To become “with horse” from Kullatorp is an engagement; for us but also for you. It is important for us that the right person will find the right horse, so that you will have a fun and developing life together. That is why we have tried to describe the profile of the horse as well as the profile that we think that his or hers new human will have. It is important for us that your and our expectations on your new friend will match. Our goal is to have 100 percent satisfied customers and happy horses.

Our goals

As breeders we have taken over the natures natural selecting process; we choose which individuals and whose genes that will bring the Arabian horse into the future. It gives us as breeders a huge responsibility. It must be a fundamental ethics for each breeder that from all the knowledge that we have only breed on healthy specimen; for the long-term survival of the breed and out of compassion for the individual.

Our breeding ambition is to create stars, preferable the brightest. Just as in every branch – sports, art, science – have every time their own stars and gods that rise above the average. Our ambition and challenge is to be a part of creating such stars in our time.

Our goal to aim for the stars is the driving force, but how and on which way we reach our goal is for us totally conclusive. No victory is worth calling victory if it is built on force, punishment and suffering. A true victory can never be reached at the expense of the animals right to respect for its specific nature and her natural needs. True victories is reached through good breeding, hard work, love and communication.

Healthy breeding

Every breed has its weakness. The Arabian horse is overrepresented when it comes to cysts in the hind knees. Research and veterinary medicine agrees on the fact that this type of osteochondroses is inheritable. This is why we x-ray every youngster, both fillies and colts, that is put into our own breeding as well as on the horses we sell. This is something you as a buyer should demand of the breeder. It is us breeders that have a huge responsibility that not to undermine the health of the Arabian horse through short sighted breeding controlled by economical benefits.

Harmony and naturally aspects in breeding and training.

A horse future health and durability /stamina is founded early in the handling of the mare that will carry and rise the foal. Our mares are not only mares that will breed. They have an own value and is trained regularly from their own point of view. They will not carry more than three foals in a row before they have a year off to rest and strengthen their bodies.

Respectful breeding

We are very careful not to rush or force the mare when she is being covered by the stallion; we refuse to use sedative, lines or any other methods of force. The mare is suppose to feel joy and trust and it can sometimes take years before a mare with traumatic experience will trust a human and a stallion again. We will put that effort and time because it is always a cause behind a horse fear and our aim is to solve that. A mare without fundamental trust to human will transfer this disbelief to her newborn baby and foals take after their mothers.

The pregnant mare is being ridden or activated in other ways far into her pregnancy to keep her muscle strength and condition before the arduous foaling.

Right amount of feed

Right feed is of vital importance to both health and well-being. The horse is a grass-eater and we never compromise with the quality in our fodder. The pregnant mare demands more protein and minerals during her pregnancy so that her foal will be born strong and well-developed. When the foal is nursing the mare, she will need twice the amount of energy for her own maintenance and the need of protein is also very large.

The mare is our leading lady at the foaling.

The foaling is the foals first meeting with the human and we imprint a fundamental trust; lovingly and experienced human hands conduct the new family- and herd-member into the world of humans. We are always attending the foaling and most of our mares feel a great safety by us being there; some of them are not even lying down to give birth until we are there. We help all our mares with the delivery so that they do not have to struggle so hard. It is the meaning in our time that there have to be some pain-relieving even for horses giving birth. Anyway, our mares appreciate our effort and it saves their strength so that they can put it on the foal instead. At once when we ensured that the foal is alright, our attention will be the mare. She is the one who have struggled and she is the keeper of our mutual future hope.

All the mare is lying still in the thick straw until one of us has served her the famous witch-broth, which is a whole bucket filled with warm and delicious energy potion. We praise, pat and cuddle with our great mare as she contended will lap up the sweets. When our leading lady regains her strength she will lovingly take care of her newborn foal. She is satisfied with our company as we silent are sitting in the fragrant straw along the wall of the stall enjoying the developing bond between mare and foal.

