The whole time we were at the National Stud Farm at Kladruby nad Labem, we would be hearing horses all around but we would only be able to catch a glimpse of one or two as they pass by the stable doors. We weren’t able to get in the stables at all since the signage was all but impenetrable. Instead we were just lurking outside the perimeter of the stables hoping to see something interesting. We thought to call it a day and were driving again, but fortunately, we caught a glimpse what was behind the stables.

This area was a bit more interesting for us. There was an enclosure which was meant to exercise the horses automatically. Although the horse wasn’t in any pain, I thought it was a bit cruel to just let a machine prod the horse around the enclosure to exercise it. It was then that we saw someone come out of the stables and lead a horse out into another part of the stable grounds. There was another fenced area where the keepers would lead the horse through a fixed track as part of their training. I couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing but at least there was a bit of human contact there.

In a neighboring field, we finally saw what we were looking for. There were a bunch of free roaming horses in this area. It it good to see them in this area since you can tell that they are just being themselves. I would like to think that this is also part of their life, since it can’t be all training for the horses. They were just peacefully grazing and even the younger horses would be playing around. It was a shame that we weren’t able to get in to see the stables up close, but at least we were able to see some of the horses here.

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