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At the fringe area and in the largest part
of the territory, a number of young men will live as real horsemen. They
ride with their horses through their territory, which they guard as independent,
free and responsible people. They are mobile and quick and always on their
guards. Their horses are almost no separate beings. They form, with the
horseman, a forged unity of life.
Training is foreseen on the stock farm that
will be established to breed the right horses for these horsemen.
It is the riders' task to guard the territory
at any time. They ride each day through an other part of the territory,
in groups of two, and each group can accept to ride with an apprentice,
who will take over their task in due time.
All day long, at any hour of day and night,
the horsemen are present over the whole territory. After being seated on
their horses for five hours, they get a seven hours rest. They get four
days free, every fourteen days to have social life.
The horsemen are independent. This means
that they maintain themselves as far as possible within the territory.
They completely organize themselves and make their own living, but they
also organize their horse supplies. During their journeys the horsemen
bivouac in tents.
Apprentices:
Each couple of riders are in charge of an
apprentice, who will thus be trained to be a real rider. When the apprentice
becomes a real rider, he follows a training on the stock farm.
Another task of the riders consists in supplying
meat to the inhabitants of Graciosa. Moving over the whole not habitable
area, they are in charge of supplying goods and water basins for the game,
which will be deposited on well determined places. Deer, gazelle, fallow
deer, antelope, chamois and all ruminant animals with split hoofs (sheep
and goats: shepherds).
As food they will shun the following birds,
if these are present on the territory: eagle, lammergeyer, kite, sparrow
hawk, little owl, ibis, white owl, pelican, fox eagle, cormorant, heron,
hoopoe, bat and other birds of these kind and al winged insects.
They are in charge of the game: they maintain
and count it, they set new game, where necessary and they hunt in such
a way that the game gets maintained. The chase area is divided in five
parts, so that always each of the five chosen hunters are responsible for
the maintenance of the game in a well determined part.
The total number of horsemen that are necessary
will be determined by practice.
Although the horsemen always bivouac in tents,
they have a permanent residence. They live in simple bachelor apartments,
in housing units, which consist of a number of private rooms as well as
common apartments such as kitchen, living room and bath room.
The apprentices live in the same village,
which is situated near the agriculture area, where the farmers live, as
well as a number of people related with the horsemen such as veterinarians,
farriers, etc.
Services and supplies:
There is one veterinarian, farrier and saddler
for each well determined number of horses.
The farmers are in charge of the food supplies
of horsemen and horses.
This report is the first step to find out
how some of it can be realized.
Public services:
On this border area, there are no hardened
roads. To conceive a public supply system, which on the one hand can function
on these roads, and which on the other hand would not modify the nature
of the landscape, the idea arose, to base it all on the use of horses and
carts.
By public supply, we understand the
public transport of people and goods, but also, when this is wished, private
transport and distribution of all those goods needed by the inhabitants.
When these services start working, they can be supplemented with other
services. The organization of the whole will lie in hands of a qualified
person.
The total amount of horses that are necessary
for the fulfilling of the above described tasks is estimated at this moment
on 300 horses. Those horses have to meet a series of specific demands,
so that they are fit for living in Graciosa. This includes that they must
be able to move quickly and easily on very variable ground. As they will
be used for all possible public services that include some kind of transport,
they must be capable of carrying or drawing heavy loads. They also must
be resistant against extreme weather conditions. Further on, they need
to possess resistance, be fast, strong, have a sure step, and be neither
too small nor too large. They must be proud, brave horses.
For the supply of horses which meet all these
demands, a nursery will be set up, where the right kind of horses will
be bred. For the nursery a suitable place is necessary in regard to all
the medicinal plants that grow there, which can be profitable for the horses
while grazing.
The aim of the nursery is to achieve a type
of horses which meet all the above mentioned demands. Therefore, in a begin
phase, a research will be done for all the existing horse races which may
partly or totally meet these demands. A mayor part of the research will
consist in literary research and in visiting those places where horses
are bred which might be fit for the task.
When no suitable race is found, the results
of different crossbreeding will be investigated. This will then be the
main activity of the nursery . Finally, one horse type will come further
of these investigations, which will meet as much as possible, all the needs.
The nursery will then apply itself to the breeding of that specific race.
The following part will deepen on both activities
of the nursery.
Horses:
Space for the breeding mares.
Summer:
For the mares are needed some large fenced
areas of pasture, on which may grow no poisonous but yes many eatable plants.
