This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Arthur Rivoire)
Hello from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia
Mike May wrote ---
>
>I suggest you submit your idea to the Education Committee chairperson. The
>new Education Committee chairperson is Jane Sawyer. You can email her
>at: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mike, Isn't there someone on the BOD who acts as a liason to the List? If
so, that person can relay my idea to the Education Committee, and if they
have an interest in pursuing this, they'll get in touch with me.
My advice would be something like this --- TRAINING WEANLINGS - It's Easy
& Financially Beneficial.
#1 - Use the time after weaning to instill respect and obedience in your
babies.
#2 - DO NOT leave them out in a field with no handling.
#3 - Ideally, bring them into the barn every day for lessons.
#4 - Teach them to lead nicely. This means being light on the lead and
not needing to be tugged. Teach them to respond to the lightest touches.
#5 - Teach them to respect your space.
#6 - Teach them to stand away from you when asked. For example, when you
go into their stall to feed. They should stand back and only go for the
bucket when you say it's OK.
#7 - Teach them to stand tied.
#8 - Teach them to mover over laterally.
#9 - Teach them to pick up their feet.
The best advice I can offer for raising pleasant Fjordhorses is NOT to
leave them in a field for their first year. Bring them in and CIVILIZE
them. Believe me, we've done it both ways, and this is by far the EASIEST
& BEST way to train Fjords. At the end of their first winter, they will be
soft, mannerly pleasant yearlings ready to continue their education. They
will have learned to submit, and they will respect you.
I once sold a weanling to a woman who'd originally contracted for another
weanling elsewhere. When she went with her trailer to pick up this baby,
he wouldn't get on. She gave the breeder three weeks, and went back. The
foal still woulnd't get on. -- So, she called me and asked if we had any
weanlings that would load. I said . . . "but of course." The woman and
her husband drove up two weeks later, and picked up one of our Gjest sons.
The woman is Sue Connelly, recently on the List, and the horse is BDF
JOLSTRA, son of Gjest, out of Heather, a Solar daughter. Sue and Jolstra
did extremely well at Woodstock this year.
So, the message is that training your youngsters pays dividends.
I started off this discussion after receiving a call (one of many) from a
woman who bought an un-trained 2-yr-old, and now after a year and a half,
the horse still has serious behavior problems. This lady had had a bad
accident with another breed, and was looking to the Fjords for something
better. Unfortunately, the one she bought hadn't been well started, so
she's not experiencing all the joys she'd anticipated when buying a
Fjordhorse, and that's a darn shame.
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
