With a lifelong passion for the natural environment, linked with a strong equine lifestyle, the owners Barbara and Christoph Promberger founded Equus Silvania in 2004.
Together, since 1993 they both have been actively involved in large carnivore and nature conservation in Romania, making great strides ahead. Today they lead two large nature and landscape conservation programs in the Carpathians and the Transylvanian Hills
Catherine Cord
Manager and Guide
Catherine originates from Germany and studied Biology before becoming a part of the Equus team.
She has always been a passionate horse rider and worked as a guide in Spain before. The two things that draw her to Equus are working with the amazing horses in this still very open and free landscape as well as exploring the nature with it´s wild touch just around the farm and in the Carpathian Mountains. She would love to take you on a little journey into the Transylvanian landscape in the best way possible – on horseback!
Katha Kolb
Guide
Originates from Germany and joined the Equus Silvania team during her studies in agribusiness in the beginning of 2022.
Katha is passionated about ecology and horses, and is happy to share her knowledge with all guests interested in these things. She is a hoof orthopaedist and has worked with horses in Ireland, South Africa and Namibia before, and is keen to show you the amazing secrets and curiosities of the wild Transylvanian landscapes!
Marius Ursaciuc
Culture and Nature Guide
Marius has a passion for culture and wildlife and is an incredible source of information on your trips to the villages in the Transylvanian Hills. Very knowledgeable especially about birds, he always loves to share his stories and will make your excursions anything but boring.
Samuelle Ullrich
Guide
Samuelle (Sam) originates from France and has worked with the Equus Silvania team as Ecotourism intern and riding guide since the summer season 2019. Sam is passionate about biodiversity and horses, and is keen to show you the amazing secrets and curiosities of the wild Transylvanian landscapes.
Zita von Kraewel
Guide
After finishing school in Germany, Zita joined the Equus team in June 2022. Passionate about horses she is always happy to learn new things and to share her knowledge.
Our local team
Our local team consists of Mimi and Georgi, our chefs, who create culinary delights for everyone. Veta and Lili, who keep everything clean. Ionel, Gheorghe, and Adrian take care of our horses, animals for produce, gardens and grounds. Ionel, our yard manager is the perfect handyman for whatever incurs on the farm. Marius, our logistics extraordinaire, keeps everything well stocked, in good maintenance and ensures the trails run smoothly. Alex is your first person of contact, full of a smile at the airport, he operates our transfers.
Conservation
Contribution
Equus Silvania is a proud partner and supporter of Foundation Conservation CARPATHIA, which has the goal to create a world-class wilderness reserve in the Southern Carpathians. Sinca Noua is not only on the Eastern most edge of this future National Park, but Barbara and Christoph Promberger, owners of Equus Silvania, are also directing the CARPATHIA project. In this context, we kindly ask all our guests to contribute with a donation to the conservation of these beautiful and important forests and grasslands.
Animal
Keeping
Not only is Equus Silvania home to numerous horses, but also to a variety of other animals such as cats, dogs, chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, pigs, and a donkey. Even though we do keep some of these animals for food production, it is our strong concern to allow all our animals a proper life. Conditions for that are:
- sufficient space to roam
- social contacts with members of the same species
- cosy and clean shelters for the night
- sufficient supply with natural food
- medical treatment
Our horses live in two groups in open stables with sand paddocks that allow them to move freely and complies with their need for social interactions with members of the same species. In addition, they are regularly turned out on large pastures
Animal
Keeping
Not only is Equus Silvania home to numerous horses, but also to a variety of other animals such as cats, dogs, chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, pigs, and a donkey. Even though we do keep some of these animals for food production, it is our strong concern to allow all our animals a proper life. Conditions for that are:
- sufficient space to roam
- social contacts with members of the same species
- cosy and clean shelters for the night
- sufficient supply with natural food
- medical treatment
Our horses live in two groups in open stables with sand paddocks, that allow them to move freely and complies with their need for social interactions with members of the same species. In addition, they are regularly turned out on large pastures
Our Environmental Policy
Equus Silvania has the premise to act in a responsible way in all its activities with regards to environmental impact. We are always open to new ideas of how we can maintain the integrity of the natural environment around us.
Education and Information
Our visitors get a first-hand experience and extensive information about flora, fauna, and sustainable land-use systems. We are attempting to make your holiday not just a relaxing and enjoyable experience, but also an interesting one.
Energy and construction
During the construction of all our facilities, we endeavoured to use environmentally friendly materials. Wood, free of non-natural wood preservers, has been our main construction material as it is a renewable resource. We heat exclusively with renewable resources and have our guesthouse insulated with a thick layer of rock wool. Solar power provides warm water throughout most of the year. As a tourism enterprise, we are not able to fully avoid the consumption of fossil energy, however we still choose sustainable alternatives whenever this is feasible from an ecological and an economic point of view. Detergents used in our guesthouse for example are 100% biodegradable.
Food
Here at Equus we use mainly locally produced organic food in our kitchen. People in Sinca Noua generally do not use pesticides or artificial fertilisers, and the livestock is still kept the old way: outside on the pastures. Our own garden delivers fresh onions, salad, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, berries, peas, beans, and many more vegetables and fruits. Other food such as milk, eggs, honey, potatoes, lamb, and veal is bought from the farmers in the neighbourhood. Pork, chicken, ducks, geese, and all cold cuts are from our own production. We are particularly proud of our home-made hams, sausages, and bacon.
Route selection
When we select the routes for our excursions, we take great care about conservation concerns. We avoid sensitive areas such as wildlife day resting areas or seasonally important areas such as those created by red deer rut. We also take care to not cause soil erosion and stay outside of wetlands, where the hooves of the horses may cause damage. In summer, we of course respect the farmers’ needs and stay on the cart tracks when we ride through hay meadows.
Guest
Feedback
We offer our guests keen and well-trained horses to experience unforgettable journeys with, while the fantastic surrounding landscape, abundant with unique flora and fauna, makes Equus Silvania the ideal base to explore from – not only on horseback
Deutsch