We are having a blast! Yesterday we drove to visit Hof Bruening, a beautiful farm in the rolling hills that remind me of Kentucky. Hannes Bruening was our guide and showed us their broodmares and foals, a veritable "who's who" of the Hanoverian world. He was great at answering a multitude of questions about horse rearing. It was interesting to see how they feed and manage them. Many here feed their horses a type of dry silage mixed with straw. There was nary a bump on any of their legs, no epiphisitis nor other growth-related issues. They focus on keeping their youngstock outdoors as much as possible, bringing them in for the winter, but still with daily four-hour turnout. Their foals are an impressive lot. They prefer to use more well established stallions rather than the young, unproven shooting stars. After our visit, we went to the Bruening family's hotel/restaurant where we were served a truly German meal of rouladen with cabbage and potato dumplings. Rouladen is a piece of pounded beef with onions, mustard, a slice of bacon and a slice of dill pickle rolled up in it, then browned and baked. Sounds a bit suspect if you're not used to it, but it is a delicious dish.
We also visited Gestuet Famos and viewed some stallions (they keep their youngsters at Hof Bruening) and of course Contendro I was the highlight. What a charming, affable fellow he is, a delight to be around. He is one of the most successful sires in Germany and is the epitome of a dual purpose stallion. We also saw Bruening's stallion Captain Morgan there, as well as Landstreicher, Providence, Quinturo and Van Helsing. Famos is a showcase farm built ten years ago. Even their "duck house," actually for their nesting swans, is nicer than many people's houses!