Retrospettive
A magazine on the Lower Saxony culture of horses
The horse Hanoverian is now one of the most important races for riding around the world.
The studbook contains about 19,000 active brood mares and 450 approved breeding stallions and covers the largest homogeneous breeding area in Europe.
The Hanoverian is one of the most important breeds of sport horses. A large number of horse racing has the famous H brand, known throughout the world, marked on their back left side, a symbol that draws inspiration from the crossed horse heads at the gable of the breeding farms in Lower Saxony.
For the importance of this race, in Hannover the theme of the horse is lived in a special way, to 360 degrees. Occupying an important role in the country's economy, the equestrian world is of great interest and has become part of the culture of the city and the region.
REINSTALL STOLBERG
Men and horses living in close contact. Indeed, there are numerous riding schools, and many country houses have a small tract of land used for accommodating one or two horses.
The horse also accompanies man at work. So, it is not difficult to see in the city groups of policemen on horseback keep monitoring the situation, both in green areas and in the center.
Also the riding events, both sporting and non, are followed by a large number of fans.
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The "Reinstalling Stolberg” is situated at just some minutes from the downtown of Hannover,
in the 'Eilenriede, one of the largest urban forest in Europe. The property is surrounded by greenery, where there are about sixty horses of which five are reserved for the school (along with thirteen ponies) and the remaining are owned from private customers.
In the stables the time is marked by the rhythm of the work of grooms and trainers. The day begins with the grooms that take care of the horses and the cleaning of the many structures: the handling in fact, has got several upholstery, two outdoor courts and one indoor, two rods to work the horses to the rope, a carousel for the daily movement of horses, a track gallop of sand 1100 meters long and some paddocks.
The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming, a place beyond time that unites children, young people and adults together with the same passion: horses.
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An important figure is that of Dr. Birgit Leopold Temmler that take cares of the training of the students of the riding school and of the formation and growth of young horses in the stables.
The school is organized with eleven hours per week for advanced riders and six hours of lessons for beginners.
Between the classes Dr. Birgit Leopold Temmer follows carefully the training of horses, especially regarding the plan training, developed in the rectangle next to the field reserved for the jump.
Each horse is trained differently, follow different rhythms and time, in accordance with the characteristics of individual animals, but the end result is the same for everyone: horses begin to learn the basic movements of the dressage like the changes in gait, circles and diagonals to arrive at more complex movements like the leg supplies, change of canter and supported.
NEUE BUILT
On April 25, 2010 in Langenhagen was inaugurated the racing season. This beautiful sunny day welcomed in the hippodrome around 12,200 spectators.
The whole complex of structures, built in 1970, covers a huge area, about 73 hectares. The flat track, 30 meters wide, extends over 1800 meters.
The important moment, then, is not only the race in itself but also the expectation and preparation that precede it.
An interesting aspect is given by the public. The races in Langenhagen are for everyone, the day at the hippodrome is experienced by the expert, by the fan, from the punter, by the spectator, from young and adults to the whole family that decides to spend a Sunday or Saturday afternoon outdoors in a beautiful atmosphere of sports and entertainment.
You can feel the tension before the race and hear the "magic" speech near the paddock areas, observing, within walking distance the actions of insiders, the jockeys and horses.
When comes the time of the race the tension is palpable. The horses head to the departure gates, and so all the audience is moved toward the fence to watch the race closely.
While the horses are positioned at the start a sudden silence falls, everything is on hold, pending, nobody knows who will win yet, everything can still happen.
But then suddenly the gates open and the earth begins to echo the sound of horses' hooves galloping.
The voice of the reporter accompanying the strides of horses that in a split second have already arrived at the finish.
Now everybody knows who is the winner, and with him there is the joy of the whole team.
At the end of the race horses are taken to a small track where are unsaddled and applauded by the audience, until they are reported in their garage, leaving the room for the ceremony.
The atmosphere is that of tradition that joins the contemporary; Hannover Racing Club, in fact, was founded in July 1867 and is the oldest club in the state capital of Lower Saxony.
The flat racing has always been a symbol of excellence leadership and exclusivity, this figure is supported by the large and impressive track in Langenhagen.
This figure is also associated with the past and the history of Hanover. This type of event, in fact, is felt and appreciated not only by experts and insider workers, but by all the inhabitants of this region, because it is rooted in the tradition of this city.
MOUNTED POLICE
The police department is situated in Welfenplatz nr.1 at just some minutes from the downtown of Hannover. In this center there are all the necessary facilities for the shelter and for the training of the horses.
The building dates back to 1867 | 69, was badly damaged by air raids in 1945. Later, between 1982 and 1986 was completely renovated.
You can feel the tension before the race and hear the "magic" speech near the paddock areas, observing, within walking distance the actions of insiders, the jockeys and horses.
The police department is situated in Welfenplatz nr.1 at just some minutes from the downtown of Hannover. In this center there are all the necessary facilities for the shelter and for the training of the horses.
The building dates back to 1867 | 69, was badly damaged by air raids in 1945. Later, between 1982 and 1986 was completely renovated.
Today this police station has a large indoor riding, a large open field, an area where the horses are shoed and stables at the huge stables where there are about thirty-two horses.
