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DK Horses - Dressage horses breeding farm |
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 Nederlands
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Passion
As long as we (Anja and Wim) can remember, we have a great passion for horses. Our daughter Stephanie has adopted this passion as well, so that it has become a true family hobby. Although economically it is a hobby, our breeding objective is certainly professional, and we aspire to breed 'top horses'. In doing so, we acknowledge that many people share this objective (which is fine, as this will boost overall quality), and that this is far from easy, also because it is a moving target. In order to give it a fair probability of achievement over time, we have purchased young mares out of the best pedigrees, and also in the future we will do this from time to time. Even though we have the highest appreciation for show jumping horses, we do focus on dressage horses, as we get very excited from beautiful and fantastically moving horses. It goes without saying that functionality and top talent for dressage are very important too. We consider the colour of the horse to be of subordinate importance.KWPN
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Our horses are KWPN registered. The KWPN is one of the leading breeding associations in the world, and is constantly engaged by improving overall quality. We feel at home there. Quality of mares and stallions is very high. In addition, we frequently visit exhibitions, shows, etc. in Germany, which is clearly a leading country for horses as well, however at this stage only to gather knowledge on what is happening there. |
Jazz
The name "Jazz" frequents in the pedigrees of our horses. We think Jazz adds a lot, also shown by the prominent place of Jazz descendants in exhibitions and competitions up to the highest dressage levels. It is not a coincidence that Jazz is now leading the world dressage index! Jazz descendants have the reputation "to be difficult", although the opinions of experts are changing rapidly for the better. Our experience is that Jazz descendants are intelligent, but with a "small heart". It is therefore very important to be dealing with them from a very young age, and give them confidence. Our experiences in doing so are very good.
Raising
We do our utmost best to give every foal the best possible start, through
- Exercise: It is well known that exercise is very important for the development of young horses, and we do provide them a lot of opportunity for that.
- Optimal nutrition: Our philosophy is that only the best is good enough (but we do know that it is not straightforward to determine what is the best), with good balance between roughage and hard feed, and with due care for the requirements (minerals and others) in any phase of growth of the young horse. We are always interested to learn from others, so, if you have tips, please let us know.
- Frequent interaction with the young horses: We are dealing with the young horses from the day they are born on a daily basis, to build trust and confidence. It is a combination of many little things, but very important indeed. It also allows ongoing supervision of the horse's wellbeing.
Training
The training objectives are to develop the full potential of the horse, in a way which allows the horse to be able to achieve for a life time, and do so with enjoyment ('happy athlete'). This takes time, and requires the support of experts who are like minded. In this regard, we are very pleased with the method of the training of our horse Zhara-Obertje by Mr. Frenk Jespers and his team (see: www.dressuurstaljespers.com). Their motto is "control and trust/confidence", and we fully support that. It takes a bit more time, but in view of our hope to have, and enjoy, Zhara for the next 20 years, we think this is the right way.
Sales and economics
This is a difficult topic: We would prefer to keep all our horses, however, with an average of two foals every year (increasing to around five a year in a couple of years time), this will be impossible going forward. This means that we will be selling horses on a regular basis. It is very important for us to whom we sell, as we hope that buyers share our ambition to advance in sports and/or in breeding, and most importantly share our view that the well being of horses is the top priority. We aim to develop to break-even financially over time.
