Horses in Hands; a company that has the health and rehabilitation of horses at the forefront and is run by Astrid Hoppenbrouwers. She is one of the affiliated Friends of the KWPN!

A token of appreciation for the KWPN breeders and mutual networking, that is what the Friends of the KWPN stands for. But who are affiliated with the Friends of the KWPN and what is their link with the KWPN breeding?

At Horses in Hands, veterinarians and professionals alike, a physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor, sports masseur, farrier, saddle walker, bitfitter, instructor and holistic therapists work together to keep horses healthy and to recover after an injury. “We do this through joint support from different angles, with the help of aquatraining and based on different training techniques on hand or under the saddle. Our training and approach is aimed at the development of balance, strength and flexibility with which the natural movement quality comes into its own as much as possible.” Astrid works with healthy horses and rehabilitating horses. “The training techniques apply to both types of horses. The aim is to optimally enable the horse to perform the requested or desired work. This applies to sport horses, regular use horses, but also to horses that must appear as well as possible at the inspection.”

Appreciation for breeders must be made known
Astrid Hoppenbrouwers has been affiliated right from the start that the Friends of the KWPN foundation was established. Why? “I support this development because we owe our fantastic horses to the breeders. I think that with these breeders' premiums, first of all, a show of appreciation and gratitude is given to the breeders on behalf of the users. If we want to be able to enjoy KWPN breeding in the future, it is important that this valuation is made known and that it stimulates continuity. Finally, it is nice to give the breeder a podium in this way, in addition to all the attention that often goes to the owner and the rider of successful horses.”

Care for the horses continues
With the current developments surrounding the coronavirus, Astrid is also forced to make adjustments to the work, but the daily care of the horses continues. “Fattening, feeding and training simply cannot be done online; as always, that is "hands on". We have chosen to extend our working hours instead of shortening them and also move the training activities to the evening. This allows the teammembers to work one after the other instead of with each other. If owners of the horses want to come and have a look at the training, we do not have to meet in this way. This way we limit the number of people who are present on the company at the same time. In general, we now work two-by-two and there is always one practitioner present. The site is large enough to maintain a desired distance of 1.5 meters. ” Despite these changes in daily activities, not much has changed in practice at Horses in Hands compared to the old situation. “We are always focused on the horses so then you are not on top of each other. There is not often time to drink coffee together. However, the table in the canteen is large enough to keep sufficient distance!”

Follow breeding development
Astrid is also personally involved in KWPN breeding. She herself has three KWPN horses, including two sporthorses, a Connaisseur x Jazz and a Santano x Rohdiamant, and an elite sport-dress mare by Sandreo who is exprecting a foal of Just Wimphof. “From the age that I could read, I already followed the Dutch magazine ‘In de Strengen’ from the KWPN. I learned to ride a horse from a breeder of New Forest ponies and - back then - WPNs. I always read the ‘In de Strengen’ to follow developments in breeding. I thought it was important to know which stallions were approved. It was the time of the stallions Joost and Abgar. When I later had a mare by Ulft, I had in mind many stallions and in addition to the annual stallion inspection also visited all kinds of stallion shows to make the choice. However, I never had a mating carried out: I loved to exercise. Now I have geldings for sport and a broodmare with beautiful predicates. Very easy! ”

Would you like to know more about the Friends of the KWPN? Visit the special page where, in addition to the related news items, you will also find more information about the breeder premiums, see who are the other affiliated Friends of the KWPN and also see the photos and videos of the awards of the breeder's premiums.