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Mkulu Kei Horse Trails |
Rehabilitated Horses |
At Mkulu Kei our horses run in huge camps in
family units, the herd raises them as they would in the wild. They
are loved, protected, de-wormed and treated for any illness or
injury. Our horses live very privileged lives, are relaxed, happy and
natural horses. Abuse both physical and mental, whether from neglect,
ignorance or cruelty affect the horses for years and we believe it is
our duty to educate the public on the horse’s physical and mental
well being. Teach communication skills to the public, so they too can
talk to a horse and hopefully improve the lives of other equines.
 We at Mkulu Kei Horse Trails believe it is our
duty and responsibility to home and rehabilitate unwanted, neglected
and or abused horses and give them a better second chance. A
percentage of our revenue is used for this purpose donations are
greatly appreciated and in season my daughters Daniela and Luisa give
lead rein rides to small children on the beach a % of this revenue is
used to take in abused and unwanted horses. Volunteers on your
working riding holiday without your assistance and daily rate we
could not take in unwanted and abused horses.
We don’t generally go looking for an abused
horse but the horses find us. It could be a phone call from someone,
people we meet on our travels or during a trail in the Transkei. This
way we can offer a permanent home to the horses we have rescued and
worked with, some go on to be valuable trail horses while the mares
join our breeding program.
Without the paying riding gap year volunteers
and students we could not be in the position to take in unwanted,
abused and injured horses. This is time-consuming work and we just
would not have the hours in a day. Take a break from your studies /
career at Mkulu Kei without your extra pair of hands we would not
have successfully rehabilitated so many abused and neglected horses.
It takes time to get the horses trust and work through issues and
they require constant reassuring handling.
Rehabilitate unwanted and or
abused horses:
Some horses require intensive therapy,
others just medical attention. It is important for us to try to
work out what happened to each horse and work through the
problem areas. We then look at the new horse's personality and
allow them to find a valuable place within Mkulu Kei Horse
Trails. Once a horse’s trust is broken it can take years to gain
it back, but not impossible and very often once they understand
that not all humans are the enemy an even stronger bond can be
re-established. This requires not just human intervention but
from the entire herd. The public often comments on how relaxed
our horses are. That is due to the fact that every team member
both two and four legged contributes to the smooth relaxed
manner in which we approach our horses. A horse is a creature of
habit and by having a quiet routine the curious nature of horses
goes a long way to help rehabilitate a horse’s confidence.
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 "A
real ride to many places at any paces"
 During
your working/gap holiday use your knowledge and gain experience with
sick or injured horses, work with abused and rescued equines. This is
a hands on equine experience; no hours of cleaning tack and mucking
out stables; get straight to the fun part of working with horses. We
can proudly say we have not failed a horse yet it took more than 6
years before Valentino would allow a woman to touch him and 8 years
before we could ride Benjamin.
While some horses have gone on to be very
popular working horses like Holly, Flicka, Gwenevier, Tenacity and
Gunstone, others still have minor issues, which we are working
through.
See You in the saddle
soon!
 Donations
are greatly appreciated.
In the school holidays we give lead rein rides
to small children on the beach, the revenue is used to take in abused
and unwanted horses. Pony rides is hard work walking through the
beach sand but very rewarding to see the little faces as the children
experience sitting on a horse. While some kids are nervous, others
chat away making this task a very rewarding exercise and many of these
little clients go on to join us on the out rides. Any student who has
had the privilege of doing pony rides gets mobbed at the hotel by all
the children who know your name and ask about the horse they rode.
Rehabilitated Horses:
Unwanted/Abused Horses Some horses arrive
requiring medical treatment although this is costly initially
and may take time to heal, it is the emotional scars that require the
most effort, and it may take years before they become productive team
members of Mkulu Kei's working team.
Benjamin Bunny
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Benjamin Bunny a Welsh cob, breed and raised
in a perfect environment, a happy horse, a going child’s show pony.
He was lent by the breeder and owner to another riding establishment
in another town, some one we both knew of. After being used in her
riding school for lessons for over a year, the owner was called to
come fetch the dangerous horse. Benjamin was bucking, but not little
bucks, a frenzy of bronco bucks. When the owner went to collect him
he was thin and had two huge saddle sores; the people who loaned him
said that he had got the sores out in the field! The owner tried to
gain his trust but did not have the time or infrastructure to work
with him. He came to us. With intensive work on the ground we thought
we were winning, but it took one incident and we were back to square
one.
