Farrier Friday

Wow, the wonderful time of the year, turned into the manic time of the year, and, before you know it: no blogposts in November.... I'll have to work on that one!

The next few weeks I will be focusing on feet, because as most of you have probably heard the saying: "No hoof, No horse" there is nothing more true than that.

As a trainer and vet you need to really build a good relationship with your farrier. Things need to be  discussed for every individual. As Erasmus said a very long time ago: "Praestat cautela quam medela".

Foot balance is everything in the equine athlete. Sometimes it takes us months to get the feet "right" or as close as possible.
Every equestrian discipline has it's own specific challenges and it's always an ongoing process to keep on top of things, there are so many different factors (multifactorial) that play into it e.g. the weather, the surface, the genetic disposition, nutrition and the day to day care.
Below is a picture of different shoes used for racehorses, so plenty to talk about on the Friday to come :)

Last but not least, never hang a horse like on that board, the opening should be facing up!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's sales season, a very busy season

Who doesn't love the hustle and bustle of this time of year? Stephane and I have been jetting up and down the country and across (the chunnel) to our homelands to be present at some of Europe's greatest sales. The best one, of course, is right on our doorstep: Tattersalls. This IS one of the perks of training in Newmarket: being able to be up at the sales ground in the blink of an eye. .....
Last week we were lucky to welcome this new recruit and flag bearer to Saint Wended's . Exciting times ahead!

Here's a video link if you want to see the little lady strutting her stuff: https://youtu.be/xgtV1OhkLL8

Saint Wendred's Opening

The Newmarket Open Weekend is fast approaching. I hope you can come out and visit us at Saint Wendred's . Plenty of things to do:

Newmarket Open Weekend

Saintly  connection for Newmarket’s newest training yard

A heathen saint associated with healing of horses will be invoked at Newmarket’s Open Day with the official launch of the town’s newest yard.

Saint Wendred's on Hamilton Road has been named after the little known woman saint by trainers Ilka Gansera  Leveque and husband Stephane.

It’s an appropriate association for Ilka, who is also a qualified vet and practices natural horsemanship after time spent with Monty Roberts.

The yard opening on Sunday 20 September will feature displays from sculptress Deborah Burt  and artist Michelle McCullagh, both members of the Society of Equestrian Artists.

Deborah will be displaying her acclaimed ‘Equus I’ horse’s head, inspired by the Horse of Selene from the Parthenon frieze and the Arabian racehorse Hidalgo. In advance of her solo exhibition in London in November, Michelle is donating a sketch for a raffle which also includes tickets to the following weekend's racing.

Ilka will conduct tours of the yard, with demonstrations by a farrier and a physiotherapist.

There will be the opportunity to join a racing syndicate.

Visitors  also have the chance to see one of the UK's top racing Arabian stallions, Storm Troupour, trained by Stephane.

Recently shipped from America, Storm Troupour is being aimed at the Shadwell Arabian Derby in Newmarket  on Friday 25 September,  part of the DIAR (Dubai International Arabian Races) programme. The UK Arabian Derby  is sponsored by Shadwell Stud and supported by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.  The UK Arabian Derby is the final race of our UK Arabian race season.

Newly-named Saint Wendred's is part of the yard previously owned and built by Bill O'Gorman, whose Seven Springs yard name also harked back to the healing springs nearby.

Local history has it that one particular well was an ancient heathen water source which became Christianised into St. Wendred's well because of the healing power of the water used for walking horses into. 

It was also in the holy water of this well that Etheldreda, foundress of E!y Cathedral, was believed to have been baptised after her birth in nearby Exning.  St Wendreda’s Church in March, allegedly home to the saint’s relics, is the only church in the UK to ears her name

Exning itself traces its history back to the Celtic Iceni tribe headquartered in Exning. They were noted for the export of horses,  the perfect forerunner for Newmarket’s modern role as the global HQ  of flat racingp

Saint Wendred’s can be found on the lower part of Hamilton Road, around the bend on the right hand side.

Contact:   www.gansera-leveque.com  

Mission complete

It's been a while since the last post due to "the move"; but in normal Gansera-Leveque fashion the wheels have been in motion. 
All of the horses settled in nicely from day one, and now finally all of the moving-boxes (human living quarters) are unpacked as well. Hooray!  Pictures are starting to go up on the walls too and it's as if we have always been here. Well, ... kind of.
What a great honour to be neighbours with the living legend Bill O'Gorman. I can not recommend his book enough, have a look online and order it , you will not regret it. 

We hope the first Saint Wendred's winner hits the track soon and the sales season can commence. Bring it on! We are chomping at the bit and rearing to go!

Saint Wendred's will have a little opening do during the Newmarket Open Weekend for all owners, supporters and friends near and far, so please make sure to drop in if you are about/ in town that weekend .

On my to do list: find a suitable boulder for the Saint Wendred's sign to be placed next to the entrance on Hamilton Road.  Suggestions anyone? I know: it never gets boring…… 
Oh yeah, and more about the name Saint Wendred's in future blogs. So stayed tuned!

BORN TO RACE: Ilka Gansera-Lévêque jetzt auf Ex Darley Gelände

BORN TO RACE: Ilka Gansera-Lévêque jetzt auf Ex Darley Gelände: Die einzige deutsche Trainerin in England zieht um! Es ist eine vielversprechende neue Adresse, die Ilka Gansera-Lévêque ihren alten und ne...

Nutter therapy

The great thing about being a Newmarket trainer are the facilities. All you have to do is show up and use them, no maintenance required….. 

So, last week we took two different horses (for two different reasons) jumping in the lose school. One enjoyed it , the other one didn't. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and when it works it pays off. 

The filly in the picture has been quite the drama queen from day one. The jumping gave her something to think about and she actually enjoyed it. Horses, just like people are creatures of habit, so routine most of the time is paramount when training racehorses. Every so often, you get a "nutter" that throws you a curve ball and you have to think of ways to get them to engage in the "conversation" i.e. training. Then it's a good thing to try and experiment with something different. If you are lucky the hysteria turns into contentment :)