Train and ride our safe and sensible horses at a farm in Namibia

Details

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  Description

  Hello,
  I am Andrea, living in Namibia for the past 25 years and mainly stay in Windhoek.
  I have 15 horses on a lodge / farm 2 hours away from town. I spent the weekends on the farm, but during the week I am looking for someone teaching and training the horses in a more structured way. It is important to say that weekends are the busiest, so for your days off you better choose another day. Or you could collect your off-days and travel through Namibia. However you prefer :)
  
  Michael (your colleague) will always be there to assist you with the horses and focus on the cleaning and brushing part. You might have to help out once in a while but really only once in a while!
  Your task would mainly encompass to taking out the guests for rides - as a back-up rider, training the horses in the arena or riding out.
  Important is that you have fun :)
  
  If you are motivated and not scared of this task, this is perfect for you. You can be very independent in the training and I am always open for new ideas.
  It is very important that you have experiences with horses and are a true horse person, otherwise you wouldn’t be happy here…
  Even though I want you to have fun, we are ideally looking for two responsible people at a time.
  
  Your daily day will be different every day. You never know if you will have guests or if you have all day for your individual training. So you will have to be a bit flexible and just be open.
  When nothing unusual happens and no guests are there, you are expected to train the horses. Some are trained very well, some less … But all our horses are cooperative and friendly. No bucking or kicking or biting! It is very important to us that horses are happy and friendly. Hence, we treat them respectfully and never ever beat or over-exhaust any of them. From a riding perspective almost everything is possible: dressage, jumping, lunging, free work, walking and so on. We do have our prefered style but are open to new ideas on how to improve. Besides good riding skills, the biggest requirement is that you just love horses. On that foundation, the rest will fall in place.
  If Anja Beran or Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling resonate with you ... well ... that would be a first price :-)
  You can choose the horses you like, but of course I might give you ideas for a good match.
  You will never be on your own and don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Your safety and wellbeing is of utmost importance to us.
  You will help with Michael and I will come on the weekends. During the week we will communicate over phone to catch up on the guests and the training.
  A significant staff complement is staying at the lodge. So you will have the opportunity to connect with the locals.
  The Namibians are very open and friendly people and funny! This is definitely an experience where you can see the country from a native perspective.
  We had a few girls here already who enjoyed their stay a lot and this is a great travel opportunity for horse people who are interested in Namibia. It will definitely be an adventure!
  Hopefully that’s all for the start, feel free to contact me. I am looking forward to it :)

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Hospitality/Tourism
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  Interests

  

  Farming

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Animals

  

  Nature
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You will learn a lot about horses, even though you hopefully already know a lot. You can improve your English and social and intercultural skills. And you will learn to be very independent !
  And of course you will experience Namibia! The animals, the culture and the people. (Definitely worthwhile to take a dive into Namibia's history.)

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  Help

  Updated: This is a horse stable on a typical - though beautiful - Namibian farm. There is a dam normally fillled with water and camp-sites for visitors. So help with the outrides for the guests and the training of the horses is needed. Taking care of the horses, releasing the horses, brushing, riding, finding new trails. As we start fresh again at the new place, there are many tasks and opportunities and the objective is indeed that you do enjoy the stay while at the same time adding good value for us according to your capabilities; besides the basic requirement of good riding e.g. taking interesting photos for publishing or helping with errands or other chores at the farm or assisting with improving on existing - still very simple - stable facilities (logo still needs to be painted onto the wall ... ) or sharing general ideas or experiences on all aspects of our operation etc.
  If there are no guests - and there are not a lot altogether - you can decide what to do on your own. Please note that we offer room for own initiatives !
  There is a set of general rules and guidelines but if you - from a personality type - need close exchange, guidance and structure, we might not be the best match for you.
  
  In summary, sometimes you have to do certain things and the rest of the time you decide on the activities yourself. Our horses are very cooperative and all of them need training. On different levels though. I understand that it makes more fun to ride the well trained horses instead of the 'youngsters and more stiff ones' but unfortunately, the second group benefits more of good training rides and sessions. And we hope for your understanding and wish that training is equally distributed on the horses selected as a good fit specifically for you - from both groups. We normally agree on the bigger plan for the week which gives plenty of room for flexibility and adjustments and own initiative! As I am not out with you most of the time, I would appreciate a little feedback via whatsapp or a call on a somewhat regular (daily or every second day) basis.
  There is a weight limit of 90 kg for guest-riders; 3 horses can do that fairly comfortably but we have some smaller though hardy horses (Arabians and others). We would appreciate you not weigh more than 75 kg.

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  Updated: There is a one-bedroom cottage (2 single beds) with a kitchen and a bathroom and a big outside area next to the farmhouse. Experience tells that 'the interns' at the farm appreciate and prefer to share the cottage instead of staying alone. (I equally prefer to have 2 of you on site for your own sake, too). This implies that you should be comfortable sharing the cottage.
  Experience however also tells that interns spending time out there alone (as work-awayer) were enjoying the intercultural aspect bit more. All open in the end and up to individual preferences.
  The meals must be prepared by yourself. And the entire organization around it meaning buying your groceries is your own responsibility. Shuttles to town are provided or let's say available. You must be bit flexible most of the time when to get a lift to town.
  There is a wifi area. Network is not super-fast at the farm though. You receive a call and data package after arrival that will be renewed once a month.
  There is a studio at my house where you can stay-over in case a night in town is on the agenda.

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  What else ...

  Kindly note that - after 5 1/2 years - we have left the lodge in September and moved to a beautiful Namibian farm 'on its path to becoming' a guestfarm. Currently there are mainly campsites available. The farm is closer to town and is located on the scenic C26 which is a big advantage for myself. At this stage, we do not have a proper riding arena which limits the training of the horses. (They need to be regularly reminded of proper round and correctly ridden circles and orderly transitions.) Outrides and identifying new suitable and interesting trails is the current focus.
  I will need bit more time to update this entire page to correctly reflect new developments. But access to a staff canteen cannot be provided any longer. Instead there is a one-bedroom cottage (2 single beds) with a kitchen and bathroom and big outside area next to the farmhouse. Hence, the meals must be prepared by yourself. At the same time, you will be integrated more closely with other typical activities on the farm incl. driving to other camps to check if all is in good order or to town to conduct errands etc.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Internet connection is fairly reliable and good. You need to be a good rider though.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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