Hi, I've been a member of the forum for a really long time actually... And I've frequently been on the forum to read about all it's interesting subjects, but I've never taken the time to post any of my own or to introduce myself. Fact is that I would like to, so...
My name is Naomi.
I'm from Belgium but I've been living in Italy for 10 years now. I'm 21 years old.
I studied Art at the Istituto d'istruzione superiore Piero della Francesca, Rilievo e catalogazione dei beni culturali.
I've got an organic farm here, we produce olive oil and red wine.
We als have a guesthouse (agritaurismo) and since short I breed Haflinger horses.
That brings me of course to my horses, My firs horse actually wasn't a horse but a donkey, Rosina. I had always wanted a horse but when my mom proposed me to get a donkey instead I was the happiest person in the world anyway!
That was in 2004? I'm not sure...
After Rosina I've owned different horses, but my real soulmate I've met on the 23th of June 2008. A 3 year old haflinger mare named Gerti. It was just love on the first sight! And ever since I've been passionate by this breed. A breed that has surprised me in so many ways and so many times. After Gerti I bought another mare, Ombra dei Rucc; with my boyfriend so we could go riding together.
When January 2012 I found a full sister of my Gerti, pregnant of a good breeding stallion for sale, I haven't tough twice about it! So in March of that Year our fist foal was born. We named her Samarina di Chio. And so It all started. And what was One haflinger now are 5!
And two are coming, they are to be born any day now. Also I have a little arabian stallion, Billi, my personal love ;-) Ever since Rosina I used to ride without saddle or bit usually also without bridle. I hadn't at that time heard of natural horsemanschip, ND or any of that. It seemed natural to me to be friends with my horses and to work with them in as much freedom as was possible. Later I started to learn more about it and about the different philosophy's. I particularly agreed and liked High School. But I was by now convinced by the damage bits do in the horse's month so that brought me after some time and a lot of research, here!
For years I tried to find/achieve bitless collection. But in vane, however a moment came that it all made sense and with the help of a friend Gerti and I managed the first real steps in the right direction. We still have a long way to go, but it's the road that matters, not the finish line ;-) Samarina is now 2 Years old (on the 21st of March she'll be 2) And she's been learning ever since she was born, I've found that it is so much easier to start from zero than to re-learn some things, as with Gerti (she used to race before... Yeah I know some will laugh at the idea of haflingers on the race track but in Suedtirol there are races only for haflingers) So Samarina will be my first ND horse who's never known anything else than this method
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