The soil must be of a varied structure, here and there patches of level
meadow land, alternate with rocky areas with few growth. There must be
some trees, providing enough shadow, depending on the total amount of mares
with or without their foals. The meadow has to be supplied with drinking
water. If there are no natural sources, this water has to be supplied in
sufficient quantities (see "food"). The fences are to be visible and adapted,
between 1m and 1,50m high, well visible to the horses and not edible. Suitable
are, for example, concrete or wooden beams, treated against humidity (for
the wooden ones) etc. The stakes and laths have to be from 15 cm to 20
cm large, in regard to their visibility and security.
Winter:
For the winter, a wide stable has to be foreseen,
large enough for many mares and foals, of for example 20x10m for about
10 to 14 horses. The soil can be made of concrete or stone, with a slight
inclination and, on the lower side, a gully to the outside or to a well,
to carry off the urine. The natural soil cannot, in case of an intensive
use on a relatively small area, be used as underground, because after some
time the natural carry-off of the urine would not be sufficient and the
concentration of ammoniac in the stable would harm the health of the mares
and their foals. The floor has always to be covered with a thick layer
of straw or wood shreds, so that
the cold coming in from the floor is countered
and the horses cannot slide on the slippery floor.
In the stable there must be troughs for food
and water, and walls and roof must be provided with enough windows and
doors to let the air and light come through. For example, transparent tiles
or shutters, windows (without glass) and shutters on a whole side of the
stable, etc. and electric light. The doors to the stable must be large
enough so as to easily let through a mare and her foal at the same time,
that is, 2m50 to 3m large. In front, or next to the stable, a large paddock
is foreseen. The paddock is a relatively small area (fenced as above) with
sandy soil. The passage from the stable to the paddock may be left open
and has to be large enough for two horses at the same time.
The living area of the horses has to be as
much as possible as a natural untouched surrounding. Therefore, the spaces
have to be large and have to vary in their structure, as much as possible
as it is in real nature.
The horses choose then the most suitable
place to stay at every moment of the day and of the night.
Space for the foals:
Until the foals are weaned, they stay with
mares. After the separation, in summertime, they stay on large patches
of fenced meadow, on a distance far away enough from the mares so as not
to be heard. There also, drinking water has to be foreseen. In winter,
depending on the temperature, the foals can stay on the meadow. However,
the drinking water supply has then to be controlled regularly for frost
and, if necessary, fresh drinking water has to be brought daily. When it
is too cold to let the foals outside, they have to be brought inside. For
that purpose, a large stable is foreseen, about the same size as the one
for the mares, and with it, some individual stables, where "difficult"
horses can be put. At that moment, separate stables are foreseen as well
for the mare foals and for the stallion foals. Here, also a paddock has
to be available next to the stable.
Space for the stallions:
Often, stallions and more so breed stallions
cannot stay well together in one and the same stable. But this is not the
case with all stallions. That is why in summertime, a small common stable
and a few individual stables will be foreseen. In all stables, there have
to be troughs for food and drinking water, drinking water supply, light
and air supply, windows and a paddock, just as for the mares and the foals.
In summer, the stallions will stay in the field most of the time. However,
there always has to be a possibility of separating this field in more different
smaller fields, as much as there will be "difficult" stallions, in such
a way, that they cannot fight together.
In the same way, this area has to be situated
far enough from the mares, to avoid unwanted coupling. The drinking water
supply has to be installed in such a way that it permits the supply to
all the possible separated smaller areas.
The drinking water supply for the fields
can be of natural water sources. This will be taken into account when searching
for the adequate plot. If there are no natural sources available the drinking
water will have to be brought in large water tanks, or else, automatic
water pumps can be installed.
The field that will serve as meadow has to
be large enough to allow for the horses to be changed from time to time.
Those areas where the grass has been all eaten thus will have time to grow
again and the horses will always have enough food.
Food:
The food of horses, which work hard during
the day, consists of corn flakes, oats, barley, bran, melasse, carrots,
beets, straw and grass. The amount of food a horse needs depends on its
activity and on the horse itself. So, in the breeding farm we will
see differences between mares with or without foals, pregnant mares, stallions,
foals, resting and working horses. This is the reason why it is difficult
to establish only one measure for all. It will show itself after some time.
