HARAS
du TAILLIS
I need a holyday !
Racehorses are athletes under a lot of pressure during their racing career. We ask them to be 22 hours a day in a box and then to do serious work for 2 hours. So from time to time they need to fill up their batteries. They need a fresh eye to look at them, to be checked through and to change their thoughts. Together with selected specialist (Veterinary, Osteopath and Blacksmith, we propose a “Racing Holyday”, with walker every day, light riding and a lot of freedom to jump and run on the paddock in the fresh Normandy air. It helps greatly to get them ready for another season.
Who is on the back of my horse ?
“Breaking” a horse is a dreadful expression. We are not breaking horses but we try to get them to work together with us and to enjoy the job. Well, they don’t talk, but they do show what they think if you are able to look.
The most important part of the “starting” process is not the quality of the track or the riding hall, but the person who starts the horse in the round pen and the person who finally sits on his back. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes a month. Every horse will have an individual approach and a personalized program.
We have a 700 m sand track in the forest and a 1000 m grass track, but our philosophy is that a good rider with the right approach can “start” and prepare a horse anywhere.
How much land for my horse ?
We often do look into the wrong direction. A nicely cut lawn and white fences are suggesting first class quality. But the basis of any successful breeding operation is the land with enough space and high quality grass. So ask the right question when boarding your mare: How much land for my horse? We have 240 acres of grassland for about 100 horses. Cattles are following the horses to clean up the left over’s.
For the winter, 100 boxes are available for mares and foals. The yearlings are kept in groups outside. We want them strong and resistant. We want them to build up mental strength and the will to dominate the others. Of course, they are looked after twice a day and fed as needed.
50 years of experience has taught us a lot about nutrition and we use today mainly natural elements in our feeding program. In any case, the foundation for a healthy growth is the stomach and we made this into the key element of our approach.