Adventurous, Spanish-Speaking Colt Starter needed in Argentina ~ Couples/Family Welcome ~ Seasonal Work trade

Private

Email

[email protected]

Location

Argentina (El Huecú, Neuquén Province)

Job Type

Seasonal

Salary

Room, board, local travel expenses

Date Posted

November 13, 2024

Housing Offered

Yes

Experience

2-5 yrs

How to Apply

Via Email

Join our family for the summer on a remote cattle ranch in El Huecú, Argentina, starting 5 colts, and working with last year’s green horses. You will be free to green break and develop these working cow horses how you want, but you can also get support as needed/wanted.

These are GREEN horses, so you need to be up for the whole challenge — perhaps even starting with roping for haltering, for example. We are fine with handling the finishing, so we need someone experienced with starting from the very beginning. These are ranch horses and have not been handled previously.

This is a work-for-trade deal, no salary, but an exciting horsemanship and cultural experience.

We will cover all your transportation costs in Argentina (from/to Buenos Aires), and all your food will be provided — hearty home-cooked meals with lots of our grass-fed beef, goat, and lamb. “Asado” is Argentina barbeque, and it’s a big part of our life.

We are an American-Argentine family with a 10-year-old son, and we have very close ties to the local “gaucho” (cowboy) culture. There is no limit to how this partnership could play out. We are very flexible and open-minded. If you want to just work with the horses in town, great. If you get them to a point where you can take them on a pack trip into the mountains to visit gaucho “puestos,” great.

Yes, we want to get these horses trained (we simply haven’t had the time recently), but we see this job as a win-win partnership in learning, sharing and friendship.

Basic shoeing skills and horse first aid would be great. And packing skills and/or experience with cow work would also be a plus. But none of these things are critical. What’s most important is that you can develop the horses, and that we get along and enjoy each other’s company.

You will have your own private space to sleep/live, but of course this is ranch life so you need to be flexible, comfortable with a lot of group living, and be willing to help out with random jobs that will come up.

Ideally you will speak Spanish (so much more interesting for visiting and working with locals!), but it’s not a deal-breaker if you don’t.

It would be wonderful if you have a kid/s to hang out with our son, who is completely bi-lingual. He is home schooled, so your kids could get involved with that, too, if of interest.

If you are a couple and one of you is not a horse trainer, that’s okay if she/he is interested in helping with other work — gardening, cooking, building, schooling, etc., etc.

The Argentina summer ranching season is late November through March, but dates are flexible, and you could possibly stay longer.

If you can’t come to Argentina this summer, but might be interested for next year, please reach out.

⚠️ NOTE: My name is Sky, but through this ad you will be contacting our family friend, Ethan, who is helping us in our search. He has lived with us for many years, and he is easier to reach, and will help narrow down possible trainers.

Thank you for your time and interest!

And good luck with all your horse adventures.