This message is from: Ursula Jensen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I am thrilled with the valuable amount of good information and discussion that is being generated on this list. Hopefully it continues. I just wish I had more time to respond myself but like many of you out there this is a super busy time. Carol you have made some really valuable contributions to date but I do disagree with you about stallion behavior. In my books, bad behavior (testosterone driven or otherwise) is unacceptable in both the equine as well as the human animal. You are probably right, tho, in saying that a stallion handled well from the beginning, as a weanling, has a better chance of behaving mannerly as an adult.It is also important to handle one's breeding routine with care. Our stallions have always been part of our performance stock so we expect them to behave at all times and hence, never take our stallion off the farm to breed. He has a special place in his pen here at home where he conducts 'business' and the routine is always the same. If he encounters mares in any other situation he may only acknowledge their presence with a whinny or snicker but any more than that is discouraged with a stern warning voice. Our present stallion Samstein drives at the wheel with his nose right on a mares tail. He behaves remarkably well even in the spring. I once heard a Norwegian judge call it 'manners and modesty' and Wayne Hipsley (one of the N.A. Evaluation Judges) wants it to be very evident "Who's in charge" when he's evaluating horses.I agree.
Someone on the list was also asking about judges visiting farms to evaluate horses. It was decided in North America that this would not happen. All Evaluations would be held at a neutral facility. This would discourage favoritism and/or encourage impartiality. It seems logical to me but like many of you I really feel that N.A. is at a very huge disadvantage due to the size of our continent. I do feel that the NFHR needs to be much more dilligent in promoting these assessments in the future. We have made tremendous headway but there is much much more to be done.Maybe down the road the Registry will be able to afford to hold many more Evaluations so people would not have to travel so far. That's not however stopping breeders from learning all there is to know about evaluation and breed standards etc. That information is available. Educate yourself and recognize the fact that there is a certain amount of barn blindness in all of us. Dave made some excellent points about horses that are not necessarily breeding stock but can still be wonderful performance animals and pets.Even if you can't affford to take an animal to an Evaluation, it would be helpful for anyone to attend one and get the info that way. Allison had asked if a judge would do an evaluation from a picture. Brian talked to both Wayne Hipsley and Jim Havelhurst(both NFHR qualified judges who will do the Oregon Evaluation in July)last weekend . We are gathering info for the preparatory clinic in Oregon in May so wanted to get an idea of what kinds of things we should pass on to the candidates who will be attending this clinic.They had mentioned getting pictures from owners and being asked for their opinions. We were told that 'they don't go there' simply because you cannot get a true 'picture' of an animal from a picture. One of the reasons there are so many stallions out there is because of distance. For some mare owners it is too expensive to send their mares off to another province/state to breed so they buy a colt and hope it will be grow into a half decent stallion. Does this mean the owness is again on the breeder who sells his offspring uncut even if he knows that the animal is not up to snuff? So many questions and so many points of view. This was going to be very short.....HAH!!! gotta run Ursula P.S....last week when I talked about using 'imported' as a hook in marketing I just meant that in the future our N.A. stock would have the same credibility when they achieve a 'Gold' Advanced Medallion of Quality. |-------------------------------------------------------| | Ursula & Brian Jensen from Trinity Fjords | | E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
