This message is from: "Gail Russell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yes, Catherine,
BUT, there is a crucial difference between today and 1700 % 1800 & earlier. The combined effect of better transport, artificial insemination, modern communications, loss of the major incentive to produce sound horses via the conversion to "horses for pleasure," from "horses for economic survival uses"....and probably a few other things I've forgotten, mean that we have the power, and propensity to severely narrow the gene pool of the Fjord horse. This is what Ruthie has been talking about for sometime, when she questions the long term effect of the evaluation system. She does have a point. I am not sure crossbreeding is the answer, but I do think we have a danger to the breed that was not present in 1700 and 1800. Gail Back on track... The latest book talks a lot about the early days of the Fjord Horse and the cross breeding that was done in the early days. (1700 & 1800 & earlier) The just of those stories was that NOTHING WORKED. The Fjord Horse crosses were not satisfactory to the breed (Norwegian Fjord Horse). The crosses died out because they could not take the harshness of the country and they did not survive. Or if they did survive, they were not quality animals. The cross bred animals were done away with. Here is a country that has produced Fjord horses for 1000s of years. Are we so ignorant or are we so egotistical that we have to try this experiment again? The Norwegians have been there and done that. Can't we learn from the history and move on to greater heights? (But of course one needs the books in English so that we can read them in order to learn them, thus why my pet project in the Foundation is translation of books for educational purposes... but we cannot do this without funds... )
