BETTER CONDITIONS FOR HORSE ACCOMMODATION, GOALS BEING ACHIEVED

PRNJAVOR, August 14 /SRNA/ - The Vučijak Stud Farm in Prnjavor, one of the oldest companies in the municipality, is beginning internal renovations of its facilities after decades of stagnation, creating better conditions for accommodating 111 Lipizzan horses in this economic and tourism gem of Republika Srpska, thanks to BAM 200,000 allocated by the Government of Srpska for the development of an experimental-educational center.

By procuring new equipment, primarily rubber mats to improve the environmental conditions for horse breeding, and by planning its own production of plant crops for balanced and quality horse feed, the stud farm is creating the prerequisites for introducing a new, more modern system of horse keeping and breeding.

Acting Director of this public institution Ranko Grubešić told SRNA that a proper system in horse breeding must be established and that the planned reconstruction will provide new content, a different breeding approach and way of functioning, while enabling normal operations with the current number of employees.

"We essentially inherited a large farm where not only horses, but also other animals were kept. All of that property, inherited from the previous institution, is now being adapted for its intended purpose. Although the easiest option would be to demolish the old buildings and construct new ones suitable for horses, we do not want to do that because it would erase the spirit of the stud farm and its surroundings," he said.

Grubešić pointed out that the stallion stable, built in 1946, is both a historical monument of post-war architectural style and, in terms of size and shape, suitable for horse breeding, but it has fallen into disrepair as nothing has been invested in it since construction.

The stud farm has also initiated the procurement process for a circular automatic horse walker, in cooperation with certain donors, which can work with six horses at the same time for an hour and a half. There are also plans to turn the former cattle fattening facilities, due to their structural solidity and construction materials into safe and secure stalls for stallions.

"We have the capacity to build 54 individual stalls, and in line with this year's financial capabilities, our goal is to build 18. We have already built nine, and the remaining nine should be completed soon," said Grubešić.

He added that, in the foreseeable future, the stud farm will be able to keep geldings intended for recreational riding.

One of the obligations in the coming period will be to purchase certain stallion lines from stud farms abroad in order to avoid prohibited inbreeding.

Judging by what has been achieved and what is planned, brighter days are ahead for this stud farm, whose tradition of breeding Lipizzan horses is inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Vučijak Stud Farm is one of Prnjavor's hallmarks and possesses six of the eight globally recognized lines of Lipizzan breeding horses. It was founded in April 1946 by a decree of the Ministry of Defence for the needs of the then people's army, and it was named after the nearby Vučijak hill.