Horseriding and Nature at its Best
in Deutsch
Welcome to the Website of Equus Silvania![Environmental Policy]

Our horse riding facility and guesthouse is located in the village of Sinca Noua, which lies right in the heart of Transylvania, some 50 km west of Brasov. Equus Silvania is a German-Romanian business in that we combine western standards and animal treatment with Romanian traditions, cuisine, and lifestyle. We offer our clients not only great horses, but also a fantastic landscape and good opportunities for watching the Carpathian megafauna (such as brown bears or majestic Carpathian red deer). Furthermore, we have made it our premise to provide to our visitors a healthy and clean environment.

Equus Silvania participates in the development of a sustainable development strategy for Sinca Noua and tries to contribute to this strategy by developing our business as a sustainable model. This includes the employment of staff and guides from the village, the use of locally produced, organic food, and the inclusion of local attractions into the programme.

Barbara Promberger-Fuerpass, born in 1974, wildlife biologist. She grew up with horses. When Barbara still lived in Austria, she participated to numerous show jumping and dressage competitions. Barbara is the head of Equus Silvania.
Christoph Promberger, born in 1965, wildlife biologist. Before he met Barbara, he had little connection to horses, but is now all for it. Christoph is responsible for the economic part and the communication.

  Our local team consists of Nicusor and Gigi (responsible for our horses), Lorita (cleaning), and Mimi and Mariana, which cook for us. Greg Helm (see photo) is our guide.

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. Our experience of many years of field research about wolves, bears, and lynx is an excellent basis for discussions about wildlife and habitat conservation.

Energy and construction

During the construction of all our facilities, we have put great emphasis to use environmentally friendly materials. A large part of the thermo-insulation, for instance, consists of sheep wool. Wood has been our main construction material as it is a renewable resource, and we have abstained from wood preservers as much as possible. Our sewage is being cleaned by biological treatment of a reed-bed. Though as a tourism enterprise we are not able to fully avoid the consumption of fossil energy, we still choose sustainable alternatives wherever this is feasible from an ecological and an economic point of view. In addition, the avoidance of waste is our highest priority.

Food

We use mainly locally produced food in our kitchen. People in Sinca Noua generally don't use pesticides or artificial fertilisers, and the livestock is still kept the old way, that is, outside on the pastures. Our own vegetable garden delivers fresh onions, salad, zucchini etc. Other food such as milk, potatoes, lamb, and veal is bought from the farmers in the neighbourhood. We support the village on their way certifying their whole agriculture as being organic.

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.

Conservation contribution

We ask all our visitors for a donation of 40 Euro per week for our regional conservation and development fund, which supports sustainable projects in and around Sinca Noua. Furthermore, we are personally involved in a number of conservation projects.

Copyright © 2003 by Equus Silvania, all rights reserved.