| OUR GOALS
We have two main goals here at Tintagel. One
goal is our performance aims with our horses. The other goal
developed out of a very special gift.
All of our horses must be correct and sound in structure,
leg and posses a trainable, workmanlike character. Our horses
are calm enough to be top amateur horses for the serious or
not so serious rider. We want our horses to be functional
and useful. Our bloodlines are selected from long lived, healthy,
hardy and fertile stock.
Our breeding program focuses on temperament and athletic
ability in all our horses. The movement we strive for is elevation
with extension, rhythm, balance, harmony and cadence. |
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We do not want warmblood movement nor do we want the extreme lateral
swinging and lack of foreword propulsion that was popular in past.
The ideal Andalusian movement lays between these two: elevation
with extension from the shoulder, rhythm, balance, harmony and cadence.
The ideal Andalusian should easily lower the haunches and push from
behind in such a way that the front end "pops" in the
air and barely touches the ground. We also try to breed our horses
in a height range of 15-16 hands as this leaves the horse with ideal
proportions for best balance.
We would love to see a Tintagel bred horse be Grand Prix Horse
of the Year one day and we have produced young stock capable of
reaching seriously competitive FEI levels. To this aim we will be
here to support you and help you for your horse’s entire life.
Need training, feeding or other advice with your Tintagel bred horse?
Just let us know and we will help you attain YOUR goals. The start
we give our horses is unlike any other farm. Read below: How
we raise our foals.
Our other goal developed out of a miracle foal born and bred here
at Tintagel. Click here to read
the story of Augusta’s birth. Augusta is the first purebred
pinto Andalusian probably seen in the last 300 years. Her emergence
has led Sarah on a study of color genetics and history.
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Our sabino pinto breeding program
has expanded with many additions and we now have the rarest
colored herd of Andalusians anywhere. The best news is that
our colored mares turned out to be some our best producing
performance mares as well. From some of the same bloodlines
that had the athleticism we demanded, also had the color we
wanted, pretty rare. Our foals have won USDF All Breed Year
End Awards in Sport Horse Breeding every year since 2003.
Our foals have won in open competition and earned open year
end awards as well. No matter what color they are, a foal
from Tintagel is like no other.
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OUR BLOODLINES
Maluso - Military
Agente - Military
Aureolo VII
Straight Terry Breeding |
We have several distinct bloodlines that we
breed from. Our first line traces back to Military and Jose
Escalera blood. These lines are renown for their extraordinary
easy to handle temperaments and the breeders have always
stuck to true Spanish type and correct movement regardless
of any show ring trends in Spain. Most of our horses trace
back to the legendary Maluso father of Agente who is considered
the ideal prototype in Spain. This is also the source of
our color line, providing us with black, bays and chestnuts.
"Born Broke" is the best phrase that describes
the temperament of these horses, very commonsense and easy
to handle. Truly a king’s horse, they will pep up
and be showy and fancy for a professional yet put a child
or novice on them and they are quiet as a backyard pet.
They are compact and have a real balance and harmony in
their movements and conformation.
The other lines of Andalusian we breed are
certain Terry bloodlines crossed with Military lines. This
gives hybrid vigor within a purebred horse. We are very
excited about the extreme athleticism of these horses. The
neurological systems of these horses are wired for extreme
suppleness and amazing proprioception. This makes them agile
and quick with a power that has to be felt. It also makes
them very sensitive and light to the riders’ aids.
These horses are kind yet have an arrogance and drive that
makes them suitable for competing at the highest international
levels. They are true warhorses possessing strong characters
and immense fire and power.
Our latest bloodline addition has been a straight
Terry Stallion with heavy Carthusian blood. This will give
us a great outcross for our heavy Military mares.
Andalusians are changing the face of open
competition dressage and combining these certain blood lines
gives us the historical genetic base to produce serious
dressage capable horses.
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HOW WE RAISE OUR FOALS When you
buy a Tintagel foal you are buying a lot more than the horse, you
are buying training, nutrition and a foundation unlike any other
farm provides. Our broodmares and foals receive care and attention
few others provide. This foundation starts with the mare before
the foal is even conceived. The in utero environment is finally
being recognized as having a major impact on the adult animal. Blood
supply to the uterus, nerve innervations, emotional, thus hormonal,
balance in the mare can all affect the foal long after he is an
adult. Long term health and performance capabilities may very well
be influenced and reprogrammed beyond its individual genome while
in utero.
