Abu Dhabi : Mediapersons got a rare opportunity to visit the Wathba stud farm, the breeding stables of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, in Normandy, France, on Thursday.
Emanuel Bodard, breeding manager at the La Boutonniere-based farm conducted the tour. "Normandy is known for its reputation as the region's best place for breeding race horses as well as for its excellent climate," he said.
"The Wathba stud farm is one of the best in the region and the facilities including the quality of the paddock is of a very high standard.
"Winter in this part of the world is not too cold and summer is not too hot which is suitable for breeding horses. We are planning to make a lot of additions to this facility," he added.
Facilities
Spread over 180 hectares, the farm is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and 17 professional staff.
"The training track has been newly laid with a mixture of sand and fibre. This ensures that it will neither freeze in the winter nor get too dry in the summer. This type of race track is suitable for the legs and joints of young horses," Bodard said.
"Shaikh Mansour is one of the greatest supporters of breeding purebred Arabians. The breeding stock on his farm includes some of the best-known stallions including Sire D'Albret, Mawood, Mahabb, Sarrab, Munjiz, Quazer and Tahar De Candelon.
"The farm houses top stallions including Mahabb along with his sire Tahar De Candelon, in addition to Munjiz, Sire D'Albert, Mawood, Quazar and Sarrab. All of the stallions have made their presence felt in the track before they were retired to stud."
Lara Sawaya, director of the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Flat Racing Festival accompanied the mediapersons on the tour.
She said: "It is the first time the media, including Al Hurra TV from America, has got a chance to visit the farm and get first-hand information about it. They were able to see many horses bred here, including Mizzna's daughter Thaaniya and her two sons Rabbah De Carrere and Merzal." Mizzna is still training and racing.
Musallam Al Ameri, racing manager for Shaikh Mansour, said: "The facilities, including the practice track. are one of the most modern in the world. New facilities are being added in order to satisfy clients."
Selective breeding
The yearlings are the result of a revolutionary embryonic transfer as part of a human-directed process of selective breeding of purebred horses, according to the official.
"In the case of Mizzna, the mare was inseminated in Abu Dhabi, but some of our operations here are through natural covering. We have as many as 19 broodmares like Aleefa, Canelle De Carrere, Demokratia, Djezika etc and plenty of them came from a strong racing background with well-proven records," he said.
"Horses are bred here for racing and various futurities. Artificial insemination is used at the farm through different methods and techniques. This involves the deposit of fresh or frozen semen," he said.
