CUJZEK Stud (), meaning "Center for breeding and protection of the Međimurje horse" () is a small

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...

comprising around 20

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s in western part of

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; ; ) is a triangle-shaped Counties of Croatia, county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje (region), Međimurje. It is the smallest Croatian count ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. It is located at the Macinec village in the

Nedelišće Nedelišće (; Kajkavian language, Kajkavian: ''Nedelišče'') is a village in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia, and the seat of the Municipalities of Croatia, Municipality of Nedelišće, which also includes 10 other villages in the south-w ...

municipality.

Establishment and development

Established on 23 April 2020, CUJZEK Stud is opened for the development of

Međimurje horse The Međimurje horse (; , , , ) is an autochthonous medium-heavy horse breed of draught horse originating from Međimurje County in northernmost part of Croatia. Characteristics The typical Međimurje horse ranges from to high. Stallions ca ...

breeding in order to help preserve and revitalize this breed, one of Croatian medium-heavy

horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a ...

s of

draught horse A draft horse (US) or draught horse (UK), also known as dray horse, carthorse, work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred to be a working animal hauling freight and doing heavy agricultural tasks such as plough, plowing. There are a nu ...

which is particularly endangered today. In the first half of 2024, about fifteen

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

s and

foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

of the Međimurje horse were housed at that location. Stud is formed as a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

based in Macinec, because there are better capacities and potentials for horse breeding there than in the previously established Međimurje horse stud farm in Žabnik. The selected location meets most of the conditions required for the establishment of a leading stud farm, and is located along the right (eastern) side of the road that connects Macinec with

Gornji Mihaljevec Gornji Mihaljevec () is a village and municipality in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia. History The oldest archaeological finds in Gornji Mihaljevec municipality are from the Roman period. Fragments of Roman roads were found in the villages ...

. After registration, activities were undertaken to arrange and equip the farm

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

where the horses will be housed, as well as to adapt the

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...

d outdoor area of the entire complex where the animals will move. Given the equipment and content, CUJZEK Stud has the potential to become part of the attractive tourist offer of Međimurje County, although it has not yet been open to the general public since its establishment.

Gallery

References

{{Reflist Horse farms in Croatia Tourist attractions in Međimurje County Agriculture in Croatia

Establishment and development

Gallery

See also

References