Horsemanship & Ethology Centre

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HORSEMANSHIP & ETHOLOGY CENTRE

THE OFFERING

HORSEMANSHIP & ETHOLOGY CENTRE

Can you imagine a place where horses and humans are treated as equals? A place where you can tap into the wisdom of these gentle giants and learn together. A place for workshops, trainings, interactions and coaching that benefit both horse and human. That is our vision at Quinta Carvalhas’ Horsemanship Centre.

Experiences for Human and/or Horse Well-being

Please note that all our horse experiences are non-ridden, unless you bring your own horse. Horses have so much more to offer than just transporting riders from A to B.

Coaching with Horses

In this personal development coaching session, the horse acts as a powerful mirror, reflecting your energy and giving direct feedback on your intentions in a non-judgmental way. You will be taken through a series of exercises allowing you to see yourself through the lens of the horse, which is incredibly healing and provides a fresh perspective on any life questions or challenges.

Pricing ( 90-minutes )

€75, p.p.

Physiotherapy Massages for Horses

Our Equine Physiotherapist will treat your horse to help improve performance, prevent injury, and enhance mobility and suppleness. You will also be shown passive exercises you can do with your horse at home, that will boost the well-being of your companion.

Pricing ( 60-minutes )

€40, p.p.

Meet the Herd

Spend some time with the herd and learn more about how horses interact and how to read their behaviors. Standing in the middle of the field, observing the horses in liberty, you will get to know all horses on the farm as well as their stories.

Pricing ( 30-minutes )

€15, p.p.

Shamanic Drumming & Meditation

Join our horses in the field for a free-flowing interactive experience. Connect with the horses through touch, matching breath and energy and then settle in next to fire* and let the sounds of the shamanic drums take you on a journey. Horses are naturally curious, and their presence will add an extra dimension to this meditation.
*depending on the time of year, in summer we often have fire restrictions

Pricing ( 45-minutes )

10 – 20 pax. €250, per group.

Meditation Walk with Horses

Meeting and connecting with a horse will bring your awareness to the present moment. After choosing and grooming your horse, you will lead your companion on a meditative walk. As we stroll to the farm pond, feel all your senses awaken. Once we arrive at the dam we will enjoy tea and homemade cake, as we observe the horses roaming around freely.

Pricing ( 90-minutes )

Solo €50, Duo €30 p.p., 3-6 pax €20 p.p.

Yoga for Horseriders

This private class is set in our yoga shala and is tailored to the needs of horse riders, with meditation and breathing exercises to help calm the mind, as well as physical poses aimed at strengthening as well as relaxing the muscles and joints, we use whilst riding. This private class can be tailored to fit any level of fitness and experience.

Pricing ( 90-minutes )

Solo €30, Duo €20 p.p., 3 or > €15 p.p.

Horsemanship & Rider Training

The Gentle Touch® – Horsemanship and Rider training with Premium-Trainer Monika Koster will help you achieve balance, trust and respect through systematic groundwork and riding with feeling and connection to your horse. The TGT®-Method is a proven learning concept which teaches in stepwise structures – independent of riding style or discipline. Improve your communication, feel and timing with intuitive and effective exercises.

Peter Kreinberg developed this method in over 40 years of training horses and riders. More Information: www.thegentletouch.de

The Gentle Touch® Horsemanship – Groundwork lesson

Learn how to train a horse from the ground to achieve trust, balance and correct timing of your aids and actions. Improve suppleness, understanding strength and straightness to be able to guide your horse with minimal aids – with a Gentle Touch!

In addition, Monika offers riding lessons for those who would like to come with their own horse.

Venue Hire

Looking for a place to organize your own course, workshop, clinic, training, or retreat?
If you are an instructor, trainer or coach who shares our vision on horse well-being, we will be delighted to host you at our beautiful space

We can offer:

Outdoor Arena (30m x 60m), with shaded viewing box
Indoor Arena (12m x 15m)
3 boxes, 2 of which have adjacent paddocks
11 friendly resident horses – click here to find out more
Spacious fields with shelters, as well as smaller paddocks
Horse washing bay
Possibility to bring your own horses
Indoor venues in various sizes for presentations or theoretical sessions (including screen, projector, flipchart, WiFi, A/C etc.)