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Our mares have their teeth checked twice a
year for appropriate balance and occlusion. Their feet are
kept short and trimmed naturally so no additional postural
strain is placed on their ever widening frames. The mares
also receive chiropractic care ensuring good innervation to
the uterus. Each mare has a custom analyzed feeding program
based on her nutritional needs. Blood and hair samples are
analyzed for Vitamin and mineral profiles to check they are
in the appropriate range. Special attention to mineral and
amino acid balance is given and in late term pregnancy additional
nutrients are added as needed. Mares are either worked as
usual or lightly exercised even if they are only used as broodmares.
Good physical health is essential while overstress or any
extreme range of emotion is to be avoided as it can impact
and imprint upon the foal inside.
All of this means each mare at Tintagel provides the best
“oven” for her foal so that foal has the best
chance of expressing its full genetic potential. |
Once born, all of our foals are
imprinted with our own modified program of relax response
and are handled extensively so they associate humans as a
normal part of their environment. When they are newly born
our foals get seen by our chiropractic trained veterinarian.
Birth is very strenuous process for the foal, not to mention
it has been curled up tightly for months, and slight subluxations
of the vertebrae are common, yet easily fixed. A foals joints
and bones are still fairly malleable so early adjustments
help them grow straighter and stronger. The foals are then
checked periodically to ensure that they continue to be, and
grow, straight and even. This investment is well worth it.
Foals that receive this much health care and handling grow
up with advantages that last a lifetime. They are calm when
exposed to new activities and experiences and trust their
human counterparts since a horse comfortable in their body
will be comfortable in their mind. The foals’ feet are
constantly trimmed started at usually two weeks of age. The
coffin |
| bone and lateral cartilages
of the hoof continue to grow and expand into the supporting
structures they are meant to be until the horse is two years
old. A narrow, long or otherwise unbalanced hoof capsule will
distort these internal structures so they do not grow properly
or as large as they should be for a mature horse. This can
lead to premature breakdown and lameness’s later in
life.
Our horses get as much pasture turnout as possible of at
least 12-24 hours in good weather. How much turnout the horse
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has in his youth relates to how
strong his tendons, ligaments and body in general will be
when mature. Our foals go out in mixed age groups to socialize,
play and learn structure and behavior. It’s far less
we have to teach them later on!! |
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Training continues with the foals
gradually asking for more sophisticated responses to the handler.
This is accomplished by basic in hand exercises as well as
having the babies go thru obstacle courses. All of this trains
the foals to be light and appropriately responsive to directions
which will stay with them into their adult riding careers.
The foals also develop a confidence that prepares them for
when they are weaned and makes them quiet and sensible show
partners even when very young.
Our nutritional program doesn’t over feed carbohydrates
or sugar, the most common mistake with foals; instead we focus
on balance of nutrients. This balance is the most important
part of a growing foals diet, not how much they eat but how
much they absorb. |
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Most of our foals eat far fewer concentrates than is usual
because the diet is so well balanced they absorb more nutrients
from less feed. They hold condition and grow evenly instead
of in sporadic spurts. We try to use only the minimal amount
of chemical wormers or vaccines in all our horses to insure
their immune systems are not overly taxed which can be a cause
of autoimmune disorders later in life. Fecals and blood antibody
titer levels are checked in the older youngsters to ensure
the foals have all the defenses they need against worms and
sickness without overdoing it. |
| This complete and comprehensive
program is possible because we don’t mass produce foals
and we have the time and knowledge to raise them in this manner.
When you buy a Tintagel born and bred foal you are getting
far more than the horse. You are getting everything from our
carefully researched bloodline matches through the most complete,
holistic based health care and handling. Why all this time
and effort? Simple, we want our horses to always have quality
and purpose of life. A happy healthy confident horse is an
easy care horse that has the best chance of being understood,
respected and enjoyed. We want our foals to be successful
partners for YOU. A horse in physical distress is a horse
enduring mental duress. We want our young horses to head off
to work |
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with a clean slate and computer
full of working functional programs. Nothing you need to debug
or try to retrain later in life - because some childhood issues
can never be trained out. |
More and more studies are being done that the first few years of
a horse’s life are the most important in his mental and physical
development. From in the womb to the informative years, everything,
both good and bad, effects the full expression of the mature horse.
Why buy from us?
We get it……
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