 weeks. Two weeks will give you great insight into the programmes and you should get to experience most of the activities at least once. However, if budget and time can stretch extend, we would highly recommend staying for 3 -6 weeks. This will allow you time to really relax into the swing of the programmes, soak up the bush and get to know the wonderful horses.  We have many instances where lucky volunteers stay up to 12 weeks! This allows you to truly become “part of the furniture” at the yard! Or, why not split your time between the two different programmes, allowing you to experience both the Zimbabwean and South African stables, or a bush and beach equine experience!

Riding levels

For most of our the programmes we can happily accept riders of all levels. Whatever your experience, your riding will improve dramatically after 2 to 12 weeks of daily horse riding. You will not only improve your skills in the saddle, but also your skills on the ground. Learning about the running of an African stables and practicing general horse management, horse care and ground-skills. 

In Africa, the vet isn’t a short drive down the road, medicine and equipment isn’t available 24/7 and tack can’t be easily ordered online. Whatever you think you know about working with horses, working with horses in Africa often requires a whole different way of thinking. It requires imagination, often improvisation(!), a laid-back attitude and determination. 

Even though these programmes can take riders of all levels, this will not hold back a more advanced rider. The programmes handle different riding levels brilliantly and they will often split lessons, outrides and the various activities into groups by experience. For experienced riders looking for something different, our endurance programme isn’t just for those who are keen to learn the sport. But for equestrians looking for an adventure where they can spend hours in the saddle, ride alongside incredible wildlife and lose themselves in one of South Africa’s most beautiful landscapes.