Premium young horse caring
raising the best horses
Everything for the best growth of your horse
Five-star, all-inclusive and professional. Van Baalen Farms – Young horses is the modern rearing stable for your foal. Decades of expertise in equestrian sports, agriculture and rearing combined in the ultimate rearing stable located in Brakel, Gelderland. With spacious stables, paddock footings of sand and grazing areas. Because your foal deserves the best of the best.
Are you interested in an introductory meeting? Feel free to contact Arie Jr. and Jacobine van Baalen.
About us
Decades of experience, craftsmanship and love for horses. In the 1970s, Arie Sr. and Coby van Baalen settled down in Brakel in the province of Gelderland to further build up the family business ‘Van Baalen’. This resulted in Baalen’s worldwide renowned Olympic Dressage Barn and a successful agricultural branch. Today, Arie Jr. van Baalen at the helm of the agricultural branch and Marlies van Baalen is responsible for the Dressage stable of van Baalen.
Raising
Moderne opfokstal
With the spacious and clean stables, year-round free-range to paddock footings of sand and the possibility to graze in the summer, your foal has complete freedom.
Hygiene is essential
Our stable is very spacious, so it provides a lot of fresh air. Even in the future hot summers, we will make sure that your foal is comfortable all day long.
Health and well-being
Van Baalen Farms – Young horses takes care of the daily checks of the stables, paddocks and foals. Initially, your foal will, therefore, receive a complete screening.
Our stable
The modern rearing stable was built in 2020 opposite of the renowned Dressage Barn Van Baalen in Brakel. With the spacious and clean stables, year-round free-range to paddock footings of sand and the possibility to graze in the summer, your foal has complete freedom. Your foal is also in good hands thanks to our cooperation with a certified veterinarian and farrier. Van Baalen Farms – Young horses is the breeding stable of the future.
Process
Van Baalen Farms – Young horses is your professional, all-inclusive rearing stable located in Brakel, Gelderland. The perfect environment for your growing foal which is fully developed in accordance with the latest welfare standards of the FNRS, KNHS and 12 Horse Welfare Guidelines.
Van Baalen Farms
“The best choice for your foal.”
Frequently asked questions
Your foal will be placed with 1 or 2 other foals before the rest of the group is added. This way, the grouping happens very naturally.
During the stable period, the foals have access to a space of 10m by 30m. Because they have a lot of space to move, we can keep 16 to 18 foals per group.
During the grazing period, the groups can be slightly larger due to pasture occupancy.
All horses are offered unlimited high-quality roughage.
All foals and yearlings are given additional concentrate feed.
All young horses also receive a daily mineral mix that is custom made based on the roughage values.
When young horses are in a group together, their immunity is challenged, which is comparable to children in daycare.
This is no cause for concern as long as the animal otherwise appears fit and continues to eat well.
To monitor the animals well, we have a veterinarian visit every Monday. The vet walks a round with us to do checks if there is any doubt.
We schedule the farrier 4 times a year. This always happens under the supervision of a veterinarian. For a good and safe experience for both horse and human, all young horses will receive light sedation.
Our walking stables have a permanent run, so all horses can choose to be inside or outside 24/7.
All yearlings go to the pasture around mid-May and return to the stable around October 1st.
2-year-old mares will also go to the pasture for another summer.
2-year-old stallions do not go to the pasture anymore; many stallions are picked up during this period as part of preparing for the stallion inspection process.
If you choose to castrate your 2-year-old stallion, he will go to the pasture in a group of geldings until October after castration.
The above schedule is highly dependent on weather conditions.
All our pastures are fenced, and they are checked daily in the morning.
Stallions can stay until September 1st of the year they turn 2.
Mares and geldings can stay until September 1st of the year they turn 3.
During the stable period, you may visit your horse every day of the week between 10:00 and 17:00.
Please send a WhatsApp message in advance to let us know. If we don’t respond, you are welcome to visit. If it is inconvenient due to work, we will let you know.
During the grazing period, visits are by appointment only, on weekdays Monday to Friday in the morning from 9:00.
This is because a member of our team will accompany you.
During visits, please do not enter the walking stables for safety reasons. You can view your horse well from the feeding path or paddock fence.
As long as there are no special circumstances regarding your horse, no photos or videos are taken. If it is necessary to inform you, this will of course be done.
