One week in the Aplujarra mountains in Spain with horses
NEXT AVAILABLE STABLE SITTING DATES : 24th NOVEMBER - 1ST DECEMBER + 2/3 DAYS BEFORE (TRAINING)
We are looking for sitters with a good level of experience with horses & animals. We have 6 horses, 2 small ponies, 2 dogs and a cat. It is important sitters feel comfortable & confident handling horses and have sufficient experience & knowledge. We are looking for an animal lover who can love & cuddle our pet family while we are away. You would need to be reliable, responsible.& physically fit/able. It would suit sitters traveling solo or as a couple . Honesty & reliability are a must. We are looking for sitters who will care for our animals to a high standard while we are away and treat them as their own. If you are a good rider you will have the opportunity to exercise our horses while we are gone in our sand school with a view & use the training equipment (jumps/caveletti etc) if you want to (optional). We are looking essentially for nice, caring and responsible people who want to stable sit and enjoy living & taking care of our animals in a beautiful part of Spain.
As a house sitter you will be responsible for
- Feeding the horses 2x a day & making sure they have water at all times (AM feed & PM feed)
- poo picking the paddocks every day
- attending any minor injury's/health issues/medical treatments of animals
- feeding the dogs (2 dogs) and cats once a day (+water)
- taking the dogs for a walk
- keeping the place clean & tidy
- dealing with any clients who may call round while we are away (just giving information and passing on my contact details)
- general day to day maintenance
- if you break something it will be your responsibility to fix/replace it.
- updates of how the animals are. Basically just keeping in touch (whats app message or email)
We are in a perfect location been on the outskirts, just a 10 min walk from the alternative mountain town of Orgiva. We are next to a forested area. We have local walks/hikes & the river or the doorstep . Orgiva is an alternative "new age" kind of town so there are lots of Yoga classes and Pilates classes as well as meditation , massage and healing therapy's on offer.There is a market every Thursday in town where you can pick up local produce eg vegetables and handy crafts. Our proximity to Orgiva make it very easy to make the most of your time .It is just a 10 minute walk into the town. It is not essential to have a car as the riding centre is walking distance from the town & shops and if you want to go further afield daily buses run to the coast, Granada, Malaga and local white villages from the bus stop which is walking distance from our home. Granada & the Alhambra palace is under an hours drive away. The beach is just a 30 minute drive away. If you are a good rider (after an assessment) you will have use of the facilities & horses, we have a large fully equipped arena to ride in and equipment for training horses (lunge lines etc) . Our horses live out 24/7 and they are barefoot. The riding school is surrounded by mountains and there is a river in the winter months.
There is a small house with one bedroom with a king size bed & Childs bed. The other room is a kitchen/living room. The bathroom is outside close to the house. There is wifi. There is also a caravan with twin beds (sleeps 2) and a converted landrover camper which sleeps 1 or 2 people.
Sitter will need to be realistic about their experience with horses. You will be left in sole charge of 8 horses so you need to be confident and experienced around horses. Handling horses and poo picking is physically demanding so you need to be fit and able. In the colder months the animals will share the house with you (2 dogs and cats) so you will need to be comfortable with that & happy to give cuddles.
The sitting arrangement is open to animal lovers only.
You will be responsible for providing your own food.
We will provide accommodation and use of our facilities (bathroom/heating/electric charging points/wifi/washing machine/ riding facilities/horse riding etc)
You will need to arrive a few days before the travel/house sit date so we can meet in person and go through the routeen thoroughly together before we leave ( so we can relax while we are away and you know what you are doing)
We require a security deposit of €100 upon confirmation of the house sit which will be returned in full once the house sit is completed. This will be returned to you and is simply a holding deposit so we know you are committed and will honor the house sitting arrangement made between us.
House sitters will be required to complete the "mindmyhouse" house sitting agreement.We will also fill out the agreement. This just makes sure everything is above board and clear (legal doc - can be seen on this web site see link below)
https://www.mindmyhouse.com/support/advice_legal
No, sorry.
Testimonials
Correction
As Becky pointed out it’s roughly 50 meters to the bathroom and shower and The feeding time is at 8, not 7:45
Maria, Sweden, 13 Jan 2020
Unique opportunity
Me and my partner minded the riding school over Christmas and New Years. Becky and Shiner are kind and considerate and it reflects in the 6 horses(or 5 horses and 1 pony to be exact), their two amazingly affectionate dogs Trooper and Fuego and their sweet cat Pebbles. The ad is accurate, you need experience with horses as you’ll be alone. The works is not too strenuous. We worked roughly 2 1/2-3 hours per day and could ride in the paddock as much as we wanted. I took the opportunity to learn more about groundwork and really appreciate the natural approach to horses that is the foundation of the farm. It’s not a house sit(as stated)but a glamming living situation in an older caravan. It is off grid living :) Gas heated and battery driven caravan. You have to collect water, do your dishes, use bathroom and shower 100 m from the caravan and take your garbage into town. If you sit during the winter as we did please be aware the the temperature drops during the night, some mornings it was lower than 5 degrees so bring your winter gear! During the day it was generally warm. It felt good to be self sufficient and to live a natural life among the animals. Town is a 10 minutes walk and there are lots of friendly hippies, health food stores and generally a good atmosphere. You feed the animals twice a day, 07:45 and 17 so quite a few hours off between work.
Maria, Sweden, 12 Jan 2020