Von Ghaku Hanoverians

1. If you buy a foal from us,  the following services are available:

a. Livery on the stud farm at a very cost effective rate for the growing foal (R1200 + VAT for 2013),

b. Backing of the young horse at age of about 3 years at no extra cost. (walk and trot under saddle)

c. Schooling of the young horse at additional highly competitive rates.

2. Mare quarantine station for imported pregnant mares.

3. Very cost-effective stabling for pregnant mares, mares with foals, retired or resting horses

4. Backing of young horses. (PNH)

5. Excersizing of endurance horses.

At Von Ghaku Hanoverians we breed for movement and elegance.

Our goal is to provide the serious South-African dressage rider with a selection of top Hanoverian dressage horses from the best classical dressage lines in the world. 

Therefore we imported State Premium mares with top scores in movement. As we also  breed for elegance and beauty, we selected modern, elegant mares with Hanoverian approved Thoroughbred, Anglo-arab or Trackener in their backgrounds.

Our stud is registered at the Hanoverian Society in Germany. As we want to breed to the standard that the society approves, a top German judge  is visiting the stud once a year to judge and brand the new foals. We also plan mare performance testing for the future.

If you want to find your dream dressage horse, do not travel to Germany or rely on the judgement and taste of an agent. Visit us in the beautiful Eastern Free State and see for yourself why the Hanoverian breed is the best dressage horses in the world.

At Von Ghaku Stud we strongly believe in the natural raising of our foals. Our foals must get the change to be horse for at least the first three years of their lives. We achieve that as follows:
1. Twenty four hour access to grazing for development of healthy bodies, especially the gut.  As we believe that stabling, especially for young horses, is very unnatural, we have ten hectare electrified camps with fertilized erragrostis and natural field grass where our horses can graze 24 hours a day.  

2. We believe in as much movement as possible for development of strong legs and hoofs. Our horses's hoofs are so hard, that a farrier is needed only every three to four months and he cannot do much more than to rasp it neat - basically just needed so that the foals get used to a farrier. Our horses of course do not have any problems  like hoof contraction, thrush and laminitis. The future owner is guaranteed a horse with healthy hard hoofs and healthy legs. 

3. We believe in physical contact amongst horses  for development of healthy and strong minds.  Therefore our foals are kept in small herds together with one or two older mares to teach them discipline. The future owner will get a horse that is easy to school. 

4. As our goal is to breed  easy-to-handle competition horses, we do believe in handling the foals from day one. Our horses are all stabled once a day when they get a small amount of top quality concentrate and then they are groomed. As soon as they are backed, they are sometimes stabled overnight, like at training shows or in the case of dangerous thunder storms.

5. Although our erragrostis is fertilized and the grazing also includes natural fields with herbs and different types of grasses, we do supply game block regularly to prevent any possible mineral or vitamin shortages.  

6. To prevent any worm infestation, we have four adjacent camps, each about 10 hectares, all with access to the same block of stables. The horses are rotated at least once a year and a camp rests for a year. We also have calves that graze in the camp for a few weeks after the horses have been removed.  Then we have a huge 30 hectare camp where our retired horses and a few brood mares are kept.

We are fortunate to have good, well trained grooms that are 24 hours a day on the farm. They have done the Sanef level one groom course, and we plan further Sanef training in the near future.

All this above is possible because our farm is in the mountainous area of Betlehem which is basically free of AHS. 
 

Our riding horses, stallion and brood mares with young foals are kept in Bethlehem on the smallholding where we are living. When the foals are weaned, they go to the stud farm just outside Bethlehem where they grow up in natural surroundings. There they are not stabled, but fed and groomed in stables. That keeps them easy to handle, but also the advantage of strong leg and hoof development. They are kept with two older mares and a retired gelding, so that they are disciplined.