This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Arthur Rivoire)
Good Day from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia - Today I draped myself in day-glo orange (3 more fearful days of hunting season)to go into the woods and cut a Christmas tree and boughs to decorate the barn. Although, it's unseasonly warm, and we have no frost in the ground, it's that time of year. I'm still waiting for the Board of Directors to answer me on this very important question regarding something that appears in the Breed Standardscalled -"Extravagant Action". Mike May has given us his opinions, but he's speaking personally, and not as an official of the Registry. For those who have not been following my quest for an answer, here's a recap. -- The final version of the Fjord Breed Standards were published on the NFHR website in September. In it, under the section called - UNDESIRABLE ASPECTS OF CONFORMATION (FAULTS), and under the sub-heading of WAY OF GOING, is listed "extravagant action", along with other conformational faults; such as - overreaching, forging, winging, paddling, short stride behind, irregular stride and/or cadence. I've been asking that someone from the BOD explain exactly what is meant by "extravagant action." I posed two examples of what they might mean - #1 A horse showing high knee action at the trot, #2 A horse showing an extended trot. Yesterday, certified judge, Karen Cabic, answered the first part. She said that high knee action is incorrect in a Fjordhorse. She's correct in that. Now, I want to know if "extravagant action" has anything to do with #2 example. And if it does not, then "extravagant action" in the Breed Standard should be changed to read "overly high knee action." In any case, I think this "extravagant action" thing should be changed as it is not descriptive enough, and leaves the door open to too many, subjective interpretations. Believe it or not, I hate to bring it up . . . but, I think the whole section called MOVEMENT in the Standards needs work. There's just not enough said about this most important aspect of the Fjord, particularly the TROT section. As the Norwegians say in their Standards, the Fjordhorse is, above all, a DRIVING HORSE. They say, that EVERY FJORD MUST DRIVE. And driving horses need to have THREE TROTS, and this is not at all addressed in the Standards. The NFHR Breed Standards says this about the trot - TROT: A true two-beat diagonal gait. Being a powerful gait, the trot demonstrates the characteristic traits of speed, comfort and athletic abililty. The trot comes naturally, and is the most favored gait of the horse. It sounds like a dictionary description of a trot. Not necessarily what we should be looking for in the Fjord's trot. There's nothing said about impulsion. There's nothing said about the normal THREE TROTS of a driving horse - Slow Trot or Collected Trot, Working Trot, Lengthened or Extended Trot. --- And I very much do not like the part about "speed" in the trot. A good driving horse does not "speed" around the ring. He shows a ground-covering stride with good impulsion from the hindquarters. -- One other thing on the TROT. Nothing is said about the desirability of SUSPENSION in the trot. The Breed Standards describe the canter thusly - CANTER: Should be balanced and free with good forward movement. I'm not a rider, so can't say much about this, but it seems to me there should be more. Perhaps Beth Beymer or Sue Banks could help me here. Breed Standards describe the walk thusly - WALK: The Fjord Horse will be eager and efficient, moving in a four-beat cadence. Again, this pertains to a driving horse where he's asked to show THREE WALKS - Collected Walk, Working Walk, and Lengthened or Free Walk. And he's judged on Relaxation (swinging back). The quality of the walk has a lot to do with Relaxation and Freedom of Movement in the shoulders and hindquarters. As I've said before, this is an important issue that concerns most every Fjord owner. I think that many people in the U.S. and Canada do not realize how important MOVEMENT is in the Fjord breed. GOOD MOVEMENT is vitally important in Norway, Holland, and all the other Fjord breeding countries. Sincerely, Carol Rivoire Carol and Arthur Rivoire Beaver Dam Farm Fjords II R.R. 7 Pomquet Antigonish County Nova Scotia B2G 2L4 902 386 2304 http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/beaverdf
