The Lusitano is the oldest saddle horse on the planet. It is a privilege and a luxury to have these proud and beautiful animals still around in all their antique glory, and our thanks go out to generations of horsemen and breeders who have maintained and honed this unique treasure over thousands of years.
Buying a horse is a complex matter that deserves time and patience.
You buy what you see and like, but you also buy a whole psychological conformation and history that is not so visible, but which will determine your long term relationship.
As a vertically integrated breeding and training facility we had the opportunity to refine our natural rearing approach and our zero-trauma policy along all stages of the process. Horses, like humans are highly individual personalities. When it comes to establish the human-horse working relationship where mutual trust, confidence and relaxedness are the main objectives, patience, and patience again is the essential ingredient.
We do not break horses – we start horses.
And what may take weeks in one case, may take months in another – what counts is the final outcome.
Knowing what we put into our Lusitanos over the years it is also of great importance to us where they will continue their life once they leave the farm.
If you are interested in taking ownership of a La Donaira Lusitano we invite you to SEND A REQUEST
A video of yourself performing riding and/or ground work
Stay of minimum 3 months
Experience working with horses
Good physical conditions, as many of the jobs require strength
Basic-medium Spanish. This is highly required, as a big part of the team is Spanish. So, knowledge of it is a plus!
We required a great passion for learning as well as a lot of energy in participating in a very special project
Internship
Our intern positions are designated exclusively to students of different fields such as hospitality, arts, equine and agricultural studies, and last about 3-6 months. Interns live at the farm on a shared home with other workers, all enjoying an environment of magical nature that invites us to explore, to do hikes or simply to meditate on the beauty we are blessed with.
Interns contribute to the team of selection, depending on their studies and expertise, La Donaira is a great place to get insight into how an eco-hotel, farm and equestrian centre work together.
If you would like to apply and find out more about Internship opportunity at La Donaira please fill up the following questions:
Employment
Our team is big and we are all working to a common goal. We expect professionals with different kinds of experience to keep building our team.
Generally, our applicants come to us through the advertisement of an open position, but we also welcome unsolicited applicants, send your CV, cover letter and references to apply
We are here to help you solve any questions you have. Do not hesitate to send us an email.
Some of tasks in a day to day routine:
Our schedule is rotational
Gardening: including watering, seeding, weeding, maintenance, works depending on the season
Working in the fields for harvesting, pruning, fertilizing and other works depending on the season
Construction (renewal of the communal areas, fixing, drilling, painting, construction)
Cleaning the Outdoor Paddocks from the horse poop (1.5 hour a day) on weekends
Cleaning the communal areas and keeping all shared areas clean and tidy
Helping at the staff kitchen with the lunch for the workers, cleaning dishes etc.
You will be sharing room with other volunteers of the same gender
Working hours for volunteers are 6 hours per day / 5 days a week
Volunteers program time could be minimum of 1.5 months up to maximum 4 months
All volunteers are submitted to a trial period
Food and Accommodation provided
We appreciate flexibility and willingness
Stable Volunteering Program.
Some of tasks in a day to day routine:
Stable maintenance: cleaning the outdoor Paddocks from the horse poop (1.5 hour a day)
Preparing horses for riders
Cleaning all materials used from the day and the riding arena each afternoon (all stable team does it together)
Riding is not regular. For riding the horses you need training (horses for hacks / school horses). The head of stable will take a decision after a skill check on site, depending on the volunteer riding skills
Cleaning the communal areas and keeping all shared areas clean and tidy
Working hours per day for volunteers are 6 hours / 5 days per week
You will be sharing room with other volunteers of the same gender
All volunteers are submitted to a trial period
Food and accommodation provided
We appreciate flexibility and willingness