And of course, you will have access to all the Quinta’s facilities, including luxurious accommodation and delicious vegetarian meals cooked by our resident chef, using fresh produce from our permaculture garden. – click here to find out more

Livery

Don’t you love seeing happy, healthy horses in the field? Quinta Carvalhas currently is home to 10 horses and 3 ponies, living in small herds on our 42ha property and we’d be happy to take on two more horses.

We offer various options for livery, to suit your and your horse’s needs: horses can be retired at our property, or you can choose to train your own horse at our stables, and/or we could train your horse for you. Our facilities include brand-new stable with adjacent paddocks, spacious washing bay, indoor arena for groundwork and lunging and a full-size outdoor arena, plus there are many hacking trails nearby.

Rest assured that your horse will be checked daily by our vet nurse, including changing of rugs/fly mask as needed. Your horse can be included in our roster for hoof, dental and veterinary care.

Starting price per month: €345 (including hay, excluding training and hard food, contact us for a personalized quotation).

Volunteering at Quinta Carvalhas

Are you keen to learn more about training and riding in a way that is based on two-way communication? This is your chance! Join Quinta Carvalhas´ Equine Team in the Portuguese countryside. Our small herd of 11 horses are wonderful teachers. They assist in our horse coaching sessions and our Quinta hosts workshops and clinics on various topics related to a more natural way of being with horses.

Who you are

You have a passion for horses and want to learn more about natural training methods.
Ideally you already have some experience, but you are looking broaden your horizon.
You are not afraid to get your hands dirty, you are willing to learn, have a positive attitude and are flexible. You are fluent in either English, Portuguese or French. Minimum duration: 6 weeks.

What your day might look like

The horses all live on the field, so we start the day going around to feed them. Then we clean the outdoor shelters, after which we start the training of the horses. This will vary day by day, but will include fetching the horses, grooming and general care taking.

Depending on your ability, groundwork, riding and hacking out, etc. could be added to this. Besides this, there are always cleaning jobs that need to be done, or you might help elsewhere on the farm if needed.

What we can offer

Work 25 hours a week in exchange for food, comfy accommodation, and the opportunity to experience new training methods and techniques.
Learn from our multi-skilled team and various trainers during clinics & workshops.

Quinta Carvalhas

Located 15 minutes’ drive from Golegã, the horse capital of Portugal, Quinta Carvalhas offers a different way of being with horses. Experience interactions for both horse and human wellbeing, as well as horsemanship and rider training using The Gentle Touch® method.

Volunteer Testimonial

KIND WORDS

I stayed on the farm as volunteer for the second time this year in the beginning of August. I didn't regret coming back to the farm, everything developed so well! First of all Michelle organized an amazing house were the volunteers could live, we had a lot of privacy at our house, but could come over at the farm anytime and, the best thing, swim in the pool when there were no guests or go to the pond which is beautiful.

I volunteered to take care of the horses and help at the stables, the same thing I did in 2019. Melanie is now managing the stables and is doing an amazing job. The horses have developed so well, they are all well behaved and seem to have fun working with humans. Melanie can teach you a lot about horsemanship and groundwork but she's also always up for a hack outside or for a swim in the pond with the horses. All of these activities were part of the 'work' so it was definitely more fun than any hard tasks. Of course, we also helped for example with the feeding, poo picking in the field and the mucking out stables, but this only took about two to three hours of the day, and the rest was filled with fun things as I told above.

All in all, I would recommend the farm to anyone who likes volunteering around horses or also in the kitchen or in the garden, as everyone is so friendly, and you can have a great time at an amazing place with amazing people. I will definitely come back again 🙂