"You can just see that the horses are faring better!"

Besides veterinary clinics, zoos and stud farms owned by professional equestrians, an increasing number of private stable owners are trusting in our diverse products, with which we aim to improve horse welfare in the long term. One such customer is stable owner Gero Gerewitz. In this interview, the passionate rider and horse lover reports on the work in his stable and how both he and his horses benefit from our solutions, such as ComfortStall®, our rubber screed and Gröne composite paving stones.

Mr Gerewitz, please tell us a little about your stable first. How many horses do you have?
Roughly one year ago, we made a dream come true for ourselves and our horses with our stable in Wendeburg, a small community situated between Braunschweig and Hanover. We have the capacity for a total of ten horses, and we are currently at full capacity. These are mainly western horses. We have a large stable building with eight stalls and two annex wings, each with a breeding mare stall. The age range is relatively wide; at present, it is from one to nine years of age.

It has been a while since you equipped your stable with various Gröne products. How did you come across Gröne?
We had already had rubber paving installed in our stable's outdoor paddocks and horse walker. That consisted of composite and rubber paving stones from Gröne. That's what drew my attention to the entire range of Gröne products. I obtained more detailed information and was delighted by the various options that are available. Incidentally, I then also quickly established a good personal relationship with Frank Gröne!

You had a whole range of Gröne products installed at your stable. Which ones exactly?
We have now had rubber screed installed throughout the entire stable area and have also equipped the stalls with ComfortStall®. What particularly impressed me about ComfortStall® was the non-slip surface, which offers a really secure footing and is easy to clean. We additionally had rubber screed installed in a solarium. It was also important to me that Gröne's product consists of natural materials. My view if always that during our western horses' intensive training, it is all the more important to go easy on their joints and give the animals enough time and opportunities to regenerate. The Gröne products offer us the ideal prerequisites in this regard. The savings on bedding are also an economic advantage.

Have you noticed a change in the horses and your work with them since installing the Gröne products?
First of all, the aim should always be to minimise the risk of injury in the stable. And we have succeeded in doing that together with Gröne. With a standard floor covering in the stalls, the risk of the horses slipping is significantly higher, despite the use of bedding. If a horse is left alone in its stall and, for example, gets up hectically, it can also suffer a fracture by slipping or kicking against the stall wall. That's the worst case scenario for any horse owner, of course! But I'm not just concerned about the risk of injury; I also want to provide the horses with an environment in which they feel comfortable. And my impression is that the horses are considerably more relaxed, especially thanks to the stalls that are equipped with ComfortStall®. You can just see that the animals are faring better!

Mr Gerewitz, thank you very much for chatting to us. We wish you continued success in the future!