The first time; eat, sleep, jump and leap… and sunbathe

Often the foals are born early in the spring and it is much to cold and wet to let them be outdoors all days. The newborn foal needs to lie down and rest as much as possible. At the same time they need to strengthen their mobility and their legs on not to soft ground and leap and jump so that their stomach and intestine is stimulated. We have built a coral in our yard with firm sand bedding there mare and foal is being let loose at least four times each day during the first time. As soon as they are ready we move them into a large room where several mares and foals can live together. The mares that we move here has got a great relation between each other and they can all lie down in the thick straw bed and enjoy the first spring sun that shines through the big doorway, that we open up on beautiful days. We have also got a couple of mares that prefer to be lonely with their foals during the first time… and we let them.

Hoof care every fourth week

Strong, good legs are a fundamental condition to the little foal future life. We trim, rasp and polish the hoof of the foal every fourth week so that they are standing straight on their hooves (even under the grass-period). This way the foal is learning to accept that we lift their legs.

Generous and exciting summer pastures.

The summer pastures are big and hilly and we regularly are playing and making the herd move over de rolling hills in gallop. This is important for the young foal to early stretch out his lung and heart capacity.

A long time with mum.

The foals are at their mother side up to eight months of age, depending if the mare is pregnant again. It is our intention that mare and foal will have a long time together. The separation is accomplished in steps during a couple of months, which make it less dramatic and more natural.

Together with the master.

The separated youngsters lives together in a small herd with an older gelding, who gives them security and education. They live in the room were they played as foals, and that also give them the security of recognition. We tie them up against the wall at every meal and teach them that it is a positive thing to be tied up. They are outdoors on a daily basis and play and ravage themselves tired. Regularly we bring them into the paddock alone to play with humans and to get use to do things without the herd.

To be able to grow from each horses own point of view.

During the first year the youngster has a huge need to lie down and rest after his wild pranks. He grows intensively and need energy and lots of protein in the feed. If the young horse is fed with too little protein it will not be able to develop the musculature, skeleton and tendons in a desirable way. When he is older he will not hold for hard training or work. He also needs calcium and phosphorus to build skeleton and hard hooves. A similar problem but in the opposite direction is the ones who deliberately forces a growth of the young individual so that he as a yearling will look like a grown horse in miniature and by this way increase their chances to win at shows. This is devastating for the young horse and of course to the durability at old age.

One should not underestimate the lacking care in breeding during the horse first year as the factor behind some of the injury that we see in the statistics.

Never longeing as conditional training.

Our young horses are only trained at straight tracks, never in circles, to avoid wearing out the growing legs. Yearlings that are trained to show are hand horse to the gelding that have educated them during the year. By this way the young horse learn to follow by side and walk out in the big world and get use to walk up hill and down dale.

A yearling that leaves Kullatorp 2007 can:

Back up one step when you enter the stall
Calm when tied up
Accept to be touched all over the body
Stand still when the farrier is trimming his hooves
Relaxed being led in halter on a loose leadrope and stop when you stop
After playtime in the paddock stand still and willingly let the halter be put on
Walk at the side of a ridden horse in new environments
Being showered and bathed
Being clipped with a machine
Wear a blanket in the barn (we do not have outside blankets on yearlings)
Walk on and off a trailer and with some dread go shorter distances

Buying contract

When you buy a horse from Kullatorp is this settled in a contract where you oblige to give regularly information (once every three months during the first year, then once a year) about the horse development and a clause with option for Kullatorp to repurchase the horse to the actual market value at a possible sale.

Network of competence.

When you buy a horse from Kullatorp do you automatically get access to our network of competence; veterinarians, farrier, equiterapeut, riding instructors, trainers, handlers, conveyors, photographers, bloodline experts among others.

You are always welcome.

As the owner of a Kullatorphorse are you welcome with your questions day and night. We are anxious about the horses and we will always be in the background as a support. If you have the ambition to begin with breeding are we happy to share our experiences. We need more breeding farms with high ambitions for the Arabian horse.