Friday 11 February
In
the morning I rode two horses in the manege as it was raining cats and
dogs. This time I rode the chestnut mare first and I carried a schooling
whip. She was FABULOUS! After the grey mare seemed ordinary and she is
no ordinary horse!
In the afternoon Willy and Gertrude
took me to see the feed company. LaGrost, in Burgundy where their feed is made. It
was 2 hours each way! That gave me a fantastic opportunity to pose more of my questions.
First of all we talked about the leather bit Willy uses.It is a pelham bit made by Meroth in Germany. You can see the bit here although the site is in german! Link to buy Meroth Pelham Bit. At 285 euros plus postage and packing it is not a cheap option! Meroth also make a leather snaffle bit which can be used with or without a headstall. Again you can buy this bit directly from Meroth or from the USA. For more details and videos in english see http://www.horsewellness-store.com/leatherbit.php. The Meroth snaffle purchased directly from Meroth is 65 euros. There are cheaper imitations on the internet.
Unlike metals, leather is a natural material and Willy has found that all horses like it. I can tell you that having ridden in one I will definitely be purchasing one for Eric. I will talk about the bit more and how it is adjusted and used in a future installment.
At the feed company we were given a guided tour by Sebastien LaGrost, the son of the original entrepreneur.. We were able to see, touch and taste each of the individual components of the feed including
Luzerne chopped (without poppy seeds which would contravene FEI doping rules!)
Maize - as popcorn and flaked
Carob (I liked this)
Linseed
Barley flaked
Wheat straw chopped
Sugar beet
Bran in pellet form
Vitamins & Minerals in pellet form
Syrup to bind
A vinegar based conservation to prevent deterioration in summer heat.
Sebastien told me that unlike many other feeds the recipe is always the same. All the individual ingredients undergo a strict quality control process.
Sebastien noted that that there can be a difference between what you give your horse to eat, what he actually eats and what he digests. I have noted that some horses at Willy's leave some components. Willy said the horse knows what is right for him/her. It is worth reflecting that the horse can't make this decision with granule/cubed feeds. Look at what is left in the manger or bucket. Look at the dung: Is there any complete undigested food elements?
Willy said that horses get very stressed when fed small quantities of short feed. Willy's horses are fed a large bucketful of the Lagrost feed 3 times a day. There is little evidence of stress. The manger is virtually never empty and the horse always has his straw bed to eat as well. It was interesting to note that few of them do eat their bed! The weight of a bucket of feed is about 3kgs which means that with 3 buckets a day they are eating about 9kgs. Here is a photo of the feed:
I was fascinated that a bucketful of this feed could take so long to eat. I have seen my Eric wolf down hard feed and also quickly eat huge quantities of hay. Willy told me that chewing is very important for the horse. It produces the saliva which is so important for the digestive process (and avoiding stomach ulcers) but also keeps the horse employed and happy in his mind.It takes a lot longer for the horse to chew short chop than long fibre.
Willy adds a herbal supplement to the feed of some of the horses. He decides which based on their health and when he notes that something is missing in the horses demeanor eg eyes, dung, urine, feet, energy levels. http://www.schaette.de/shop/pferde/stoffwechsel/ursonne-pferde-premium.html
Willy stressed that the horse must have continuous access to water. 80% of his body is water and it is important that the water is high quality. At La Chassagne, Willy filters the water as tests showed it to be high in impurities. Be very careful when using natural water sources such as rivers or ponds. When in doubt get it tested!
On the way back we talked again about the importance of a good team for the horse. The team needs to have:
Vet
Farrier
Dentist
Osteopath
Saddler
Rider
Trainer
Nutritionist
And they need to be prepared to work together, to communicate with each other and be open to learning. Willy is always saying "travaille ensemble".
He went on to say that there are 4 essential factors for success with horses:
(1) Good genes;
(2) Health;
(3) Patience; and
(4) Luck.
First of all we talked about the leather bit Willy uses.It is a pelham bit made by Meroth in Germany. You can see the bit here although the site is in german! Link to buy Meroth Pelham Bit. At 285 euros plus postage and packing it is not a cheap option! Meroth also make a leather snaffle bit which can be used with or without a headstall. Again you can buy this bit directly from Meroth or from the USA. For more details and videos in english see http://www.horsewellness-store.com/leatherbit.php. The Meroth snaffle purchased directly from Meroth is 65 euros. There are cheaper imitations on the internet.
Unlike metals, leather is a natural material and Willy has found that all horses like it. I can tell you that having ridden in one I will definitely be purchasing one for Eric. I will talk about the bit more and how it is adjusted and used in a future installment.
At the feed company we were given a guided tour by Sebastien LaGrost, the son of the original entrepreneur.. We were able to see, touch and taste each of the individual components of the feed including
Luzerne chopped (without poppy seeds which would contravene FEI doping rules!)
Maize - as popcorn and flaked
Carob (I liked this)
Linseed
Barley flaked
Wheat straw chopped
Sugar beet
Bran in pellet form
Vitamins & Minerals in pellet form
Syrup to bind
A vinegar based conservation to prevent deterioration in summer heat.
Sebastien told me that unlike many other feeds the recipe is always the same. All the individual ingredients undergo a strict quality control process.
Sebastien noted that that there can be a difference between what you give your horse to eat, what he actually eats and what he digests. I have noted that some horses at Willy's leave some components. Willy said the horse knows what is right for him/her. It is worth reflecting that the horse can't make this decision with granule/cubed feeds. Look at what is left in the manger or bucket. Look at the dung: Is there any complete undigested food elements?
Willy said that horses get very stressed when fed small quantities of short feed. Willy's horses are fed a large bucketful of the Lagrost feed 3 times a day. There is little evidence of stress. The manger is virtually never empty and the horse always has his straw bed to eat as well. It was interesting to note that few of them do eat their bed! The weight of a bucket of feed is about 3kgs which means that with 3 buckets a day they are eating about 9kgs. Here is a photo of the feed:
I was fascinated that a bucketful of this feed could take so long to eat. I have seen my Eric wolf down hard feed and also quickly eat huge quantities of hay. Willy told me that chewing is very important for the horse. It produces the saliva which is so important for the digestive process (and avoiding stomach ulcers) but also keeps the horse employed and happy in his mind.It takes a lot longer for the horse to chew short chop than long fibre.
Willy adds a herbal supplement to the feed of some of the horses. He decides which based on their health and when he notes that something is missing in the horses demeanor eg eyes, dung, urine, feet, energy levels. http://www.schaette.de/shop/pferde/stoffwechsel/ursonne-pferde-premium.html
Willy stressed that the horse must have continuous access to water. 80% of his body is water and it is important that the water is high quality. At La Chassagne, Willy filters the water as tests showed it to be high in impurities. Be very careful when using natural water sources such as rivers or ponds. When in doubt get it tested!
On the way back we talked again about the importance of a good team for the horse. The team needs to have:
Vet
Farrier
Dentist
Osteopath
Saddler
Rider
Trainer
Nutritionist
And they need to be prepared to work together, to communicate with each other and be open to learning. Willy is always saying "travaille ensemble".
He went on to say that there are 4 essential factors for success with horses:
(1) Good genes;
(2) Health;
(3) Patience; and
(4) Luck.
I will talk more about Willy's thoughts on breeding in a later blog.
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