This message is from: "Ursula & Brian Jensen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
There are many approaches to this topic, so I will add one more point of view to the discussion. The consideration here is that climate and geography has very strongly influenced the evolvement of the horse over thousands of years. The Akhol-Tekke is a hot blood originating from hot, dry, arid countries of the world like Kazakhstan. If you look at this horse, it is slab-sided, long necked, thin skinned with a large vascular system right under the skin. These features are there in order for the horse to discharge heat in a very efficient manner. In simplest terms this was all about survival of the fittest in a hot climate before mankind started playing with genetics and cross breeding. The Norwegian Fjord is considered a cold blood originating from the Northern climates of the European continent. In contrast, the Fjord is shorter necked, thicker skinned, with a vascular system located farther inside the horse to protect the vital organs in the cold of winter. Sometimes Vets have trouble finding a vein to draw blood from in a Fjord as they are deeper. They also grow a thick coat of fur for every winter. The Fjords body is rounder and deeper as well to protect the vital organs. You could take this one step further suggesting the warm bloods generally have evolved in temperate climates somewhere in between the Akhol-Tekke, and the Norwegian Fjord. A couple of summers ago I had the opportunity of meeting the then President of the Swiss Pony Association in Switzerland. The main discussion there was around the Half linger and the synthetic changes introduced by man. Eike is correct, in that this is quite another story! The long and short of it is that there was a split in the breed Association between traditionalists and modernists of where the breed should go. The traditionalists wanted to maintain the older type of Half linger which was heavier but lacked the lightness in movement. The modernists wanted to introduce an Arab line into the breed to create a lighter and faster pony. The two groups split over differences and went their own way. This movement actually fractured their Association and produced a synthetic breed not many people are interested in. In closing, a few years ago the Discovery channel carried a documentary on the ideal horse or pony created from research into genetics, climate and geography. The horse they created to stand the test of time was 14 hands high, had an 8 inch cannon bone, and weighed approximately 1000 lbs. Sounds like a Fjord to me. In all this discussion it remains imperative to realize we have been given a true gift in the Fjord Horse, and it is our responsibility to maintain the breed type and standard for generations to come.-- Brian Jensen Ursula and Brian Jensen Box 1032 Lumby, B.C. Canada V0E 2G0 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.trinityfjords.com Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
