This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I currently have a very talented seventeen year old gelding who is a Gjest > son on a thirty day trial. [...] > My primary concern is his aloofness. He is nothing like my two year old, > very in your pocket gelding. That curious, friendly, people loving nature > is a > big part of my love for this breed and I am just not sure how much he will > come around over time. [...] He will join up with me when > I have a feed bucket, but aside from that, I have given him many > opportunities to approach me for a scratch fest, and he will invariably > mosey away. If > I approach him, he will tolerate my affection while looking straight ahead, > but sometimes flinch if I surprise him or bump me with his nose in a "get > away" kind of gesture. > > I am just really struggling with this decision and would appreciate any > advice from long term Fjord owners/breeders or those who own Fjords that > might > fall into a more aloof category or have suffered mistreatment. [...] > Kris in NC
Many years ago, I bought my first horse, a Fjord mare named Nansy. She was 17 at the time, and it was the better part of a year before she regarded me as anything more than Room Service. Technically, she had had only one previous owner, but she had been leased out for breeding, hauled to various events and expos, been used by beginners, etc---my guess is that she figured that I was just another "one night stand". It took her a while to decide that maybe I was going to be in her life for long enough that it was worth investing "emotional capital" in a relationship with me. Over time, we developed the closest connection that I have had with any of my equines. Fjords can get very bonded to "their person"---to the point that some of them border on being "one man horses". I suspect that your on-trial gelding senses that the current situation might not lead to a "forever home", and is holding back, emotionally. What I can't say for sure is whether he will eventually warm up to you. But, as long as there's a question in your mind, he'll probably continue to hold back.... Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon The FjordHorse List archives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
