In a month, the young purebred born last year will be in the ring during the big yearling auction from Deauville (Calvados). Buyers from all over the world will then compete for tens of thousands or even millions euros, the next athletes of the gallop races on the racetrack tracks.
Until then, they are pampered from morning to night by Ryan, Pierre and Sandra, three of the twelve groom-grooms at Haras du Quesnay, in Vauville (Calvados), one of the ten main thoroughbred farms in France.
Each year, around fifty foals of race are born here. They don’t have a name yet, but a promising pedigree. The grooms have the task of bringing them to the sales with the finest physical condition: the body sharp, the gait of an athlete, the coat shiny.
Maintaining the horse and the estate
“This involves care, three daily rations and walking training to keep in shape, explique Ryan. The exercises take place in the morning, when it is cooler, on a lunge or in a circular “walker”. Treatments are provided in the afternoon: brushing, grooming, greasing the feet, treatments… ”
In a breeding stud, the horses are never ridden. They will begin their apprenticeship once sold. In addition to the maintenance of the horses, the grooms ensure that of the boxes and the 185 ha of the domain.
The highly sought-after male candidates
Holding the horse, which weighs around 400 kg, cleaning the box, clearing brush, mowing and covering dozens of kilometers a day on the stud requires good physical condition. Candidates for boys, who are rarer than girls, are in great demand.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, now 25, grew up with horses, in the training center of his grandfather, a jockey trainer in Mayenne. He obtained a BEP as a training rider at the Laval agricultural apprenticeship training center and started working with his family and then in trotter stables, before being recruited five years ago as a groom-groom at Haras du Quesnay.
Blood horses, players
“I started with mares and foals (foals less than one year old) before taking care of the yearlings. This is what I prefer. They are bloody horses, rather playful. You have to be able to restrain their passion, make sure that they do not injure themselves because they are more fragile than rustic breeds. “
Outside of the yearling preparation periods which occupy him six months a year, Ryan joins the main yard of the stud farm to take care of pregnant mares, breeding stallions or offspring. The estate accommodates 140 horses, two thirds of which are boarded by their owners. Taking care of the grooms.
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