New Horizons will be at the New Forest Volunteer Fair on 26th January 2020 in Lyndhurst.  If you are interest in volunteering and would like to speak to us in person you will be able to find us there.  Click here for more information on the Volunteer Fair.

We have a small team of volunteers and people who come on work experience to help us look after the horses and premises.

You don't have to have any horse experience to get involved as not everything we are looking for help with is hands on with the horses.

Volunteer jobs include, but are not limited to:

Horse Care

With a herd of 10 horses, there are always horse-related jobs to do.  From grooming and hoof picking to weighing, exercising (ground based) and training, there are many ways for volunteers who wish to be hands on with the horses to get involved and help us.

This also includes looking after their wardrobes (rugs, halters etc), feeding and giving them hay.

Gardening

Although we don't have a garden per se, we do have a small yard that needs continued attention to stop it from becoming overgrown.  This including lawn mowing, strimming and the potential to have some small, decorative flower troughs that will need maintaining.

Field Maintenance

We have use of a large 15 acre field and a smaller 3 acre field.  The larger of these is frequently subdivided and all of our grazing need to be looked after and maintained.  Jobs in field maintenance include poo picking, debris clearing, ragwort pulling, weeding, and harrowing when the ground is dry enough to do so.

Fencing

Our fencing is always in need of checking and maintenance.  This includes permenant fencing being checked and tightened, new permenant electric fencing being added to the perimeter fencing, temporary subdivision of fields with movable posts and electric rope, the checking and maintenance of energisers and the charging and swapping of batteries.

Handy Man Jobs

There are always jobs to be done that fall under the 'handy man' catagory.  We have a pole barn and storage shed that need maintenace from time to time.  There's also the opportunity to have a go at building some obstacles for our learners to use when working with the horses.

Office Admin Work

Admin work can range from filing to maintaining resources or even helping us prepare the resources that we need for upcoming sessions.

Centre Development

Volunteers are vital to helping us develop the centre and to help us gain new insights and ideas to keep moving forward.  This can come in the form of being part of an event committee, helping us with market research or helping us to develop ideas and resources.

Session Assistance

Our sessions can vary in the number of people, ages, and abilities and so sometimes we are in need to assistants for our sessions.  Volunteering in this area is less regular as it is only if a group session requires it.

Volunteering is open to anyone aged over 16 years old and we currently hold volunteering sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays 1pm-4pm, although this can be flexible if you'd like to help but cannot do those days/times and may change as our volunteer bank grows in the future.  

We provide volunteer training sessions throughout the year to familiarise our volunteers with the horses and horsemanship methods, and also to give volunteers the chance to give us any ideas and feedback.

If you are interested in volunteering please fill out the enquiry form below or email us at enquiries@new-horizons-eal.co.uk