Helping Horses - Special Offer for 2018

Love horses? Then our team in South Africa needs you! 

Our Horse Rehabilitation team in South Africa would love more volunteers to join their team this year! Volunteers are needed to help to care for and rehabilitate 46 horses who have been injured, abused or neglected. 

The team in South Africa have reduced the volunteer fee to £895 for 1 week and £275 for each additional week for volunteers joining in 2018! 

The Horse Rehabilitation project was established in 2000 and is very much a family affair with Georgie and her daughter Penny. They have an amazing knowledge of horses between them and love to share this with the volunteers.

This week we chatted to Georgie who runs the Horse Rehabilitation project in South Africa:

Why are you looking for more volunteers this year? 

We have experienced quite a drop in numbers over the last couple of years and would love for more volunteers to come out to help us! We have space for up to 6 volunteers and would love for our team to be full. Unfortunately, there is no charity funding available in South Africa for rescued horses so we rely on donations for financial support and our lovely volunteers for help on the farm!  

What’s the best part of the day and favourite role for volunteers? 

Our volunteers love to work hard in the day but we also love to have a laugh and relax in the evening; they really become part of the family. This project is hard physical work and we try and do everything the horse’s need - including picking up manure! Everything has a price, even the horse’s waste, which we sell to our local golf course! You don't need to have any riding experience and you can enjoy learning to ride; you simply need to love the horses! 

There are other activities in the area volunteers can do - less than 7 km away we have Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve where you can go on game drives and elephant viewing. There are also trips to Bucaneers Backpackers pub for a few games of pool in the evening!

Saturday night is Braii night (Barbecue in English) with a game of darts, a few drinks and maybe the card game Cheat! 

Many volunteers ask if it is safe to travel to South Africa, what is your advice on this? 

As in any different country around the world, be aware of what is around you and listen to the advice from the Pod team and the project staff. I’m originally from the UK - I moved to South Africa almost 50 years ago - and when I first moved here, I was aware that I’m was in a different, strange place; it is common sense to be more careful. But you soon settle into to our farm which is a lovely, safe location to call home for your time with us!

Our project page is filled with details on the volunteer role, location and the next steps to join: https://www.podvolunteer.org/projects/horse-rehabilitation-south-africa