This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Arthur Rivoire)
Hello from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia - I was on the phone today with Bob van Bon, Chief Inspector of Fjords in Holland. When we finished our business, he asked about our old stallion, Gjest who is now 24. I told him Gjest is very healthy, but showing his age in the condition of his teeth, and the drop in his back. Next, Bob asked about his fertility. I said he'd had no problem covering any of the mares we bred him to last season, that they'd all gotten in foal in one cycle. (outside mares as we didn't breed any of our own last season.) Then Bob said something he's said to me many times in the past few years. He said, "WE CAN'T FIND STRONG STALLIONS LIKE GJEST ANYMORE. THERE ARE NO MORE." Arthur was on the extension, and asked Bob why this old type had disappeared, and Bob answered - "Because there is NO MORE NATURAL SELECTION". And then he went on to explain. . . . He said that in the old days, throughout the history of the Fjord in Norway, the stallions had been PROVEN THROUGH WORK. Those stallions worked for the mountain farmers and lived extremely rigorous lives in spartan conditions with poor food (dried cod), and little in the way of vet care and maintenance . . .and the ones who couldn't take it were butchered. Today, Bob said, there is no more work for the stallions, and they do nothing but stand in a meadow and breed. He feels this has weakened the Fjord breed. Then it occured to me that if Fjordhorses were "Sport Horses", that would be a kind of natural selection. The weak ones, not able to do the job, would be put aside and not used for breeding. I said this to Bob, and he agreed that yes, IF FJORDS WERE SPORT HORSES, their strengths and weaknesses would show up, and the strong stallions would be selected in that manner. Warmblood horses are Sport Horses. That's their function. There's not much danger that weakness would persist in those breeds as they'd not be able to fulfill their ordained function. No Warmblood stallion is going to become popular because he's cute and fuzzy and friendly, or looks snappy in the show ring, or has a personable owner. He has to perform, or he's Gravy Train to put it crudely and bluntly. A Warmblood gelding that can't perform is not much use either. Warmbloods are not pets! However, Fjords are pets, which is not a bad thing AS LONG AS THEY ARE ATHLETES AS WELL. I hope to God that the pet quality never is allowed to take precedence over the athletic qualities. Van Bon is saying that the breed has gotten softer because of what he calls "natural selection", meaning a proving ground for the stallions of arduous, long-term work. A program that proves their strength, stamina, abilities, and longevity. Well, that situation of working the stallions in the mountains no longer exists, and it can't be replicated. So, what are we going to use to replace it that can work in the New World? The Warmbloods start off with their 100 Day Testing which gives judges a good idea if the stallion has what it takes. After that, the approved stallion is expected to perform in tough competition, and there he shows if he's a winner or not. --- This is true of all performance horses - dressage horses, jumpers, racers. We don't have anything at all like it in the Fjord breed. What do you think will be the long-term consequences? When someone with the knowledge of Bob van Bon says he's worried that the breed is becoming soft, we should listen. When he says he cannot find any more "strong" stallions such as Gjest, we should begin to be concerned. Maybe it's time for the Evaluation Committee and the NFHR to seriously discuss 100 Day Testing for Fjord stallions, and requiring them to perform in sporting events such as dressage, cutting, combined driving. Make the testing sufficiently tough so that only the strong stallions survive. The use of the Fjordhorse has changed. It's now more recreational (sport) than farm work, and sport can be as tough or tougher on horses than farm work, and as good a proving ground. What do you think? Best Regards, 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
