United Kingdom
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We run a riding centre close to the forests and beaches of Tain, Ross-shire, in the North Highlands of Scotland. We offer Pony Trekking and long distanced Trail Riding holidays, specialising in Coast to Coast rides. We also have a small sand school and offer lessons and a saddle club. At our centre, we have over 30 horses! We have quite a lot of Highland ponies and Highland crosses but we also have an Arab, a Friesian, a Quarter Horse X... lots of horses big and small. We are a small, friendly stables where most of our horses are barefoot and live out. We use gentle training methods and our ponies are part of the family.
Because we work with horses it is difficult to guarantee the 5 hours per day. This is very important to understand, so to avoid any misunderstandings please tell us about your expectations, wishes and needs and we will organise our work schedule to find an agreeable and workable solution. Whilst the work can be tiring, our volunteers really appreciate the opportunity to work with the horses and ride both in the school and on the trails. Volunteers will find themselves in a happy, friendly family home and we are happy to put long term volunteers through training to become ride leaders. Our centre offers guests lots of opportunities to meet people from all of the world as we always have different people staying in the house with us or coming to ride with us. Because there is quite a lot to learn when working with so many horses, we request that volunteers stay for a minimum of ONE MONTH so they can become familiar with the routine and the horses. For longer stays, we are happy to provide payment for your help. Thank you!
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Help in the house
Animal care
You can practice your English, and learn to ride horses if you cannot already. Otherwise just enjoy the countryside here as there are lots of different walking trails in the area. We are only one hour away from Inverness so connections to all over the country are freely available. If there is a ceilidh (a highland dance) on locally whilst you are staying with us, we will take you if you like to learn some Scottish country dancing. If we are moving horses to different locations in the Highlands (we do long distance riding holidays all across the Highlands of Scotland) we try to take Workaways on day trips with us to see some different Highland scenery.
This host offers accommodation and payment.
We have a variety of things we need help with during the year - we have some fencing and shed building that needs to be done and we are also trying to build an organic vegetable garden. We also need help with a bit of housework and general horse-care and exercising and helping with rides and lessons.
Our work with horses can involve more hours than the minimum 5 hours per day/25 hours per week. It is important that you are aware of this and inform us of your expectations, needs and wishes. We will organise your work schedule by mutual agreement so please let us know what you need. Thank you for your understanding.
English (Graham also speaks French)
Depending upon the time of year, accommodation would either be in the spare room in the house or in a caravan just outside. All meals will be taken in the house.
We can provide lots of information on request. Please read our profile again for more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
25 hrs per week max
