From Coffee
to Horses
The rolling
lush hills of a former coffee plantation are now home to 600 of
the finest Lusitano horses in the world. The Interagro stud is
situated just outside the small town of Itapira, an hour and a
half away from the bustle of Brazil's city of São Paulo.
Four hundred
eighty four hectares of picturesque countryside are divided up into paddocks
surrounding the center of the stud where indoor and outdoor arenas;
dressage ring in official dimensions, a breeding facility and the stallion barns are located.
A tour
around the farm will show the mares and young horses grouped in
different pasture divisions. In one of them, weanlings are
prepared to be sent to the secondary farm only 15 minutes away,
where they remain until the age of 3, returning then for breeding
and training.
The mares
are kept in groups of some 20 per field. The colts are turned
out together in another pasture and the stallions are often grazing
in individual paddocks close to the stallion barn. Certain stallions
are allowed to run with the mares during the breeding season,
reflecting Interagro's intent to respect nature's role in the
procreation of these magnificent horses.
Stallions
With a Kind Temperament
A horse with
a kind temperament is on the wish list of many an aspiring rider.
At Interagro this is something the staff enjoy on a daily basis.
One of the things that struck the publisher of Sidelines - a national
US equestrian newspaper - Samantha Charles, on her visit
to the Brazilian stud was exactly that. (See left.)
Employees
Use Quiet Approach
The importance
placed on nurturing this gentleness in the horses at Interagro
is reflected in the work methods of the stud's employees.
The kindness
and calmness of the staff's approach is impressive. There is never
a harsh word or a heavy hand involved in the management of their
450 charges. Several of the stable hands are second generation
employees and have learned the philosophy and practices at an
early age from their fathers and uncles.
Antonio,
one of Interagro's longstanding employees is one of the principal
work riders, spending his day training horses both on the ground
and in the saddle. He explained his way with horses: "If you are
not hard on the horse, but kind and gentle and talk to the horse
it will respect you and you will get results," he said. "If you
get nervous and try to force a horse to do something it doesn't
want to do, you will not get results - not with horses, cattle
or any other animal."
Vets in
Practice
Dr Alexander Bloem
is the veterinarian of our horses, works
full-time at the stud farm overseeing the breeding program and
day-to-day health of the horses. The stud has a newly developed
laboratory and collection facility - a government-approved operation.
Alex, like
all the Interagro employees, goes about his work with a keen interest
and understanding of the breed - and the knowledge that managing
horses, and particularly caring for them, is not something that
can always be learned from a text book.
One of the
longstanding employees, Jair, is the manager of the new-born foals.
Alex, who specialized in stud operations soon after leaving vet
school, realizes there is no substitute for on-hand care during
the foaling process and that his workers are exceptionally devoted
to their cause. "When the foals are born, they are in Jair's care,"
Alex said. "And when they are with Jair - it is as if they are
in God's care."
Talking
to the Lusitanos with Stud Manager, Cecilia
Interagro's
Managing Director, Cecilia, has a love for Lusitanos that is hard to
match - not bad for someone who does not like to ride horses and
up until 15 years ago had just a passing interest in them. All
that changed when she met the legendary Lusitano stallion Xique-Xique.
"Xique-Xique
had all this folklore around him," Cecilia reflected on the grey
stallion that has become one of the most important influences
of recent Lusitano history. "I never thought I could have a relationship
with a horse like I had with him." When Cecilia walked to and
from her new office doing what she first perceived to be a 'desk
job', Xique-Xique would watch her from his nearby paddock. ("He
followed me with his eyes," she explained. ) Soon Xique-Xique
had captured her attention and her interest. It was the start
of a long-term rapport with the stallion that carried over into
a passion for Lusitanos.
"I'm scared
of riding horses," she admitted. "But on the ground I brush them
and hug them and I love to see them move. What I love to do is
observe them in the pasture - not in the arena or in their stall.
"At the end
of the day I love to just sit and watch them. You can see their
character. It's a lovely way to understand and recognize a horse.
Every horse here [at Interagro in Brazil] has a story and its
own peculiarities. I know who prefers to eat in the morning, who
prefers to eat in the afternoon and who prefers to wait. I know
the way they like to be brushed. They may all be horses, and all
the same breed but they are individuals and they show you their
personality."
Cecilia had
planned to be a vet before being offered the job at Interagro
- a decision that changed her life and her interests.
"It's not
just a job," she said. "It's a pleasure - a way of life. It's
fascinating to watch them - just look at their eyes.
Click
here for a more technical background to the Interagro breeding
program
