Rolando’s project with Rosati-Colarieti stud farm

by Anita Leombruni  printable version 

“HORSES RUN FASTER AND JUMP HIGHER...
  OUT OF HEART AND DESIRE!”  
Pat Parelli

In their first two years of age the young English thoroughbred destined to the racetrack, have to live a various life in the frenetic human world, which decides the events of their lives in a definitely too short time. It is in that critical phase, which is the most important to reach a correct mental and physical development of the horse, that complications should not take place, but what really happens is that, for example, the foals after a bit more than a week from their birth, even if temporarily, are separated from the mares which have to go to breed. They have to experience the weaning between five and six months of age. They are let free in big paddocks, without the important presence of adults teaching them social rules so important from an ethological point of view. All that last until the foals are about eight months, when very often they have to face very long journeys to reach the places where they will be trained for the sales and for racing. Up to now, the human contacts are very often reduced to the minimum, except when the foals have to be checked by the vet, trimmed by the farrier or loaded on trailers and lorries. Those situations often change themselves into real fights that can traumatize and disgust horses as well as frustrate and exhaust humans: moment of contact between horse and humans, which should be the more rewarding part of the job in the stud farm, become nightmares from which you would like to escape very often! When the horses are eighteen months, they start the real training, up to their debut on the racetracks at the age of two.

In all those phases the horses meet a large number of people working in the different fields of the equine industry, whose love for their work and their patience are hardly proved from the not always optimal working conditions&

It is on the racetrack that young horses will have to show their athletic strength: there their agonistic career will be interrupted sooner or later, if they will not be able to sustain the considerable stress to which they are exposed since their birth. As it is widely demonstrated by several scientific researches, the mental and emotional stress affects negatively the physic conditions like in a vicious circle, compromising their athletic value and consequently the economic value. In order to avoid, as much as it is possible, all the above, it is essential a competent staff handling the foals during the delicate phases of the first two years. As to staff (the writer herself is part of it between Italy and Ireland), its expertise is more and more left to chance, with unavoidable consequences on the work’s safety and quality and on the horses’ welfare preservation.

But finally something it is starting to change: far-sightedness and true passion, typical of the real professionals, are letting them turning to another kind of professionals: those ones of the Parelli Program. This is what Mr. Giuseppe Rosati did. He owns one of the leading Italian Stud farm, the Rosati-Colarieti Stud Farm. In collaboration with Rolando Heuberger, two star Parelli Professional, he is achieving the common goal of “train the stud farm staff through the Parelli Program, teaching it to handle foals and yearlings and at the same time getting as much as possible the horses mentally and emotionally ready for their future agonistic career”.

This joint work has huge potentiality not only for the horses’ welfare and athletic improvement. But for the staff too! Composed of quite young guys, it is getting more and more difficult to find personnel in the last years, even because they leave this kind of job very often, maybe also because of a lack of motivation: learning how to handle the young horses through the Parelli Program would help them to find again deep motivation in their important role in the daily horse management, while respecting horses’ sensitive and amazing nature!

That’s why, when Rolando invited me, I literally throw myself to the Stud farm! This is an important sign of change for the better in the “race horses world”, a sign that deserves to be documented. It was so that, heading quite early in the morning to Rieti, once I reached the stud farm, I asked for a parking to a worker concentrated on keeping an eye on tractors in the fields, in the crisp morning air. Only later, when he started telling me the Stud farm story, I realized he was Mr. Giuseppe&

The story begins between 1950 and ’55 when his father, owner of a small farm, while going to the racetrack just for the pleasure to see his friends’ horses racing, decided to buy his first mare.

The passion for horses ( those who have it know), when is genuine, fills the soul deeply and without escape. That happened to Mr. Giuseppe, at the time a young man: carrying on his father’s passion, increasing it little by little, he turned a small stud farm into one of the most important in Italy, which boasts champions as Rakty, winner of the Italian Derby in 2002, now stallion in the Irish National Stud; Groom Tesse, winner of the Italian Derby in 2004; Sumati, winner of the Gran Premio of the Jockey Club in 1999 and that raced several races in the U.S.A.; Loka Loka, winner of the Premio Regina Elena in 2007 and Sub Rose, winner of Prix de Royamount in Chantilly, group three race, considered one of the best fillies of her generation.

Anita: Mr.Giuseppe, how did you plan the stud farm management over the years?

