I've been posting about this wonderful Dracula Daneș Domain for the past few days now and today is the day I've been waiting for. Today I'm going to show you the gorgeous horses and the beautiful stable. There's an equitation center at the domain and the stable is open for visitors.
These are the stables, on the left the big one for the horses, in front there's the stable for the pony and on the right there's another building that was not open to the public.
The building complex is impressive, unfortunately I can't tell you if it's old, genuine staple or it's new and built in that style, but I really appreciate it as it fits the profile perfectly. I could not imagine a modern one here, it wouldn't be right.
The roof is made of wood and tiled, just as it was at the times of my grandfather, back in the 20th century.
The front of the big staple, with the wooden window shutters, my favorite when it comes to a house. When I saw these, I said one day I'm going to have mine. The other valuable item here was the wooden bench, made of real wood logs, just as it was made a hundred years ago when there were no tools like now.
These are obviously just for decoration as are not made properly but I appreciate the gesture to make the staple as these were once. Maybe I'm wrong and this is how staple window shutters looked like, if you think of it, no need to be dark inside as animals need light. In any case these looked good.
On the outside wall of the staple there was this ornament, featuring a horse with an one man carriage hanging on chain from a piece of wood. At first I thought it's carved in wood but in fact it's ceramics, which is just as valuable in my eyes as wood.
The staple is huge, what you can see in the photo is about 80% of it.
This is the other part. Unfortunately I didn't count the boxes or the horses, but there were quite a few.
As you can see, the ceiling is made of beams and the box doors of metal and wood. The floor is made of cobblestones. Just the perfect combination.
I need to mention here that there was no strong smell as you would expect in a stable. This means cleaning is done regularly, which is obviously very important both for the horses and visitors too. Horses need to stay healthy and a clean environment is key here.
The walls are full of both artworks and tools used for horse riding and cleaning.
This is a metal sculpture featuring two horses, a very good one in my opinion.
These are some tools used
in equitation as well as a brush that is used to keep the horses clean. The holder is a beautifully made wood and metal artwork, a stylish one. When I see things like this I'm always thinking only the rich could afford to have these things.
On the wall there was a quote by H. F. Hemfling, painted on wood.
The language of horses is like a universal language, an accelerated rhythm common to all.
Riding is movement and harmony, only falsely practiced riding is hard work and torment. (H. F. Hemfling)
I've never ridden a horse, so I don't know how it is like but I believe the saying is correct. A horse is not a human being but you need to treat them with respect and care if you want them to work with you, be your friend. Just like dogs.
Even the lamp matches the style of the stable, it's new but the vintage style is perfect.
Under the lamp there was another quote, this time from Xenophon.
Do not work with horses when you are angry! Do not treat the horse like a slave to be enslaved but like a friend.
These are two sentences of the quote, so you can see what they mean by these quotes. The whole place is a statement about how well they are treating the horses and throughout these quotes and riding classes they are teaching people to respect horses. To be honest, this meant everything to me. It showed they are not keeping horses just to cash in the money tourists willing to pay.
It's time to meet the horses. This brown beauty was one of them, he was not in the mood for making friends that day.
I tried to call this one closer so I can pet her but she was not in the mood either or she spoke a different language, or both :)
Look at that eye, it tells you everything.
A black beauty, too far from the gate.
Another chocolate beauty, bored or not in the mood for making friends.
This was the last one and the best. I don't know if it was a she or a he, let's say it was a she. She was at the gate and very friendly. I was able to play with her for 5 or so minutes.
It was a joy to be so close to a beautiful horse like this. Must admit, it was my first.
I've seen horses before but have never been close enough to them to be able to play with them.
This was the smaller stable with the ponies. These were not lucked but tied to the wall.
I bet kids love these beauties and with the tourist season to start as soon as possible.
At the moment of our visit I felt like I could spend several days in the stable with the horses. I have a weakness for animals and my heart is aching when i see people mistreating them.
This stable was absolutely beautiful.
A saddle and a plaque on the wall. Judging from the size of the saddle, it must be for kids.
There was this bell on the wall of the stable, next to the entrance. Maybe it's still in use and horses know the sound of the bell.
Stay tuned, tomorrow (hopefully) I'm going to post about the blacksmith workshop and the wonderful park.
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