Besides the daily amount of (parts of) the
above mentioned food, the horses will receive once a week or once a fortnight
boiled linseed to clean the bowels. After some time it will be clear, which
horses are suitable for the envisaged aim. Anyway there has to be a possibility
of quick expansion. Thus, on the moment that the amount of horses starts
growing, there will always be enough food. As the period of time between
mating and teaching a horse is of four and a half years, there should be
time enough to take all the necessary steps for an eventual expansion.
Food supply in Graciosa:
The food supply for Graciosa will be a completely
local supply. This means that all the necessary crops, in the needed quantities,
will have to be grown and transformed in situ, with the possibility of
an eventual expansion or reduction.
For that, it is necessary that there be a
person in place, who takes the responsibility for the organization of both
the crops and the distribution of the food.
Storage of food:
In Graciosa, there will be a room foreseen,
next to each stable, for the storage of food. These rooms don't have to
be very large, depending on the total amount of horses per large stable,
so that each supply is enough for a few months. The rooms, as well as the
troughs, in which the food is stored, have to be hermetically closed.
Care:
In the care of horses is included the care
of the horse itself, but also the maintaining of its living space, which
means the stables, the meadows and everything around it.
Daily care of the foals:
Each horse must be cleaned and brushed daily,
and their feet be cleaned, except for the foals, which have to be almost
completely left in peace.
As long as the foals are walking with the
mares, which work every day, they have to be cleaned regularly, but not
necessarily every day. As soon as they stop sucking, and stay outside on
the meadow all day long, the care of the hoofs and normal care of the veterinary
should suffice. On the moment when their training starts, their daily care
will be the same as for the mares and stallions.
Daily care of mares and stallions:
The horses, which are used daily for the
lessons and the work have to be cleaned thoroughly before and after the
work sessions. The mares and stallions, which do not have to work every
day, will mostly stay on the meadow. Then, they will not have to be cleaned.
Only their hoofs need to be cleaned and when necessary, they will have
to be treated by the veterinary.
The nursery can appoint a permanent veterinary
for the treatment of the most important illnesses, but it could as well
use an external veterinary. There will in any case, be one permanent veterinary,
to lead the daily care of the horses, where necessary. This is also true
for the farrier. There will be at least one, which will be responsible
for the production of the horseshoes. For the shoeing of the horses on
the nursery, an external or internal farrier can be used, depending on
how the necessity of it develops.
Care of the living space:
The stables have to be cleaned at least once
a day. This means taking out the dung and the wet straw. When necessary,
dry straw has to be added. In winter the cleaning of the stables can be
slightly reduced to keep the warmth in the stables. But then one must take
care of enough fresh air supply. Regularly, all stables have to be brushed
and disinfected. The surroundings of the stables are cleaned, and the dung
heaped-up daily. When the dung heaps get to high, a business specialized
in the transformation of dung has to be contacted to take it away. For
the nursery, this will probably be an external one. In Graciosa, there
will probably be a proper installation to deal with the dung more quickly,
so as to avoid any damage to the environment made by the concentration
of ammoniac and other harmful elements. The different meadows have also
to be cleaned regularly and the dung taken away, more so when there might
have been ill horses that could infect other horses.
The riders will learn in the nursery how
they have to clean the stables and the meadows.
Care of the harnesses and carriages:
In the teaching, a part of “driving” will
be foreseen. Therefore, the necessary carriages will be supplied. They
will be used in different weather and on different grounds. The harnesses
have to be cleaned and fatted against drying, and the carriages have to
be maintained as one would do with a car. Near the stables, an area will
be foreseen for keeping the carriages and the harnesses, which will be
larger or smaller depending on the amount of carriages that will have to
be kept there. In Graciosa, that is also true, although probably the area
will only be used to keep few of them, as most of the horsemen might want
to arrange their own individual space to keep their horse and complementary
materials.
For the nursery an external or internal carriage
and harness repairer can be used. For Graciosa there will be need for at
least one permanent repairer.
Stables in Graciosa:
The most efficient way of stalling the horses
is putting them on different central places in common stables in groups
of e.g. 20 or 30 horses. Then it is possible, as described for the mares,
to build a certain amount of large stables, in which more horses can stay.
For those horses called "difficult ones", individual stables can be built,
as those described for the stallions in the nursery.
The drinking water supply and the paddock
are planned in the same way as in the nursery. Depending on the existing
possibilities, meadows will have to be foreseen in Graciosa, to allow the
horses to spend theirs rest periods. Near every stable complex, places
for straw and food, as well as a place for saddles and carriages and one
for the dung heap have to be foreseen, and in such a way that they are
easily reachable.
