This message is from: "Norsk Wood Works" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Peg Knutson, Thank you for your confidence in our breeding program here in Northwestern Wisconsin. It is important for me to clear up one thing however. I am not actually on the evaluator track. I have been involved in the evaluator training on an auditor basis. My intention is not to become an official evaluator at this time or any time in the near future. There are others who are much better qualified than me working toward that goal. I wish to pass the knowledge I gain from the evaluator process on to others to better understand their horses. As a full time professional artist I consider form, function, and movement each day in my work. As I see it, horse conformation has very much to do with these same three concepts. Fortunately I have been allowed to learn from our experts here in North America as well as in Norway. Since I speak and read Norwegian I want to learn to see the fjord horse through the eyes of those who have been fostering this breed for all these generations on the west coast of Norway. I also have great respect for the wonderful animals Mr. Von Bonn has produced in his program with stock purchased from Norway. Since America is a wide and diverse country I am sure we will continue to produce a wide and diverse set of fjords. We are a country of immigrants and the fjord is a relatively recent immigrant to this land. This brings me back to the three fjord types. Of course there are not three official fjord types. I can't help but notice three different styles of fjords. In my opinion there generally are those that are quite heavy, especially in the front end, and suited best for draft. There is another group that I see that are often fairly balanced front and rear but are still rather stocky. Not a lot of air under them. A third group could be characterized by being balanced front and rear but being of a lighter build and one would notice more air under them. Here we are speaking in shades of gray. There are no firm transitions from one style to another. In each of these groups we can find individuals with good 'FJORD TYPE'. Official fjord type is quite another concept and is not as easy to define or learn to see. On the evaluation form it counts double so it is heavily weighted. When one thinks of Fjord horse type, many think that the stallion Rosendalborken would be a good image to keep in mind. Phillip Odden .
