About Us
We are an English-Spanish family, and you are invited to join us and take part in a fusion of at least two languages and cultures. Clare and partner Chico have a wide variety of experience and skills between them. Chico the native Spanish speaker runs the gardens and building projects. He also enjoys the horses and is relatively recently self- and horse-taught. Clare runs the horsemanship classes and has worked with horses for over 25 years in racing, showing, teaching, and now natural horsemanship. They have both learnt so much from their herd of horses and love to share their stories. Hopefully you will come and create your own.
- Inspire horse lovers and owners through open days, project partnership programs and workshops
- Train the sanctuary's horses sympathetically, naturally, barefoot and bitless
- Promote good horse care by creating an enriched environment for our own herd
- Raise awareness of the requirements for a happy, healthy, emotionally and physically well-balanced horse.
- Be in a position to work with owners and their horses to explore and share knowledge of horse behavior and welfare
Typical day
First thing in the morning we take a pretty 15 minute walk with the dogs from the village to the horses. You can either breakfast early before we leave, or take a break during work for a picnic breakfast. We are flexible! Usually when walking, on our approach we will here the horses calling for their breakfast as they hear us arriving.
Details on Arrival
The program is available all year round any start date, and any number of days, but please be prepared for weather! We can advise on suitable clothing closer to the time.
Free-time activities
Your stay here will provide you with memories and skills you will never forget! As well as those featuring the horses, there are festivals and parties that take place in all the villages. The big water fight in Atajate is in August; there is a German beer festival in Jimera de Libar in October and mushroom festivals in November. In summer there are music and horse festivals, foam parties and more! The beautiful local ‘white villages' vary from 2000 inhabitants down to a population of less than 200 and are well worth a visit.
As well as the villages, there are towns to visit. Ronda is around 25km away and is on a main coast to city train route. It boasts a spectacular viaduct as well as many other historic sites and a variety of shops. After exploring these, the huge variety of cafes and bars will offer welcome refreshment.
If, however you prefer a break from civilisation then you will be in your element. The surrounding mountains, forests and river are beautiful, peaceful and watched over by soaring eagles. Close by there are natural sites to visit such as the Canyon of the Vultures. There are guided walks to vast caves with ancient cave paintings. A Palo-Christiano church is tucked away off the beaten track and an Arab tower is hidden in the countryside with not a tourist in sight.
The beach is approximately 1½ hours’ drive away, and cities including Malaga and Sevilla are within a couple of hours
Program Requirements
We are flexible and do like to make this opportunity available for everyone as we enjoy seeing people learn and develop. If you are an experienced horse person, then you will already know that you can never finish learning and that the horse is the best teacher of which we have plenty.
If you are under 16 then we can accept you with permission from a legal guardian.
Included Services
Before your journey
On-site services
Fees are per person and cover a donation to the project in which we use to feed the horses, maintain and improve their living conditions, pay insurance, offer support and run programs etc. We include for free: Support and training plus one natural horsemanship workshop and a group walk-lead-ride out. Your fees and deposit are calculated in American Dollars to book your place. As we work in euros in Spain, your remaining fees (after deposit) are due upon arrival and are set at 140€ per week per person to allow for fluctuation in exchange rates.
Flights, transport, food, accommodation, days out, eating and drinking in bars are your own financial responsibility and not included in the fees. We can help you find accommodation locally which at the moment is between 8€ and 17.50€ per person, per night. We recommend you provide your own personal accident insurance suitable for the type of activities you will be taking part in.
Program Fees
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