Sauerlach - Lydia Böcks has been running the “Marina” stable in Arget for 20 years.
Horses can spend their retirement there.
So now, first of all, gymnastics for old men: Lena takes Serro out of his box. Grooming and a few crawl units - then it goes out to the outdoor area right next to the stable. Serro is 31 years old. That's a house number for horses. The gelding trots happily next to Lena. “I'm doing ground work with him now,” says the twelve-year-old. Means: He has to listen to Lena's commands, stop when she stops, walk on when she walks on - and also step backwards or sideways when asked. Several times a week Lena takes care of her Serro, who belongs to the stable manager Lydia Böck. She knows: Even old horses don't just want to be fed. You need address, a task, something for your head.
Local appointment in the Marina stable just behind Arget near Sauerlach. It has a good reputation in the district - especially as a pension for the elderly, which is not entirely correct. Because the youngest horse, Don Camillo, a dark brown gelding, is eight years old. The oldest, mare Samba, 33 years old. But it is also correct: Many horses that can no longer be ridden in sport due to age or illness enjoy a good old age there. There is space for 14 animals in total. So many paddock boxes are available in the airy, bright stable. Paddock box means: Every horse can step out of its box into a fenced area outside at any time - if they are not in the paddock anyway. Between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. they are out on the pasture. "Then they have to go in, because of all the brakes and mosquitoes," explains Lydia Böck.
Horse paradise between meadow and forest
The 57-year-old has been running the stable for a good 20 years.
Together with her partner Robert Herrmann, she runs an idyllic horse paradise between meadow and forest.
“I am a nature lover,” she says.
Marina stall?
"I named it after my daughter." The pensioner farm or the charity stables were never planned: "But a lot of horses have been here for so long - that clearly influences the age structure."
The trained florist was previously successful in harness racing.
Back then, in the early 1990s, you could still earn good money at the Daglfing racecourse.
“The winner got 3,000 marks - and even those who didn't finish first could easily win 500 marks,” she recalls.
The horses practically earned their own maintenance costs.
Long ago.
Lydia Böck, born in Johanneskirchen, turned her hobby into a profession at some point, she says.
She pursues this with a lot of passion.
The barn is swept tip-top, the litter in the boxes - either straw or shavings - clean and plentiful.
The horses are fed three times a day.
The monthly pension price includes hay, straw and concentrate, as well as a paddock.
If you want something special for your four-legged friend, you have to put it up yourself.
“I feed what the horse owners want.
It's all a matter of consultation, ”says Böck.
But she also pays attention to whether the horses are too fat or too thin, and makes sure that everything is right.
Actually 24 hours a day, as she lives right next to the stable.
Hail damage damaged stable roof
Lydia Böck takes care of it. In the late morning, when all the horses are still in the paddock, the boxes mucked out and the yard swept - those are always the best moments of the day for Böck: “A good feeling when everything is done and in good shape,” she smiles . It also ensures that the four-legged friends are carefully grazed at after the winter, a few more minutes each day until they have got used to the fresh grass. This procedure is called grazing, because horses have a sensitive digestive tract, which quickly threatens colic, which can be fatal.
Anyone who asks horse owners why they hire their horses there will always get similar answers: the well-tended stable, the care of its operator, reliability in stable management and the possibility of extensive riding trails. Comfort meets idyll, that's what Stall Marina scores well with. Trouble in paradise seems to be rare: “In the 20 years, only two horses could not stay - they just couldn't be integrated into the group when grazing,” says Böck. And currently the stable roof has to be repaired. Hail damage. “That easily costs 10,000 euros again.” But it has to.
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