Giuseppe: While the stud farm was increasing, I started to travel through Ireland, England, France and the U.S.A. to understand how the race industry works at an international level and I began to import in Italy management methods that at the time were used only abroad: from a good manufacture of fances to the grass rotation and a conscious and targeted use of the horse walker. But most of all I was focused on the feed management (in fact as stud farm we made an agreement with one of the most important feed company in Europe leading research in horses feeding) and on finding skilled personnel for young horses’ handling and training, whom at the beginning I called from Ireland. Lots of little improvement which little by little brought the stud farm in a leader position gaining important results. But as in every field, it is important to invest especially in those sectors that need to be improved. And one of those was for sure the mental preparation of the horses, that you can reach dealing with them, thus preparing them as much as possible for the agonistic career.

A: What did it make you think it was so important to improve the horse mentally and emotionally?

G:The fact that in the latest years while increasing the number of horses in the stud farm, we increased even the number of the personnel who, I realized, most of the time was not able to deal with such young, so delicate and not yet trained horses. I realized how self-defeating was to work in those conditions. For example, accidents happening both to humans and horses are caused by basic misunderstanding and lacks of skills in handling horses.

A: How did you know about the Parelli Program?

G: Well, independently from my breeding business, I knew it because of my wife who loves horses herself: being fond of ethology and curious about everything related to human and animal relationship, she asked me to take her to a Parelli course she would have attended with her horse. Watching the course, my first impression was that every good horseman can do all those things and I let it go. But over the time, having trouble in finding skilled personnel, I realized that true horsemen are very rare!! I understood that Pat Parelli has in some way rationalized and schematized all the horsemen’s knowledge gained thanks to experience on the field or to innate capacity. So I thought it could be a good method for handling young horses as well as to educate the staff and teach it to do the right things with foals and yearlings, thus avoiding mistakes that could compromise their future.

A: At the end what convinced you to choose Rolando’s expertise to educate your staff and horses?

G: Once I understood the potentiality of the Parelli Program, I went to Birmingham, where I realized it was based on scientific concepts and on a great competence; I noticed the attention in considering the psychology, the personality (horsenality) and the individuality of every horse; such attention brings to real, practical and extremely positive results! All features that I fully recognized in Rolando as a professional. I realized how much, despite the simplicity of the basics principles of the program, the Parelli professionals have a deep, detailed and wide knowledge about horses. I finally realized how easy it is to damage such young horses if the personnel has a bad way to deal with them! I am convinced that this is the right way!

A: What kind of goals did you and Rolando plan to reach together?

G: The goal is to educate the staff to work with the young horses and at the same time to educate horses mentally and emotionally, other than physically, thus preparing them both to their future athletic career and to collaborate with humans. All that should take place within the time they spend with us here in the stud farm, which is around 11-12 months: in fact they arrive here at the age of 6-8 months, just after weaning, which happens in England or Ireland where their mothers are located. I think that this kind of education will facilitate the trainer’s future job but most of all horses will not suffer very much psycho-physic stress due to the big pressure of the agonistic career. Consequently they will suffer fewer injuries. They will gain as to general welfare.

A: Do you think it would be hoped in the future that other professionals of the race industry will considerate the mental side of the horse management, using the Parelli Program?

G: I think yes, it could be. This Program gives tangible results, making horses easier to handle and consequently less subject to injuries caused by uncontrollable reactions: this is a huge advantage for a stud farm economic balance. In fact to invest previously on horses’ education and on personnels’ training will have both important effects ethically, in preserving horses’ welfare, and economic advantages for the stud farm. It should be found the way to manage horses in every stage of their life thus ensuring durable welfare and athletic strength. Unfortunately it will take still too much time before having enough skilled and up-to-date personnel. But I am sure that once the Parelli Program’s effectiveness will be fully known, it will be considered more and more even in the race industry.

I think there is not too much to add& . From those words it comes out clearly and simply how basic are the willingness to compare working methods and an open minded attitude for a continue and progressive improvement. This joint work is another good example of how more and more professionals are approaching the Parelli Program, which is helping, thanks to its effectiveness, the horse industry to became a better place for both humans and horses. As to me, I can do nothing but wishing Rolando, Mr. Giuseppe and the Rosati-Colarieti Stud Farm’s staff and horses “good work!!” Looking forward to tell the follow-up of that worthwhile cooperation.