By becoming an “Entreprise à Mission”, LIM Group has taken up the challenge of creating responsible riding with all its employees and stakeholders. To turn this concept into a dream and this dream into a reality, LIM Group relies on its overarching approach: Riding, Leather, Health & Science. So all the group’s entities give back to the horse what they owe it. And they take up that challenge day after day by turning their commitments into action. Because there is no responsible riding without expertise, without action, without a vision.
Riding
In terms of saddles, research into the horse’s locomotion, the attention paid to every detail with its comfort in mind, and the eco-design of our products are all hallmarks of Responsible Riding. Ten specific actions have been put in place by the Riding Division teams which focus on:
- Designing saddlery products in keeping with horse riding standards;
- Designing customized saddlery products adapted to horses’ morphology;
- Designing artisanal products that are made to last (using leather rather than synthetic or plant-based materials), and repeatedly repairing them;
- Eco-design to make it easier to swap parts, optimize materials or prioritize bio-based or recycled materials;
- Inventing the breakthrough innovations of tomorrow, those that will increase the performance of the rider and the horse while respecting the animal’s physical integrity;
- Prioritizing materials produced in Europe;
- Producing while preserving the excellence of know-how and quality controls;
- Recycling our production waste through the development of local partnerships;
- Guaranteeing local customer service, as close as possible to riders’ expectations, to ensure greater responsiveness while limiting unnecessary travel;
- Providing advice, training, and best practices through expert technical sales teams.
“Our teams live and breathe horses. We devote all our energy and skills to designing products that meet the needs of the horse and rider combination in keeping with our ecosystem”.
Magali Maurizot Kur, General Manager, Riding Division
Leather
As far as leather is concerned, 100% vegetable tanning, improved living conditions for breeders, and the Filière Excellence Cuir in Nouvelle Aquitaine turns this new vision into reality. Particular attention is paid to:
- Preserving the environment by tanning our leather with 100% vegetable extracts (quebracho, mimosa, and chestnut);
- Improving the living conditions of our partner breeders and striving to preserve the welfare of cattle through the Filière d’Excellence Cuir in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France (FECNA);
- Securing the quality and quantity of supplies of our raw materials by incorporating two tanneries;
- Reducing our water consumption for tanning hides and developing the water basin of our tannery in Saint-Pardoux-La-Rivière, reviving endogenous animal and plant species;
- Recycling and upcycling our waste from the tanning process
“We are particularly proud of our 100% vegetable tanning. R&D has done a wonderful job for many years.”
Marek Sus, Director of Tanneries de Chamont and Fonte Velha.
Health & Science
On the science and health side, our brands’ veterinaries and researchers constantly strive to protect the physical integrity of equine athletes every day. A vision that allows us to:
- Develop and market innovative diagnostic, treatment, and health solutions for professionals and private individuals in partnership with their veterinarians to better understand, maintain and improve the health of horses;
- Facilitate the coordination and consultation of professionals involved in the care and management of the horse (osteopath, dentist, farrier, coach, saddler, etc.) for personalized monitoring of the training progress of each horse according to its activity;
- Pass on knowledge and practices to (new) horse owners to care for horses while respecting their physiology
- Facilitate the interaction between veterinarians and their clients to enhance the information, advice, warnings, and education they can provide, going beyond simple prescriptions.
“Technological innovation to get practices moving, to share knowledge, that’s what it’s all about.”
Erwan Mellerio, Managing Director Arioneo
” Supporting veterinarians in transmitting knowledge and providing access to educational content to horse owners is one of our objectives, in addition to providing therapeutic solutions.”
Marina Wissink, anaging Director Audevard Laboratories & Ravene
Horse Centric by nature
Lastly, in a general way, it is by sharing all our knowledge with our partners, customers, and riders, that we can create responsible horse riding every day.
For, with, and thanks to the horse.