This message is from: Sarah Clarke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Jen, when I started looking for Fjords, I too noticed how many are croup high.
My previous experience was with thoroughbreds and warmbloods who mostly have
high withers. (the Tb dorsal fin as one friend calls it.) Too high a wither
can also be a fault as it makes saddle placement as difficult as mutton
withers, but I suspect nobody deliberately breeds for a downhill conformation,
but instead as you must select for other traits too you have to make a choice.
I have deliberately selected uphill horses for my breeding program, and I
intend to get my mares evaluated, so I will see how they fair.
As for as the throat latch thing goes, it is determined in part by how wide
the jawbones are apart in relation to the thickness of the neck. Put a sugar
cube against her neck, and you will quickly see how much flexion you can get!
I haven't had any difficulty with any of mine flexing enough to come on the
bit. BTW a "vertical nose" isn't really the point anyway, the point is the
horse to be on the aids, soft in the jaw and stretched over the top line.
Is this a common fault found in the conformation of many Fjords? Do
some people actually deliberately breed to get a butt-high horse? I
thought I saw that mentioned once in a post. Or is it just a fault?
Now a question about that thick Fjord throat latch. All my horsie
friends, who are
non-Fjord owners, take one look at her thick throat latch and say that
ofcourse she will never be able to flex at the poll and have ner nose
vertical.
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