South Africa - Horse Rescue and Rehabilitation

Volunteer role at the project:

Volunteers help to care for and give much needed attention to horses that have suffered abuse and neglect in the past. You will work closely with the horses every day and may be involved in:

• food preparation and feeding horses
• checking physical condition of the horses
• riding on beach trails
• assisting with preparations for trails
• working in the rehabilitation centre
• dipping
• grooming
• working with individually allocated horses

You do not need to be an experienced rider, but having the basics of walk, trot and canter are a bonus. The project accommodates all levels of riding experience and will tailor your activities accordingly.

Volunteers who are staying for at least 4 weeks and who have sufficient experience will also be given the opportunity to dedicate some of their time to working independandlty with a young, inexperienced horse. There is also the opportunity for volunteers with an interest in farming to gain farming and animal husbandry skills as the owner's son farms pigs on site.

We also offer placements to volunteers with professional skills (vet, equine dentist or farrier) who would like to utilise these at the project.

How the project is making a difference:

The family that run this project have been providing horse trails since 1998. In 2000, they moved onto creating a rehabilitation centre and since then they have provided a home to numerous horses in order to save them from abuse and neglect.

The objective of the project is to rescue and rehabilitate horses so that they can trust people once again. The motto of the project is “horses working for horses”, and this is exactly what happens. The project generated income from beach and bush trails that is used to fund the rehabilitation of injured horses.

Why volunteers are needed:

With over 40 horses to care for, volunteers provide additional support to staff so that each horse can be cared for. Volunteers are a vital workforce on the farm and as a consequence of their hard work, the farm is able to take on more injured horses.