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My first horse was a $600 Arab of fair breeding but she was the most
gorgeous creature I had ever seen. (Wasn't everyone's first horse?)
We discovered early that she liked to play. We whizzed plastic trashcan
lids like frisbees. The closer they sailed past her the more she liked it.
We would place a person at either end of the corral to cut down on the
running back and forth. She would flag her tail and do airs above the ground
in the most spectacular un-$600 fashion. I knew she was related to
Bucephalus or to winged Pagasus. Her ears never went back. She never
trembled and she would always come right up to us when beckoned even if we
were holding the dreaded "frisbee".
Some years later, I went to Varian Arabians for an open house and saw
them show their horses at liberty. I saw behind the scenes, too. On that
day they used a balloon tied to a stick and scooted it on the ground just
before the horse came out into the arena. Those horses looked like they were
having fun and enjoying the attention and were not afraid to go back into the
barn after their moment in the spotlight.
Now it is many years later and I have my first horse's only foal all
grown up and two fjords besides. The Arab loves the frisbee game and looks
for all to see like she is the most unmamageable wild creature ever put on
earth when we are playing. Tail high, rolling snorts that echo off the barn,
all four legs off the ground in huge verticle jumps. She stops traffic.
But the real hoot is when the fjords attempt to imitate the Arab. They
still cannot flip their heavy tails over their broad backs and airs above the
ground more resembles cartoon mule kicks. Their big grey noses are stuck out
in front and their ears are pricked forward in "play". They are more likely
to stomp the frisbee than to leap over it. Ah, to each his own.
I would like to add that the Arab, who is being 'scared to death' by the
killer frisbee, is a stalwart CDE competitor and does not flag her tail in
harness. She is trusting and calm and has managed to teach me in spite of
myself. The Fjord mare is also a CDE competitor, strong and steady. The
Fjord youngster, a 21month old gelding WHO IS FOR SALE would rather eat the
frisbee. Fear? I don't see it in any of them.
But, and this is a big but, I have heard of unscrupulous and uncaring
tactics to get fashionable results in most high-priced breeds that are shown
for money. Quarter horses having their tails nerved, Morgans wearing heavy
chains, Walkers being burned (thankfully outlawed now), Hackneys in straps
to bend their tails up and keep their heads high. Who truly cares about
their animals who can do such things to them?
I am glad to have found the horses I have and to have the relationship
with them that I have.
Now I digress. A friend of mine remarked that if all the Fjord breed has
to worry about is crooked teeth and undescended testicles, then the breed is
WAY ahead of what most other breeds have bred into thier good horses. Can
anyone recall what was so "impressive" about the great QH sire Impressive? I
truly applaud the folks who are trying to stop weakness before they get
ingrained in the breed, even though my own mare and gelding both lack
testicles. <VBG>
While we are promoting Fjords as one of the best kept secrets on the
planet, let's not forget that someone will figure out how to mess them up in
the quest for big money.
Pamela Garofalo
Whose trashcan frisbee is buried in mud in the lower corral.
