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Home -> Horses and riding
Horses and riding
The number of horses has increased in recent years which has been hard to miss whilst driving around on the countryside in Sweden. The number of horses is higher than the number of cows for the first time in modern years.
However, the breeds are a little bit different than they used to be. The working horse, Ardennes horse & Nordsvensk, has been replaced by riding horses such as half-breed and thoroughbreds.
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From Working Horse...
Before the country’s agroforestry was mechanised by tractors and harvesters, the horse was the vital component when working with the land. There is a lot of horse gear that still exists and is collecting dust in forgotten corners on most of our farms. There was the plough, horse hoe, seed sower, mower, hay rake and much more that was put behind the horses. In the wood the sledges was loaded with timber or the timber was dragged from the forest and away.
The long standing partner in every day work was later swapped for motorized powers, for both good and bad. The new work tools were totally superior in their capacity and they did not get tired and could not get hurt, beyond the odd easy to fix breakdown.
With this, large parts of horse breeding ceased as the need for working horses became small. In only a few decades, our working fleet of horses disappeared, which had been dominated by the so called cold-blooded horses, Ardennes och Nordsvensk.
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Two best friends aglow!
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...to Recreation Horse
The more and more stressed modern man has in a relatively short period of time returned to the traditional working machine - the horse - albeit to another end. The working breeds have in several areas been swapped to breeds that jump higher, run faster and walk to music both forwards and backwards, mostly half and thoroughbreds.
An improved economic outlook for many has made it possible for people to buy a horse and there are many that dream about making their living from their hobby, like the famous Swedish show jumper Malin Baryard. This though is only for a select few and most horses with their horsemen and women exist purely for recreation.
The new horse industry in Sweden is worth billions in revenues and instills a “burning” interest in adults and youths. This has in many farming areas created new opportunities for a source of income. Construction of stables, enclosures and illuminated paddocks, is a new business operation to the farming companies and a good niche that have given another leg to stand on in an unsure line of business.
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Horses are unmistakably herd animals. At our farm, there are horses of half-breed but the Nordsvenska working horse dominates.
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The Horse is Back – at ours as well
As described in the history of the country, the horse has returned to us as well, at Ormsätter.
My grandfather Birger, used to keep Ardennes and a few Nordsvenska horses too. Certain periods he had stallions as well and neighbours around the parish used to bring their mares. The agroforestry was run by horses and it created work for many people at the farm.
But the tractor found its way toVikbolandet as well and in time the horses and the people who worked with them disappeared. Left were all the wagons, sledges, yokes, harnesses, beltings and shafts that my father used for work - all the memories.
In the end, as at many other farms the horse has finally returned and at ours as well! Of course it is my wife that holds the biggest equine interest, eagerly encouraged by my helpful father. I stay in the background and is the one who carries the fodder and fixes the fences, but I am happy doing just that.
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Cayenn – riding horse of half-breed
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Half-breed and Nordsvenskar
A few years ago when my wife got her first horse, a half-breed, it did not take too long before my father added (yes, you guessed it) a Nordsvensk. From Kåre Gustavsson in Emmetorp outside of Hällestad, in the northern part of Östergötland, came the trailer with a Nordsvensk mare, Uni.
After about a year, the idea of having a foal by the Nordsvensk occurred to us and one year later a stallion foal was born. The foal developed very well and is today a well developed stallion named Lundar (after the father Lindar) and is used for breeding and is authorized by the Association of Nordsvenska Hästen.
After another couple of years we had another Nordsvensk foal. This time it was a mare we named Zoega. No time was wasted, the same summer we took Uni to a shieling with stallions in Emmetorp, again. The birth of this foal is planned for May 2006, and then we will have four horses. Three Nordsvenskar and one half-breed. How many horses will there eventually be?
Follow the exciting continuation at www.ormsatter.se
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All horse breeds are gaining land in Sweden. Here a Nordsvensk mare with her foal, an appreciated equipage, by both children and adults.
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Rickard & Malin Hellström
Jonsberg Ormsätter
610 26 Vikbolandet
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Phone: +46 (0) 125-311 54
Mobile: +46 (0) 70-799 80 00
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info@ormsatter.se
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