This message is from: "ruth bushnell" <[email protected]>
"Has the FJ gene pool deviated from what it once was?" I'm sure there are many perspectives on this subject, judging by my private mail, many agree with me that it has to an extent, and certainly moreso that it is presently headed in that direction. In one sense it has not, because there is always a portion of original material in the mix, in science I believe this is called ativism. this would, for example, be evident by the "mark of Njal." We do not recreate the breed periodically by whim, with entirely new ingredients, like mixing up a batch of pancakes--see-sawing back and forth from large pancakes to small pancakes =)) Think of sourdough pancakes.. there is always an element of the original starter within. (example, the mark of Njal) the breed first used as workhorses, probably war horses carrying robust warriors and their heavy gear, climbing steep terrain.. later used for farming power. historically they have been well recorded as having solid muscular bodies and legs, having an exceptionally high strength to size ratio. the breed did not begin with Njal, of course, but with a host of ancestors before him.. some of those are recorded as well. http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/njal many earliest photos show definite Fjord bulk.. let's not forget that most often mares are larger than stallions, but for some inexplicable reason all focus has been on the stallion. Point being, every time the breed as a whole shifts from large to small, or small to large, there is a deliberate avoidance of particular bloodlines--eventually narrowing their influence, maybe even their existence. (called genetic drift) Hence, we can permanently lose physical substance. Every scientific mandate for purebred genetic health requires a gene pool to have an equal ratio of males to females (UNRELATED AS POSSIBLE) and a limited use of specific stallions and their offspring. We don't have that going for us in the Fjord breed.. it therefore logistically follows that we are straying from original Fjord genetic template. Ruthie, nw mt, US Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
