Give a Dollar, Save Happy Horses!

Hello, my name is Silvia. This fundraising campaign is for Happy Horses estate namely Svilena, Nikola, their 3 children - Alec, Jan and Khan, their newly built home, 12 happy horses and the falcon.

Our goal is to collect 14500 EUR to enable them to buy a second hand 4-wheel drive vehicle, to buy insolation for their new home to allow them to spend the winter in it (winters in Bulgaria could be pretty harsh and cold down to -25 degrees Celsius) and to finance the hay for the herd of 12 horses for the winter.

As the winter in Bulgaria is approaching, Svilena and Nikola need the funds pretty quickly, this is why we will run this campaign for 14 days only. Please support them even if it seems that it is very little you can give. Give a dollar save a horse! Let us help them to keep their way of living in the heart of nature along with their beautiful family! 

On October 15, 2016, after a long absence from my home country, 12 years, I visited an old friend. Svilena, together with her partner Nikola was living in the nature with their 3 children, 12 horses, 3 dogs and a falcon. I followed her on Facebook all these years, I loved the way of life they had and her posts and photos have always inspired me. Nikola and Svilena are the sweetest couple I know, the most loving, dedicated and motivated parents.   

When I visited them we had a lot to talk about but most importantly I realized they are in a desperate need of a 4 wheel drive car, insolation for their new home and hay for horses for the winter. A few days later after the visit, I called Svilena and offered her to start a fund raising campaign. Please know I am only the mediator in this campaign. Every penny donated will reach Nikola and Svilena’s account.

On behalf of Nikola and Svilena I thank you for your donation in the “Save Happy Horses!” campaign.
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Hello, I am Nikola! 
And I am Svilena.
These are our children.  

Nikola, Svilena and Khan (10 months old)
Alec (6 yrs) and Jan (4 yrs)

And this is the rest of our family....

Our happy horses
Our happy riders

Our red truck 

The falcon

Alec holding a horse saddle

We live here.

Our home
The horse stables
The building process
Nikola in action

12 years ago I chose to leave the big city and start a life off the grid where I can care for my horses, most of them rescues, that have been for me both, family and friends who never let me down. 8 years ago Svilena followed me in my choice and together we created Happy Horses Estate, a horseback riding school and a farm in the heart of the Valley of Roses in the central part of Bulgaria.
We built a dome-home, started a permaculture garden and an organic raspberries field, followed by a production line for healthy raspberry products, hoping that we can find the right people to join us and together to manage what we have created, so that we can all make a living, working with what we loved most- the horses and the land.

Making raspberry jam
Alec helping with farm work
Summer camp for kids
Our production
Khan looking at the forest muchrooms
Happy Nora showing our baby horse 
The Raspberry Queen at Beglika

Sounds beautiful, but it was not as easy. Especially in Bulgaria. The ever-changing laws, the beurocracy of the corrupt system and the migration of most young and capable people abroad, has forced us to give up on our plans, to a point where we found ourselves selling our land piece by piece in order to survive and keep our heard of horses together.

Finally in the very beginning of this year we took the hard decision to start over, and move everything in a new area, close to the capital Sofia, where more people are financially okay, and can afford for themselves and their children to ride.

We were given the great opportunity to manage and regenerate this incredibly beautiful pasture and it looked like finally we can ensure some steady income.
Sunrise at the new pasture

We put our dome up for sale. We planned everything and started the move as soon as the very wet spring allowed us.

We have been meeting ends since then, teaching lessons and organizing wilderness youth camps, and we already know, that things here really look more promising, though we are quite behind in our preparation for the long winter months...

But something very unexpected happened some weeks ago, that caught us completely unprepared and everything else went "down the hill". A malfunction in our old truck caused it to catch on fire!




R.I.P. old truck...

Saying Good bye to our old friend 

Our children and dog were taken out just in time before the whole truck went down in flames. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but when operating on a very tight budget, one thing leads to another... We found ourselves in a situation where we are no longer confident that we can ensure the safety of our horses (and children) for the upcoming winter. We still have not found buyers for the dome, and without a reliable transportation we can not manage what we already have brought so far. This is why we decided to ask for help- to secure funds for buying a reliable truck, for more roofing needed for our horses stable, and for a substantial quantity of hey, as the winters up here are colder and longer.

By chipping in to our cause you will be helping us in this hard time of transition to establish a safe environment for our horses' family for the winter and until we are able to secure steady income. You will be helping us to continue with our plans to create a Center in the Nature and our educational and conservational work and therapy with children in the wild, communicating with horses, dogs and birds of prey.

You would also be helping us continue to live our dreams and be the change we want to see in the world.
Every penny counts! No matter what amount you can spare, it would be highly appreciated and we thank you greatly in advance! 

Yours, Nikola and Svilena

Nikola, Svilena and their children