This message is from: "Arthur Rivoire" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia -
Lois commented she'd heard "Fjords can't be lunged". - I've never heard that one, but can imagine it's one of the myriad bits of misinformation floating around about Fjordhorses. And, as is usually the case, there is some basis in fact. However, my initial reaction if I heard such a comment would be to say - "nonsense". Again, . . . . Successful training of Fjordhorses, just like any other horses, depends on early, correct, consistent work. Fjords aren't any different than other breeds when it comes to training needs. The only difference is in the people who own them, and what these people expect, which far too often is a horse who somehow trains himself, or is born trained. This isn't going to happen! Of course, Fjords can be trained to lunge, but you just don't put them on the end of a line and expect them to know what to do. -- You train them to lunge as you would any other horse. -- And, of course, before starting them lunging, you've already spent a couple of years instilling obedience on the lead ---- leading from both sides, walking at different speeds, halting, turning, backing up. Also, slow trot and trot on. -- If this work has been done correctly and consistently, training to lunge shouldn't be a problem. I have encountered Fjords who pulled all the tricks Lois described. These were the horses that hadn't received the right kind of training. Some of the difficult ones were mature horses we used to import from Holland, and the reason they were difficult was that they'd been "raised" by Dutch farmers who didn't expect too much in the way of compliance. Mostly, the horses were left in the field to get fat and grow babies, and once in a while they were brought in for a drive in the country. The problem is that the burly Dutch farmers saw nothing out of the ordinary in a horse that leaned on the bit. The farmer just held on all the tighter using his considerable strength. --- This was not acceptable to me, and it took much work, patience, and time to set things right. -- As usual, it was much tougher correcting this behavior than doing it right in the first place. We learned very early on that the best horses, meaning the ones who rode and drove the best, were the ones we got really young and trained ourselves. And better still, were the ones born here on the farm that were trained from Day One. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ However, the question was - To Lunge or Not to Lunge --- We used to lunge routinely. Now, we much prefer longlining. You have more control, and it's much easier to teach the horse to go on the bit as it's more consistent with the feel of a rider or driver's hands. Our conversion from lunging to longlining came just last year when we atteneded an Olaf Nyby clinic on Prince Edward Island. If you get a chance to do one of his clinics, don't pass it by. - - He's great, and we don't lunge at all anymore. Call Cheryl Beillard to find out about these inics. --- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The big training problem in Fjords is getting a full-sized Fjord that's not been well-handled and trained and worked up to his age level. ---- If you get one like that, then you've got a problem that's going to take time and money to fix. -- We constantly get calls and emails from people who've bought Fjords that haven't been regularly worked, and the new owners have serious problems. Very often, these people would have been much better off buying a good weanling, and doing the training themselves. I know a lot of people don't agree with this, and of course, a weanling isn't for everybody, but I firmly believe that many people can do an excellent job with a quality weanling. -- A whole lot of our customers have done just that and been very successful. Isnt' it better to spend two years correctly bringing on your own horse than to buy a mishandled, untrained, 1,000 lb. two-year-old? - With the former, you'll have a well-behaved young horse to ride and drive in his third year, and you'll know everythng about him. Also, over the years that he's growing, you'll have developed a rapport and understanding with this horse. You'll know him so well, you won't be intimidated by him. -- With the latter (the ill-mannered 2-yr-old,) , you could be looking at two or more years of professional training at $500 + a month, and possibly the horse will never be what you wanted. -- An amateur owner CAN train a weanling doing it slowly and consistently, and doing it by the book! --- An amateur owner can get hurt trying to train a pushy, undisciplined, ill-mannered, full-grown horse. Also, something to remember is that if you choose to buy the made horse rather than starting yourself with a weanling, you should be prepared to pay Much Much Much more for that horse. Many people would be far better off starting with a weanling. --- Finally, I can't tell you about Morgans or other breeds, and how they differ from Fjordhorses. I've been in Fjords so long that they're all I know. It very well could be that Fjords are more intelligent and stronger willed than other breeds and don't do well after being in certain situations; such as, growing up without discipline. --- Could be . . . I can't say. However, I do know Fjords, and know that the only way to have a really good horse is to train them young, train them right, and do it consistently. I'm sure others have other ideas, but what I've told you is what we've seen in 24 years raising, training, and importing Fjordhorses. It's a wonderful breed, but not all Fjords are wonderful. --- They're not wonderful if they're poorly bred. --- They're not wonderful if they're ugly and have bad conformation. ---- They're not wonderful if they're not athletic ---They're not wonderful if they're spoiled. --- And they're not wonderful if they grow up without training. One more thing! Lois talks about how she raised her homebreds. She did all the basics at home, and at two sent them to a professional for harness training, and at three for saddle work. --- Believe me, this plan is a good one, and will cost you far less than buying an unbroken two-year-old and then sending him to the professional. -- The youngster who'se had all the basics from his amateur owner will be finished by the professional in far less time than the other case, thereby saving the owner considerable money. --- And also there is the important psychological aspect for the amatuer owner. Which horse will she feel more secure with? There's no contest! Best Regards, Carol Rivoire . Someone told me Fjords can't be lunged but > this mare proves that false. She lunges very nicely. > > And I agree with Carol's comments that horses can't be left out in the field > for years, even if started well when young and I don't know that this mare > ever got intensive training as a young horse. My homebreds were handled > daily from birth, haltered, feet handled and at 2 were sent for harness > training and at 3 for saddle training in good structured programs....and > they lunged beautifully. I found also that many trainers do not want to > take older horses for training or retraining for exactly the reason of > confirmed behavior mentioned in these various threads on this subject. > http://www.beaverdamfarm.com Beaver Dam Farm Fjords II R.R. 7 Pomquet, Nova Scotia B2G 2L4 Tel:(902) 386-2304 Fax:(902) 386-2149 Carole Rivoire, author of THE FJORDHORSE HANDBOOK, only book in English on the Fjord breed, available from Beaver Dam Farm, $36.95 US includes P&H
