Excellent training and breeding conditions on 600 hectares of land
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Excellent training and breeding conditions
The Jupiter Classical Dressage stud farm offers the perfect conditions for the species-appropriate rearing of Lusitanos of outstanding quality. On an area of several hundred hectares, we provide them with a life that is very similar to that of wild horses. Our horses roam freely through the vast terrain, with its gentle hills so typical of this region and countless cork oaks, which provide vital protection from the weather in both summer and winter.
Fresh spring water and hay are available to them in the extensive areas. An offer that the horses gladly accept, even if the pastures still offer enough food. It goes without saying that the herds are checked daily and dewormed regularly. Pasture management follows the well thought-out concept of permanent pasture. We grow our own organic hay to feed our horses.
At the heart of the estate is the training and breeding facility with 32 spacious and well-ventilated boxes, some with directly adjoining paddocks. paddock.
Paddock a covered indoor riding arena with ebb & flow floor and a spacious outdoor arena surrounded by picturesque oleanders.
Broodmares with foals
When rearing our foals, we follow nature's example and try to intervene as little as possible in the natural processes. This allows the foals to develop into physically healthy and mentally strong riding horses.
The broodmares live on huge areas all year round. They have their foals naturally in the protection of the herd outside on the pastures. A mare herd has a strong social structure and the individual mares look after each other.
The mare not only teaches her foal the all-important social behavior from day one, but also helps her foal to develop its natural instincts in the best possible way.
There is water and hay for the broodmares right on the farm, so they come to the farm at least once a day. We check that everyone is well while the foals get used to being around people as a matter of course. They need loving contact with people in order to build up a stable basic trust, which must not be shaken when they are broken in. In order to ensure this, the foals are already accustomed to human contact when they are close to their mothers.
Stallion rearing
After weaning from the mare, the young stallion is gradually integrated into the mixed-age herd of stallions. This herd of young stallions currently comprises 39 young stallions aged between one and three years.
The integration of the weanlings takes several weeks and involves various phases. First, the young stallions are in a separate area where they can have contact with the older stallions through fences. They are then moved to another area where they are accompanied by some socially competent and calmer two-year-old young stallions. They are then released onto the large areas together with them.
Thanks to our immense spatial capacities, the stallions have the opportunity to get out of each other's way and subgroups are formed in the first few weeks until a large herd is finally formed again after several weeks.
We have had particularly good experiences with these mixed-age groups for stallions. The young ones learn from the older ones. They are shown the ways to the best feeding places and water and learn social behavior. As in the wild, the older stallions monitor the younger ones to ensure that their games do not become too violent. In this way, the stallions learn real social behavior - a particular advantage in order to have a stallion that is also easy to handle by humans when breaking in.
Young mares
As weanlings, the young mares are placed in a group together with two or three older mares who act as aunts. Here, too, this has the advantage that the youngsters do not simply learn the law of the jungle, but real social behavior. At the age of 1.5 years, the young mare is then placed in a mixed-age group, which also includes some geldings and retired broodmares in addition to the young mares.
Preparation as a riding horse
As responsible horse breeders, we make sure that our Lusitanos are introduced to their task as riding horses without stress. They therefore learn everyday things such as scratching out hooves, being showered and tied up, as well as getting into the trailer with plenty of time and calm.
We work together with a great team who familiarize the weanlings with these procedures with a great deal of empathy. They are then returned to the large pastures and integrated into their respective groups.
After the horses have spent their first few years in complete freedom, with a brief interruption, they are stabled at the age of 3.5 and, after careful preparation on the ground, are broken in at the age of 4. Work on the ground includes not only calmly getting used to working on the lunge line, but also free work. In this way, the young horse learns to cooperate with humans on a basis of trust.
We do not measure the success of our work primarily by the awards our horses receive: We check our work by looking at the horses' faces every day. A soft eye and relaxed facial features are the benchmark for our daily work. Each of our horses is an individual that we see and value!