The training:
We part from the basic idea that the mayor
part of the men that start with the training aren't horse riders yet. Their
character however, makes it easier for those men to learn it, than it would
be for others. They don't start from nothing, but unfold as it were. That
is why in a relatively short time they still can become good horse riders.
The training they will receive to reach that,
will consist of all the parts which are taught in the classical horse riding
school, as dressage, jumping and voltige, to which will be added other
parts specially aimed at their function, as is the handling of weapons
on horseback, the training of the resistance, the dexterity and resistance
in extreme weather conditions. The training will also include a general
dexterity training in the form of playing the Polo sport on horseback.
Beside the necessary ability in horse riding,
the riders also have to learn to clean and feed their horse, to clean and
take care of their carriage, harness and saddle and to do the daily cleaning
and maintenance of the horses' living area.
The whole training will take place mostly
in the nursery, and starting from there, all the other departments will
be organized.
The first part of the training will consist
in making acquaintance with the horses and the horse riding. During three
months, the riders will be taught the basic principles of horse riding,
simple exercises of equilibrium and relaxing on horseback. Besides, they
will receive lessons about general care of the horse, how to clean it before
and after the work, how to clean the hoofs and the stables. In those three
months, they have all the time to learn to know the horse in its different
aspects.
In the second part of the training, they
will continue with those exercises, although more directed at the heavier
equilibrium exercises, as voltige.
In that part, the riders also receive theoretical
and practical lessons about the feeding of the horses. The accent will
not only be laid on the daily food, but also on those illnesses related
to food, on edible and poisonous plants which might be present in the area,
on medicinal herbs, etc.
In the third part of the training, the riders
will be taught mostly horse training, including the initiation in the saddle
training of young horses. As a continuity of the two first parts, more
attention will also be paid to illnesses and infirmities given in horses
and the remedies which can be applied by either the horse rider or the
veterinary.
The different parts have a duration of about
three months. When the riders have learnt during nine months how to manage
their horses, then comes the moment to start teaching them the extra skills
they need to know. That is why amongst other things, in this fourth part
they will learn to take obstacles, to take short quick turns on horseback,
to take up speed, to ride with objects in their hands, etc. In this part,
all the things taught in the previous lessons will be reviewed but with
an extra dimension. At the same time they will learn from the farrier how
they can take care of the hoofs of their horse.
In the fifth part of the training, or at
the moment when the riders have acquired enough aptitude in managing their
horse, the attention will shift towards the general endurance of the riders.
In this part they will also learn to drive the different teams. In all
different weather conditions and on every possible ground, they will learn
to drive single-, two-, three- and four-horse teams. The driving of the
different carts and carriages will also be included here. At the same time
they will be taught how to maintain and take care of these carts and carriages,
how to restore old material, etc.
As a last part in the training, they will
learn the polo game. This will again take place in San Lucar. The idea
is to get a real polo Team. The Polo game counts in the whole training
as a kind of finishing examination in which the riders can test their skills
and capacities.
Organization:
The setting of the whole network of public
services and defence of the borders will in the beginning be on a very
small scale. There will only be few horses because the nursery has still
to start and there will only be few men able and willing to take this their
heavy task upon them. As has been said, it is not yet clear how the recruitment
of the riders will take place, but it shows already within the idea that
exists about this kind of men, that there will be an almost natural very
severe selection. If this selection will take place during the recruitment,
during the training or in the real service will show from man to
man. The end result will be the elite, the best ones, those who are not
only physically strong and healthy but who also stand for their actions,
live for what they do and for where they're going.
From a small scale, the organization will
grow with all the rest to the greater aim: a means of defence of Graciosa,
which in times of peace will only be visible because the men which form
part of it are strong wilful and courageous men and they irradiate that.
But in situations of need, the defence will be immediately ready.
Apart of that, the public services have to
function in a normal, smooth way.
According as more horses and people join
the whole, the organization will adapt and expand.
In the beginning there will be an investigation
made by one person, eventually with help, if need be. This investigation
concerns the horse type and the training. At that moment, depending on
the investigation, maybe there will already be sought for some riders.
The riders get in touch with the first person which heads the whole organization.
They make up a contract in which on the one hand they put themselves at
service of Graciosa and on the other hand prepare for the training they
have to follow. In it will also be included the purchase of a horse with
which they will form the serving unity of Graciosa. Eventually, it can
suffice in a beginning to rent a horse
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