Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Reply rate
69.6 %
Usually responds within 24 days
Feedback
19
Email verified
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Details
Description
Hey all you lovely people,
Sorry if we haven't got back to you, been away for a couple of months. Back now AND…
We’re needing a hand in April.
You must have horse experience and love animals, carpentry/building/mechanical experience would be great, you are sociable, friendly and looking for a place to call home for a while. ;)
We are a Friendly British family living on beautiful Vancouver Island, we have a small horse barn with 4 horses, 4 dogs, 2 cats, 3 ducks and 2 chickens.
Becky & Molly (daughter) ride, train & compete horses, Becky has competed up to advanced (eventing) in the UK and is a BHSII (Coach) Matt is a civil engineer & loves to cook.
Mat & Becky have 2 kids, Oliver, who is 19 and Molly, 14… not forgetting Sam ( nephew & grown up LOL ) is here periodically.
We are a pretty laid back family, and enjoy meeting new people.
We need an extra pair of willing hands who can help with the day to day running of our little farm, as well as some help with reno's and building at our lovely home and acreage, so if you're handy it would be a huge bonus :)
There is always stuff to do here ;)
This opportunity is for someone who wants to join our family in all aspects, MUST BE SOCIABLE, TALKATIVE & healthy... We are!
We look forward to hearing from you :)Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You will be handling horses daily, so you must be comfortable around them, and want to learn what it takes to care for them.... we do prefer you have horse experience.
You will be part of our family for a while so you must be sociable, friendly and be prepared to pitch in.
We all do our bit, we love it when you become part of what we do here, it's a lifestyle not a job and if the horses or other animals need something they get it :))
We have made some life long friends hosting "workawayers" and would love to meet you!!
It’s important to us in this weird time that you are healthy. We are :))Help
Would you like to experience life on our small acreage, there will be opportunities to improve your equine knowledge/care, you must have experience of handling horses and not be afraid of them.... huge bonus if you are an experienced rider!
You will be expected to help around the house and barn and care for the horses, including the DAILY chores of mucking out, filling hay nets, feeding and keeping the barn and paddocks clean and tidy, pitching in whenever and wherever is necessary.... we have some house/outdoor reno's, & building stuff going on, so it would be helpful if you can use a paint brush or dig a garden or put up a fence, build a shelter. (carpentry) :)
You'll also help to keep the house clean and tidy.... just like you would at home!
Oh, and walking the 4 dogs (Harry, Mavis & 2 crazy springer spaniels, is always an option, feeding the chickens & ducks is also a daily thing :)
We ask volunteers to generally do about 5ish hours spread out throughout the day, everybody gets a day off :)
(But we don't watch the clock) if it needs doing we do it... that's animals for you ;))
Applicants need to be flexible, pro-active, have an eye for detail and be sociable. You will get out of this experience what you are willing to put in :-)Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
You will live in our beautiful house, shared bathroom…. there will be time to enjoy the local area.
Fully found (but buy your own beer.... :-)What else ...
We live in a beautiful area, 10 mins from the lovely little town of Qualicum Beach and the ocean, lots of beautiful hiking spots. Nanaimo and Courtenay are 30/ 40mins away.
Get in touch, we’d love to meet you.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
4-5(ish) hours a day.
Feedback (14)
pros :
- the place is beautiful and this is a super site to live. We can see it's a realized dream. Everyone is super friendly and they welcome you in the family. Becky will train you to learn different tasks and she's super patient and clear with you. Also she's always polite when she's asking something. She always thanks us for… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.0)
Communication:
(4.3)
pros :
- the place is beautiful and this is a super site to live. We can see it's a realized dream. Everyone is super friendly and they welcome you in the family. Becky will train you to learn different tasks and she's super patient and clear with you. Also she's always polite when she's asking something. She always thanks us for… read more
Smiley was always willing to put her hands to whatever needed doing, she was fantastic to have around and always got the job done. She became part of our family very quickly and I can't say enough good things about her.
Smiley we miss you and… read more
The work wasn´t too hard and I had quite… read more
The property and house are lovely and it was amazing to see it go from snow covered to mud and then to warm and green.
I loved learning about horses and spending time getting to know their different personalities.
It was… read more
Awesome and welcoming family. If you want to learn something about horses or you would like to improve your knowledge, this is the right place for you.
Becky, Matthew and the kids are very nice to stay with. The work is definitely fair and you will learn a lot.
Thank you so much for all these wonderful memories.
I miss you… read more
Molly misses jumping on the tramp' with you ;-))
We miss you too and look forward to your return in the summer
We rode almost everyday and Becky gave me few lessons too.
Thank you so much, I miss you and I'll try to come back this summer
I hope to return next year and hopefully Becky will carry on teaching me to be a better rider :P