It has taken us 8 years of working with
Benjamin trying to earn his trust yet he still rolls his eyes in fear
at a stranger and can only be mounted from the off side. On a ride he
moves away from people on the ground, having an exceptionally large
personal space and you can still feel the uncertainty through the
saddle if he is approached.
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Benjamin will never be ridden by the
public, he is only ridden by our guides. He could be unpredictable
and anything can cause a flashback. Bennie as he is
affectionately called will remain under our watchful eye and have
a home for the rest of his life. A much loved horse by those who
have experienced his ride.
It boils my blood every time I think about the
so called expert/qualified???? Instructor who caused the problems,
she has since closed down her riding stable.
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Captain
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Captain was attacked by a stallion as a foal,
smashing his face and damaging his leg. As a result he is crooked and was
unwanted. A neighbour found Captain in bad condition, thin and full
of ticks. They feed and treated him but they could not keep him.
Captain had another unfortunate experience; he
rolled on a Puff Adder, a widely distributed venomous snake. and was
bitten causing a recurring abscess on the site.
Captain was a very valuable working horse and as he got
older we gave him the lighter clients. Captain was a popular lead
rein with the little people, especially the boys he thrived on the
attention he received. Captain has gone on to semi retirement, his best friend Blaze has retired and
it would be cruel to separate the two and as Captain struggles in the
dry months to keep condition it is kinder to retire him too. His jaw
and teeth do not meet correctly and as a result it is
harder to keep him in condition as he has got older. Captain has a home with us for the
rest of his life.
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Cinnamon
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Cinnamon, an insipid, sickly filly. Given
to us at 6 months, who we nicknamed "Sheep". My understanding is
she lost her mother a few weeks after birth and was bullied by the
whole herd. Her previous owners thought she was a colt and named
her Brutus, a name that could not be further from her personality.
A gentle mare who always approaches you in the
field, a mare we need to back although she is not ever going to be a
big horse she will make a sweet child's pony and ideal for the pony
camp kids.
Cinnamon has blossomed in to a beautiful
confident mare and given us a stunning foal Spice.
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Cheyenne
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Cheyenne was involved in a horsebox accident
as a 6 month foal. When she came to us she was petrified of
everything. Now on the ground she is great, walks up to you in the
field and she has given us two beautiful colts Maverick and Jack
Sparrow.
Cheyenne will probably never be backed, she
cannot be confined. She rears up as soon as she feels restricted and
has a panic attack. As she is happiest pregnant and throws lovely
foals she can remain a brood mare.
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Flicka
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Flicka a mare that fell on hard times before
we saved her and her foal at foot Tenacity, both covered in ticksand screwworm. Flicka
had an open sore between her ears full of screwworms.
She went on to be a very valuable trail horse,
used in the school to teach riding on trail and as a valuable brood
mare.
Other foals *Nsync, Black Velvet (Tinkerbelle),
Atlanta and Maya a very pretty filly from Sprit.
Flicka has since died of African horse
sickness after giving us many years as both a working horse and brood
mare.
The cornerstone to Mkulu Kei. She is deeply missed.
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Gunstone
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Gunstone was purchased from an abattoir in
terrible condition. I am constantly grateful I saw the real
horse, a trail horse in a million. Ridden by a wide range of clients,
he adapts to their riding ability. Loved by so many riders and my
highest revenue earner!
The sweetest kindest horse to work with both under
saddle and on the ground and a household name with many clients of
all ages.
Gunstone carried Carl a totally blind rider on
a 5 day trail, through rivers, rocks into the sea and even raced.
See client’s
comments for full details.
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Gwenevier
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Gwenevier
was purchased at a dubious auction in horrific condition, thin and
full of scars from some kind of accident. I was not sure I would get her
home alive.
She has proven to be an unsuspected success
story.
She has gone on to be a popular riding horse,
she loves the longer trails but is happy in the arena too.
A valuable broodmare and has given us three
fillies, Cleopatra, Aphrodite and Lola.
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Holly
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Holly was also purchased at a dubious auction as a
companion to another horse. Looking at her size I thought I would
breed from her but unfortunately she cannot conceive.
