Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-07-17

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Horse breeding farm in Lazarina marks 77th anniversary

[01] Horse breeding farm in Lazarina marks 77th anniversary

Established in 1932 at the Zografos Farms in the plain of Thessaly, it started out with 19 mares and 2 stallions bought in Romania with the sole purpose of breeding horses for the then newly created Greek horse racetrack.

The Ippotour S.A. stud farm in Lazarina is one of the largest and best in Europe with 70 mares and 10 stallions, while its annual horse production ranges between 50 and 60 foals - all of them British thoroughbreds with pedigree certificates - corresponding to roughly 16 pct of the horse production in Greece.

The 700-stremma-farm is divided into 24 pastures of 25 stremma each meeting the international specifications and allowing the animals to have enough space to mature. Each pasture is home to 8-9 horses of similar condition (e.g. mares with foals are kept separately etc) to avoid conflict. The maintenance of the facilities and pastures is the responsibility of a 40-member staff.

The plain of Thessaly has a long history in horse breeding because the wet climate, thick vegetation and terrain are extremely favorable.

Famous "representatives" of the horses of Thessaly were Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander the Great, and the Centaurs of Mt Pilio, while the Trikki cavalry had accompanied the Greeks in the Trojan War.

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