This message is from: "Gail Russell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi all,
Jim and I have been spending the summer in Cedarville CA at our new place on the edge of this tiny town. We have been going riding in the desert, mountains, or dry lake bed several times a week. One can ride for literally miles...sometimes on soft footing that is fine for even my most tender footed horses. It is really a beautiful place. While there, we have made several new friends. One couple we met has acquired a Hungarian Kuvasz that just showed up on their doorstep. They believe he spent his earlier life tied up most of the time in the yard of one of the farmhands. Ann and Michael have had him for a bit over a month. Ann would love to keep him, but they are concerned that they need to travel this winter, and that they cannot give him the home he needs. For the first month, Ann slept *on the porch* with him so she could teach him not to bark at the deer that came near the house. She said he did bark at the coyotes, and would growl when he heard them in the distance...so he has protective instincts. He stays around the house, but does disappear for an hour or so now and again. Ann is going to get him neutered, which she hopes will stop that. She is also planning on teaching him more manners so he can go to a GOOD home (can you tell how devoted she is to him), but she has made a point of not letting him into the house for fear of spoiling him when his lot in life may be to be an outside dog. He is a foundling, so has no papers. He seems a bit shy of cars, but I think she was going to teach him to ride in the back of their truck, figuring that is a "life skill" he will need. Cedarville is in the FAR Northeast corner of California. You go east a few miles, and you are in Nevada. Go North a bit further, and you are in Oregon. Is there anyone who could provide him with a good home. I have a feeling that the qualification process from Ann would be a bit rigorous....but it sounds like he will be in good shape by the time he is ready to go to a new home. Ann says he really is already very sweet. I am told by Lisa Pedersen's sheep owning friends that he did not grow up with sheep, so will be good protection for the house and family, but not for a flock of sheep (unless maybe they are hanging near said house and family). Gail -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 9:10 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com Subject: Re: New NFHR Logo This message is from: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Okay, I don't usually say much, but I'll chime in here: If you read about the 4-H, Scouting, or corporate logos, you'll find that every element of a logo usually has a specific meaning that contributes to the meaning of the whole. If the NFHR must have a new logo, it seems to me that its logo should also follow that principle of meaningfulness. Every element should say something about the Fjord Horse, its temperament and appearance, its contemporary uses, and its history. The proposed logo is certainly cleaner looking, but I can see more implied or obvious meaning in each element of the old logo than I can in the elements of proposed logo. The horses: Our Fjords are "...strongly built, hardy, well proportioned and athletic, a horse with great presence and charm..." (Source: http://www.fjordhorseint.no/side.asp?ID=4) The biggest thing I like about the horses in the old logo is their alert, lively look. They are Going Somewhere willingly and with purpose. This look is enhanced by the artistic eye of the artist who sketched the horses. The horses in the proposed logo certainly look good natured and kind, but they do not show the sense of strength, energy, and vitality that we prize in our Fjords. The horses in the proposed logo are also too much alike, as if one horse was created by computer-cloning the other and making a few changes to the mane and such. Going from an oval to rectangular format: The left hand side of the proposed logo has a heavy vertical bar to "close off" the horse's side -- and thus it also closes off that side of the logo. Coupled with the heavy horizontal bars above and below the name, this linear geometry encloses the logo in a rectangular format that is almost as restrictive as the oval in the old logo. A rectangle also does not offer the sense of motion that an oval or circle does. Our Fjords are supposed to be lively and inquisitive -- the overall shape of the logo should hint at those qualities. I have long thought the oval around the horses in the old logo could easily be eliminated. I've always felt sorry for the left-hand horse, whose nose is forever bumping into that boundary! The rounded necks and manes of the horses and the draped curve of the banner in the old logo give enough sense of enclosure without the oval. The reins/lines: The single rein per horse in the old logo works okay, because in this design, the rein on each horse is a small part of the design. On the other hand, the single rein on each horse in the proposed logo is a bold, dominant element, whether by intent or by accident. I would lighten up this detail in the proposed logo to make it less visually important AND make two reins for each horse -- or I would eliminate the reins entirely. I also question the looseness of the rein for both horses. Horses in harness or in English tack should typically be ridden/driven on contact as shown in the old logo, not on a loose rein. If a loose rein must be shown, then make the bridle of the riding horse more obviously western by removing the cavesson. The banner vs. the "swirly pattern": The folded and draped banner on the old logo continues the rounded theme created by the horses' rounded manes (and that too-tight oval). As Lisa pointed out, the banner also has an old-fashioned flavor that hints at the idea of Fjords being an ancient breed. If the banner in the old logo must be eliminated in favor of something like the swirly pattern at the bottom of the proposed logo, the pattern should have some meaningful relationship to the Fjord horse -- perhaps adapted from traditional Norwegian carving or rosemaling designs. DeeAnna Postville, Iowa Lisa wrote these good comments: > ...the old logo ... is timeless in its style ... it doesn't look like > it was designed in say, 1970 or 1980. It is using graphic elements > that have been used since the 1700s ... the horses are rendered, in > the old logo, in a very bold and dramatic way... It could maybe stand > to use some cleaning up -- however I like that it looks > hand-drawn... 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