This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Information Architecture) Concerning the cutting of manes, the Mongolians cut the manes of their horses once they have been ridden. This singles them out in the herd from the unbroken horses. I believe they are not the only people to do this, and the cutting the mane in Fjords might come from such a tradition.
The examples of Norse horse depictions and Germanic literature also tell us a lot, I think we ought to be careful about reading too much into that. After all, we're talking about a long time ago and not necessarily about the same horses. The concept of a breed is a 19th century one; before that there were basically "types" in certain regions. What is a Fjord now is almost certainly different than what was a Fjord then -- we can see changes even in the last 40 years, so how would they be the same for the last 4,000? (I know this is heresy to some people.) In any event, there are a number of other old depictions of horses with short manes -- in Egypt, Greece, China and other places. Those places don't clip their horses manes now, but those horses are probably not Fjords or even Fjord predecessors. Just a couple thoughts I thought I'd throw in. Becky Vorpagel Jont Creek Acres Monmouth, OR