Holly has had extensive damage to her mouth prior to being in our care. I can only
presume she was ridden with a piece of wire as a bit! Looking at her
mouth I thought she would never be ridden, however she was my mount of choice despite her size.
My sole mate and a hard horse to replace as a working partner, friend
and companion.
Holly has retired from work and will spend the rest
of her life enjoying her freedom. Holly has lost most of her
teeth this season and the time has come to look at her best interest.
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Queen
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We rescued Queen from the Transkei in poor
condition, she had trust issues and was not the easiest to work with.
She has obviously been hit in the face. However working with her
regularly she warmed up to us and now checks you out and walks up to
you. Queen is not a beginner’s horse and can take advantage and go
faster if not checked. She was obviously ridden from walk to gallop
and thinks that is what is expected. The beach can be interesting if
you don’t take control immediately. However she is controllable for
an experienced rider. A very competitive small but strong horse, a
very forward moving mare with lots of energy, she wants to please.
She is impossible to walk with on lead rein as she walks too fast.
Queen has unfortunately been put down after
eating a poisonous plant that affected her brain.
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Tenacity
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Tenacity given her name for a reason, she was
rescued after she fell into a flooding river just after birth and had
to be revived. She was rescued again in terrible
condition from uncaring owners six months later and had lost her ear, due to an infection and
screwworm.
She is a great ride but requires an experienced rider to keep
her riding on as in the waves she gets vertigo. Once she has found her
sea legs she is awesome and has stunning paces. Moving on long
strides she floats, the nicest canter ever.
Tenacity has given us a foal
Tenacious Spirit with huge potential.
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Valentino
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Valentino came to us with women issues; still today he rolls his eyes at any
female, he would just tolerate me. We could not touch his head,
putting on his bridle was a mission. It took Valentino three years to
trust Don enough to put a bride on him, he would rear up the second
you touched his head. It was obvious a woman, from the ground, had
hit him and took 6 years not to react to a lady approaching him.
Valentino is Don's private horse and only
ridden by Don. Valentino adores Don, and completely trusts him. He is
a stunning ride and is ridden without a bit. Valentino has moved to
the beach stable. We wanted to put him into a pressure cooker
situation and learn that not all females are aggressive. As we allocate horses for rides watch his reaction, he
licks and mouths, he is asking you not to hurt him. With time he now
trusts more people and allows a woman to touch him, it took 8 years!
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We at Mkulu Kei Horse Trails, the two and
the four legged would like to say a big Thank you to all our guests
for donations towards rescuing and rehabilitating these horses. Thank
You. Cheryl
Horse riding safaris along the South African,
Eastern Cape, Wild Coast. For your equine riding working vacation and
African horse trekking adventure. Mkulu Kei Horse Trails.
Take a gap and study break between your
studies or from the office and join us on your gap year riding
adventure Mkulu Kei horse trails for your horse-riding working
destination and make a difference in a horse’s life.
See You in the
saddle soon!
Awesome hacking conditions, the best horse
riding countryside.
Come Ride with Us ...
…and you will see rolling hills, rich Savannah grasslands and
thick-forested valleys with multitudes of rivulets cascading down to
rivers that eventually spill out onto quiet sandy beaches, fantastic
high rise cliffs and spectacular rock formations that make the Wild
Coast in South Africa one of the most beautiful places in the world.
An incredible combination of cross-country horse riding and the
exploration of our beautiful coastline. And what better to experience
South Africa’s beautiful coastline on the back of a horse…
Ever thought you would like to canter
your horse along a beach, or play in the waves?
You could be here on your coastal horse riding
vacation. The sound of the horse's hoofs on the sand or splash of the
water will live with you forever.
Whether you dream of riding along open
savannah grasslands, pristine coastal forests or unspoiled Wild Coast
beaches, there's a Mkulu Kei Horse Trail that suits your available
time, riding level and budget ...
Contact Details:
P O Box 25, Haga Haga 5272,
Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Tel/Fax: +27 (0) 43 8411 525 A/H
Cell: +27 (0) 83 632 7298
During the day please contact me
on the cell, I am probably horsing around. Signal can be
irregular, please leave a message or phone me on the
landline in the evenings.
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