This message is from: "Knutsen Fjord Farm" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hi all - I'm still gathering information on Erlend, but am going to post what I have, since folks have been asking. MVF Erlend is our 12-year-old grey dun stallion. He was bred by Phil Pritchard at Meadow View Farm in Grand Junction, TN. He was sired by Anvil's Solvgraen, a grey son of Chip Lamb's stallion, Rusten. Froya, Erlend's dam, is also grey and is one of the last living Lidaren daughters. Lidaren, one of the great old Norwegian stallions, also sired Astrix, Felder, and Gramann. On Erlend's sire's side, Lidaren appears as great-great-grandsire. I'm not an expert on bloodlines, but on Erlend's 10-generation pedigree, I can see that Hakon-Jarl and his son Molnesblakken are prominent. Haken-Jarl appears 23 times on his sire's side and 14 times on his dam's side. Haken-Jarl is behind both Lidaren and Valebu, who is on Erlend's 5-generation pedigree. Interestingly, Haken-Jarl appears about that many times on Rocky's and Pepper's pedigrees. Erlend was Evaluated in 1990 as a 3-year-old by Norwegian judges Jon Hegdal and David Kolve. He received a 3rd pr., which I think is the highest rating a young stallion without grown offspring to judge can get. Mr. Pritchard told me that the judges wanted to buy him as a stallion prospect for Norway. It must have been shortly thereafter that Karen and Roger Cabic bought Erlend, and kept him for 4 years until they sold him to Julia Will of Old Hickory Farm. While standing at Old Hickory farm, Erlend sired two sons, OH Kevlar and OH Alexander, who won the Overall Grand Championship at Woodstock in 1996 and 1997. Erlend went on to win the same championship himself in 1998. He has shown his versatility, earning Reds and Blues over the years in riding, driving, and draft. At Libby this year, he won the Open and two Novice English/Western pleasure classes. Next year, I hope to be skilled enough to drive him and compete in the log skid as well. Erlend's also earning points toward the Award of Excellence. As far as what he has to offer the breed, I'd begin with his wonderful disposition. All stallion at breeding time, he's a dream to handle and ride, and loves to show off. His movement is fluid and smooth, even though he gives the impression of tremendous power. One of our visitors described him as looking "chiseled." Erlend is correct and well-balanced. His butt could be a bit bigger, but he has good length of loin and strong bone. His front cannon bones measure 8 3/4" and his rear ones 9 1/2". Some would prefer a stallion taller than he. Although Erlend has to take a deep breath to measure 14 hands, his offspring generally mature out at 14-1 or 14-2. I'm eager to see what he and Silka produce. Fortunately, he likes older, taller women.... Erlend's most striking features, I believe, are his head and neck. His is very "up-headed" and has an excellent neck set, clean throatlatch, and an absolutely beautiful head and face. His dark grey dun points are arresting - lots of leg stripes, "mascara," and these little "fingers" of charcoal fanning upward from his muzzle. Julie tells me that Erlend throws his fine neck set and head carriage, is good for shortening the back from long-backed mares, adds bone to finer legs, and passes on pretty heads, good movement, and quiet dispositions. He is also prepotent in regard to coat color. So far, he has always produced grey foals when bred to grey mares, which indicates an unusual genotype. Of the 32 foals he has sired on both brown and grey mares, 8 have been grey. The examining AI vet describes Erlend as a "normal, fertile, stallion." His catch rate is about 98%. As novice breeders, we certainly are glad that he makes the whole process so simple and easy. It's amazing how he can be a snorting, horny stallion one moment, and then try to steal a few bites of grass as soon as he's finished and we're leading him away. "What mare...?" You'd think he could at least let her know he still respects her... There was some discussion on the Digest a while back about whether one could have a color preference and still be breeding for excellence in other qualities. Check out the stallion page when Mike gets it set up, or our ad in the upcoming Herald, and judge for yourselves. We believe MVF Erlend is proof that one can breed for color And quality at the same time. As a final note, I'd like to report that I have just completed an in-patient treatment program for sufferers of Barn Blindness, and now am totally cured! I'm delighted to know that I can now view my horses, including His Majesty, with a totally objective eye. If any of you suffer from the same malady and would like relief, I'd be happy to make the referral. I hope I've given an adequate description, I've never done this before. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. Cheers, Peg Knutsen - Knutsen Fjord Farm
