Holiday flat with stable in Brandenburg: sleep above the broodmares

Anyone who has slept above a stable — with the soft snorting of mares below, the patter of foals in the early morning — understands why this kind of holiday is something else than any hotel. The flat at the Eichhof in Schenkenhorst makes exactly that possible.

The Eichhof is Franziska Gutsche’s breeding farm, with the family home, broodmares and foals — the flat is directly above. Your own horse moves into a guest stall at the neighbouring Eichhof Akademie, uses indoor arena, dressage arenas and trail-ride terrain, and is looked after by the yard team. From Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm you reach us in about 20 minutes; the Potsdam-Drewitz motorway exit is at the door.

In what follows we describe how a stay typically unfolds, what makes the flat special, and what to keep in mind when planning.

Sleeping above the broodmares and foals

The flat belongs to the Eichhof, not the Eichhof Akademie. That is more than a detail — it is the character of the place. You stay in Mrs Gutsche’s home, with a view onto the breeding paddock and the foal stalls. In the morning you hear the mares being fed. By midday the foals come out to play, in the evening it gets quiet.

That closeness is what brings most of our guests back. A hotel night with stables next door exists in many places in Brandenburg. A night in the middle of a working breeding farm, with a real connection to animal and family, is much rarer. If you love not just the sport of riding but the everyday life around horses, you are in the right place.

The Eichhof Akademie next door — boarding for your horse

While you stay at the Eichhof, your horse lives next door at the Eichhof Akademie. The two yards are immediately adjacent, a few minutes’ walk apart. Your guest stall is a bright outdoor stall (4 × 4 m, wood-shavings bedding); the horse joins the normal daily rhythm of the Akademie and gets paddock or pasture between 7:30 and 15:30.

In practical terms:

• Fresh air, good air quality. Shavings instead of straw, bright outdoor stalls — important if you bring a horse with sensitive airways (equine asthma often surfaces under travel stress).
• Full training facility. Indoor arena, both dressage arenas, both lunge rings and the jumping field are at your disposal.
• Cared for by our yard team. You don’t have to be in the barn at 6 am — if you wish, we handle feeding, mucking and turnout.

That keeps the stay relaxed: you can train, hack out, attend a clinic — and return to the flat in the evening without worrying about stable routine.

Training stays with your own horse

Many guests come not just to relax but for focused training phases. At the Eichhof Akademie this is particularly easy to plan, because we are familiar with various training formats. Subject to availability, targeted trainer hours with our team can be added — just ask when you enquire.

Common combinations we see:

• Weekend clinic visit. You arrive Friday, take part in a clinic with one of our guest instructors (Karin Lührs, Christoph Hess, Conny Faste or Alfonso Aguilar) and travel back relaxed on Sunday.
• Training week before a competition. Daily riding indoors, seat work in the dressage arena, jumping gymnastics on the jumping field — concentrated preparation on consistent footing.
• Mare and stallion visits. Anyone interested in our Hanoverian breeding can use the stay to get to know horses from our own programme calmly and at length.

Hacking without roads, surrounded by nature

Sandy paths leading through wonderful country start right at the yard. You can ride for hours without crossing a single road — that has become rare in the Berlin commuter belt. The footing is kind to hooves; the ground is quiet. For horses used to traffic and noise at home, this calm in nature is often already an important part of the holiday.

Arrival, booking, things worth knowing

The easiest way to arrive is by horse trailer via the A115. The Potsdam-Drewitz exit is about ten minutes from the yard. From Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm, driving time is around 20 minutes outside rush hour — markedly faster than most yards advertising as „Berlin commuter belt”.

For planning we recommend:

• Early enquiry. Clinic weekends are often booked months in advance.
• Clear goal. Training holiday, clinic, pure relaxation with your horse — we can shape the stay differently for each.
• Personal pre-call. We are happy to phone before the booking so we can plan you and your horse properly.

If you are interested, contact us with your preferred dates and a short description of your horse. We will get back within a few days with an offer.

What is typically included in the stay