Talitha has owned horses for more than a decade. She managed a large public stable facility, where she cared for more than 80 horses on 180 hectares of land. At the facility, Talitha honed the basic skills required for managing a smallholding, such as planting, grazing management, fertilizing, baling, fire management, wound treatments, and more. Talitha enjoys hacking and discovering new training methods to use on her young horses while caring for her personal herd of five horses and various other farm animals.
Hi, I’m Talitha van Niekerk, and I discovered farm animal ownership when I decided to fulfill my lifelong passion to have my own horse. I have started and trained several horses, including my own, and I am constantly learning about the care and management of other farm animals.
I love to write about my experiences, share the knowledge I have gained, and help others achieve their life’s passion for living on the land. My future projects include aquaculture and breeding tilapia fish in the large ponds I have on the new property where I recently relocated with my family.
With only 1.7 hectares to play with, I have managed to create grazing pastures for my five horses and expanded my free-ranging chicken run. I hope to soon dive into farming with miniature goats (pygmy goats, to be specific). My goal is to produce raw milk and cheese for local markets in the near future. Meanwhile, my chickens are starting to produce a steady supply of gorgeous free-range and organic eggs.
Animals are vital to my life, and I enjoy writing about them to help others discover their inner homesteader and become self-sufficient and more in tune with the land. My happy space is fingers in the soil and a horse nuzzling my ear or with a newborn chick perched on my hand. You can read all my articles here.