This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hello Beth,
<<I'm not sure who "we" are, perhaps you are speaking for the participants on your Fj Issues list?>> To clarify this point immediately, I, nor would the co-owner of the Fjord Issues list, Fred Pack, ever presume to speak for that list's membership. When I used the term "we", I was obviously (I thought) speaking about my farm. I have no desire to get into a debate on this list about the validity of the comments concerning the "type" of Fjord Horse since the 1800s. Suffice it to say that I have yet to see actual proof of these type of statements nor have I found any sort of historical documentation to support this theory. Therefore, this is going to be one of those "agree to disagree" issues. From my research of the FHI's breed standard, there are enough differences that if we adopted this standard, the traditional Fjord could be removed from the gene pool. Again, another "agree to disagree" issue. However, what does concern me is the idea that newcomers to the breed cannot use our breed standard in its entirety without doing additional research into the breed outside of the NFHR. As things stand currently, the breed standard is apparently written for a specific audience versus a general audience. We, as NFHR members, cannot assume that every newcomer to the breed will go further than the NFHR initially to educate themselves. And, technically, why should they? We ARE the leading Fjord horse registry in North America. As such, we have a serious obligation to our Fjords and all members to have a clearly defined breed standard people can utilize without surprises at an evaluation. It is our job to educate new members, be it through our own educational material or through clear cut references to registries/associations the NFHR recommends. As the Fjord population grows in North America, we are going to see instances of people getting involved in this breed that might not have a breeder they can call on to ask questions. Nor is every newcomer going to feel comfortable pulling out the breeder's list and calling a relative stranger to ask questions. Therefore, they would look to the NFHR site and also, their membership packet for educational information. If they are interested in breeding, it is highly likely they will use the breed standard to begin. If our breed standard is incorrect, then it must be changed. It is our responsibility as NFHR members to make sure we have a breed standard that IS written to a general audience, that can be understood and fully utilized by both experienced and non-experienced breeders. To expect newcomers to just "know" these things, or to know intuitively they need to look to other resources is just asking for problems, futuristically. This also applies to new buyers, for while they may not be interested in breeding, they might very well be interested in showing. Our breed standard should be our "sacred text" that clearly states undesirable traits which will be marked down for on an evaluation score. We owe this to the Fjord, ourselves as NFHR members, and to any new buyer, potential breeder or not, interested in a Fjord. Lynda Thanks much, references are available. Lynda and Daniel Bailey's White Cloud, MI 231-689-9902 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hometown.aol.com/baileysfjords/index.html
