Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions, Cancellation Policy & General Rules

By booking with BHANGAZI HORSE SAFARIS, guests agree to the following cancellation policy, liability disclaimer and general rules:

Cancellation Policy:

Cancellations can be made up to 48 hours before the time of the ride; this will entitle you to a full refund. There is no refund for cancellations made less than 48 hours before the ride.
It is your responsibility to ensure you understand the directions to our stables and can make a reasonable judgment of the time it will take you to get there. Rides will depart as close to the stated departure time as possible and they will depart without you if you are late. If you miss the ride because you were late, your payment is forfeited. Please remember you must be at the stables 15 minutes prior to the ride departure time.
BHANGAZI HORSE SAFARIS reserves the right to cancel any ride should weather or other circumstances dictate. Full refunds will be given in the case BHANGAZI HORSE SAFARIS cancels the ride. However, in case of light rain, rides will go ahead as scheduled and you have the option to join as planned or forfeit your payment.

Liability Disclaimer & Indemnity:

By joining us on a ride, you confirm that you are aware that horse riding is a potentially dangerous activity and that horses can behave unpredictably which may cause you to fall and/or get injured seriously. By joining us, you confirm that you are aware of, and accept, these risks in full and choose to participate at your own risk completely. Any resulting medical bills or expenses will be for your own account. You are required to have comprehensive medical aid and/or travel insurance before being allowed to ride. Under no circumstances will BHANGAZI HORSE SAFARIS be held liable for payment of such bills, whatever the cause of the injury.
Wearing closed shoes, long pants and a riding helmet on rides is compulsory. The helmet is provided by us. If you really cannot wear a helmet for religious or practical reasons, you herewith acknowledge and understand that your failure to wear a helmet exposes you to further risk, including injury and death, and that BHANGAZI HORSE SAFARIS cannot be held liable for this.
BHANGAZI HORSE SAFARIS is not liable for any damages, loss, injuries, or death that may be suffered by you whether occurring before, during, or after the ride. Indemnity forms will be required to be signed and completed in full before being allowed to ride.

General Rules:

Instructions by our guides or other staff must always be followed immediately.
The minimum age is 6 years old for the bush rides, and 8 years old for the combo rides.
Minors are to be accompanied by adults/custodians at all times, who will accept full responsibility for them and for their actions & behaviour.
Riders must be under 85kg. (Each rider will be weighed prior to the ride; full payment will be forfeited if you (the rider) are 3kg or more over your weight you (or your booking agent) stated at the time of booking.)
The ride will be catered to the riding ability of the rider with the least experience and groups will only be split if there is a backup guide on the ride. We always will try to take a backup guide with on the rides, but cannot guarantee that. If it’s safe to do so, we then split up the group so we can accommodate the more experienced riders on a trot and canter, whilst beginners can stay at a safe and calm walking pace with the backup guide.
Regardless of your own opinion of your skill/experience, our guide will assess your ability on the horse you are riding and may or may not allow you to trot/canter. Our guide’s word is final in this respect.
Disturbance of wildlife or fellow riders and unruly behaviour will at no stage be permitted.
Smoking during the ride is not permitted.
Anyone arriving under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances will be refused on the ride and forfeit their payment.
COVID-19 protocol: the use of sanitizer and wearing a mask is compulsory before and during the ride.

Note: Why are we so strict on weight limits?

As our horses all have different sizes and strength levels, they all have a different ‘upper weight carrying limit’ to prevent back injuries. Some big horses can take people up to 85Kg, other smaller horses can only take people up to 65Kg. If the rider exceeds the weight limit, the following problems arise:

It is considered animal abuse to ‘overload’ or ‘overwork’ a horse. We love our horses very much and therefore like to look after them well.
If you are too heavy for the horse, the horse will likely try to throw you off! We love you too and we don't want you to get injured.
A person too heavy may cause the horse a sore back or a back injury. Even if it does not throw you off, once the horse is in pain, it might throw off the next person that rides it, even if that person is below the weight limit for the horse.
The usual management of a sore back on a horse, is two or three days of rest. This means for the next few days we have to cancel all the booked clients we’d planned to ride that horse. They will now miss out on the most amazing experience of their holiday, and we miss out on income that we desperately need during these challenging times during the Covid pandemic.
Back injuries are often difficult and expensive to treat, and you really don't want to know the prices horse chiropractors charge... We like to keep our horse rides affordable, so prefer to not spend too much money on horse chiropractors.
Our insurance company does not allow us to exceed the weight limits on our horses.

For the above reasons: Under no circumstances will we put a person heavier than the ‘upper weight carrying limit’ for that horse, on that individual horse. As a result, providing us with accurate weights is essential, and failure to do so may result in the whole ride being delayed and cut short in duration as we must change horses (if at all possible), or you may not be able to ride at all and forfeit your payment.

So when you let us know your weight, rather ‘overestimate’ it so we will definitely have a strong enough horse for you. While it is a problem for a small horse to carry a person which is too heavy, it is not a problem for a stronger horse to carry a lightweight person. Better safe than sorry!