Horses in Africa

Volunteer Working Riding Holiday

Escape to Africa for 2, 4, 6 or 12 weeks of horse riding and living on the Wild Coast South Africa.

Are you wondering what to do with yourself and have been thinking of escaping on an adventure?

Does the thought of living like a local while riding and looking after top-class trail horses tick all your boxes?

Are you an independent horse-mad person who loves new experiences?

Are you a fun-loving rider who wants to work with and ride horses everyday?

Are you happy to help our team with the day-to-day care of the horses, schooling, fitness training &
taking local holiday makers on beach rides, as well as helping out with hosting our trail and riding guests?

Did you say yes to all of the above?  Then this is the perfect working riding holiday for you!

We have a long history of volunteers doing working riding holidays on the Wild Coast.

Julie-Anne has shared her home, horses and lifestyle with riders from all over the world for nearly 3 decades. 

In fact, many have stayed on to work with us and there have been a few who fell in love with a local and are still here! Then there are the many, many riders who have become friends and love our way of life in this tiny, friendly village on the edge of Africa. Some have returned to volunteer again, others have came back to visit with family and friends. One thing is certain - the Wild Coast is a magical place of wild seas, sandy beaches, spectacular views, warm-hearted people and wonderful horses.

We need your help to look after our amazing team of trail horses, are you keen? 

If you are not able to come for 2, 4, 6 or 12 weeks and still keen to ride with us,
please have a look at our other riding holiday options and stay for a week or two.

EAT, SLEEP, RIDE, REPEAT and LIVE LIKE A LOCAL!

A HORSE-RIDING EXPERIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA, WHERE HORSES ARE A WAY OF LIFE...

Bring along your spirit of adventure and a love of great outdoors and escape to our horse-filled life in South Africa. Our horses are much loved; they are a mixture of Arab, Boerperd, Thoroughbred and Percheron crosses that are perfect for trail riding. You will be delighted by how gentle, well-trained and friendly they are! The trail team is kept endurance fit to be able to complete our adventure trails along the coast, while our younger horses are brought on carefully with ground work and schooling.

What you will experience.

Understanding and practicing the principles of holistic horse care of horses that live out year-round in the African bush.

• Daily care of the horses, including grooming and feeding.
• Cleaning tack and equipment and basic yard maintenance. 
• Introduction to barefoot trimming, riding and management.
• Our horses all live out, so there are no stables to muck out. 
• We do regular ground work with our horses.
• Exercising & schooling horses in basic flat work & jumping.
• Fitness training, exercise & care of the horses.
• Assisting and taking out local holiday makers on beginner and more advanced out rides in Kei Mouth & Morgan Bay.

Daily Routine
Our horses live out 24/7 in paddocks situated at the Kei Mouth Country Club about 2.5km from where we live. We go to the yard everyday at 8am, and bring the horses in for feeding, grooming and checking. The rest of the morning is spent riding and schooling the horses or taking out any beach rides that are booked.
After lunch, rides depend on how hot it is and in winter, we need to be back before the sunsets. The horses are fed again in the afternoon and turned out for the night.
Our schedule changes from week to week, and revolves around beach ride bookings and our overnight trails arriving and departing, so there is always something different and interesting happening. 

Other Activities

Sunday is a free day for you to sleep in, enjoy beach time, go out for lunch or just chill out and watch Netflix!   

During the week we will make sure that there is plenty of free time for the beach and other local activities and outings, including game drives, paddling, abseiling, hiking, river cruise, spa treatments, local markets, restaurants, evenings out or even a deep sea trip with Clint to view dolphins!  You are here for at least a month, so there is plenty of time to fit everything in!  For more information on our village life, go to www.keimouth.co.za .