The handling is managed by four grooms, however, are the same cops who deal with the daily care of horses: the restoration of the stable, the maintenance of fields, from cleaning to preparing the horses and then the same attention for the saddles, harnesses , shins, power and small medical interventions.
today, in fact the horse is used to reach and to control easier certain areas of city parks, green spaces, nature reserves, to monitor parking spaces and control crime in the area of stolen vehicles engine, monitor spaces such as the airport or the spaces for the fairs, to operate the service daily patrols in the region of Hanover, as support for local and regional services; across the Lower Saxony police actions such as investigations, wiretaps and search measures in camp evacuations of large crowds and monitor and protect the city during events such as football matches, outdoor concerts, meetings and demonstrations.
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No less important is the training of horses. Indeed, the predominantly breed is the Hanoverian breed, the horses are purchased at a young age, around 3 | 4 years, because they must be trained differently than an ordinary saddle horse.
The training time of a police horse is usually 12 months, in this time the horse learns the basic exercises of dressage, jumping and cross country, but the teaching work is concentrated on a habit form to the visual and auditory stimuli and to establish a good relationship between the animal and all that surrounds it.
The horses are accustomed to the noises of the street making them walk through the city in the company of an older and experienced horse and parallel they need to get used to the visual and auditory stimuli as soon as possible in order to be optimally maintained in every situation, in fact, being prey animals, in an emergency as first instinct they want to escape.
At first they have to gain the trust of the horse in a playful way, reinforcing the character of the animal. The horse must always emerge from the game as the "winner". The hours of training must be completed as a successful experience for the horse: at first is followed the principle "from easy to difficult." If confidence is large enough, horse and rider can tackle anything.
This is why the police devote most of the day to the training of their horses, beginning with simple movements of dressage, exercises with barriers and jumps right up to the "games". These exercises are designed to accustom the horse to several visual and auditory stimuli, in fact, after you have all the horses side by side,all the riders begin to use objects and sounds to create an interaction between them and the animals.
When the police make big colored balls roll under the legs of horses and waving flags on them, they must remain steadfast, immovable, impassive, should not be afraid and must continue to listen to the commands of its rider. The same happens when a policeman fired gunshots. This is to give courage to the horse and create a good relationship with the external environment so that in case of danger, is able to overcome any situation.
LANDGESTUT CELLE
The stable Landgestüt cells has a long tradition, in fact it was founded on 27 July 1735 by decree of George II, Elector of Hanover and King of Great Britain. In 1800 the property has about 100 stallions that were offered to farmers at affordable rates.
Today the stable is able to offer about 140 stallions, 40 of which have three years and are completing their training period of 11 months at the station of Adelheidsdorf Performance Testing.
The main work in the stables is to promote the horse breeding of the country, providing high quality stallions, and research in modern biotechnology, such as artificial insemination or embryo transfer. In this way the traditional horse breeding is combined modern times.
The farm is spread over a large land and includes a main stable flanked by some smaller stables, a big field for work with horses and an outdoor handling, several paddocks and many green areas. The atmosphere is quiet and protected, like an oasis within the city.
One of several areas inside the property is dedicated to the withdrawal of semen of stallions. This insemination station was founded in 1973 and since that time the center has been enhanced thanks to close collaboration with the Veterinary University of Hannover. For this reason Celle’s station now enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide. To take the semen, the team of breeders use a "phantom" which simulates the mare, the presence of a mare in heat near the dummy stimulates the stallion. At this time the veterinarian is able to take a sample of semen of the horse which will be refrigerated if it is sent to away during the same day, or frozen.
In this center, also are practiced even artificial insemination, on average about 15 a day.
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Inside the main stable are housed mares with their foals. Inside the stall all is silent, you hear only the sound of hooves on the straw, and occasionally runs some small nitrite. Everything is wrapped by a strong smell of hay.
The time is marked by animal meal times, by the cleaning of the boxes and the visits that are made twice a day. Dr. Jana Biermann takes care of mares and foals housed in stables, one by one she visits all the mares. The gynecological examination consists of palpation and transrectal ultrasound. In this way it’s possible to keep monitoring the health of the mares. The mares are brought, one by one, inside a small box in the center of the stable, to be subjected to analysis. The veterinary appointment all the data in order to compare them with previous ones and control all values obtained. This work occupies most of the morning and afternoon because the visits are carried out accurately and because all mares on the farm, which currently are more than 50, must be analyzed. Both mares and foals are not owned by the breeding but by individuals who decide to take them to Landgestüt Cells to undergo a more careful control and monitoring. Alongside this activity, breeding also organizes various events within the structures of the handling, to promote their horses.
The most important event is for sure the parade of stallions that occurs during the last two weeks of September. This event is rooted in the tradition of Hannover, in fact the first parade dates back to 1745, when 41 stallions paraded in the presence of King George II in Herrenhausen Garten.
During the parade stallions are presented to the public by running off them by hand or under the saddle of experienced riders, or perform attacks. They also created demonstrations of classical riding and driving coaches, all rebuilt with vintage uniforms that highlight the attachment to this wonderful tradition rooted in Hannover which stars are the horses.
