This message is from: PHILLIP Odden <n...@norskwoodworks.com> This message is from Phillip Odden. We had lots of snow on Sunday but now it is melting. Here is a little story to introduce the sleigh I finally was able to drive for the first time last Sunday.
Norwegian Sunday Sleigh Having spent lots of days in museums in Norway over the past thirty five years I was always drawn to the ornately decorated sleighs displayed there. Perhaps it was the era when these wonderful sleighs were used that captured my imagination. Eventually I completed carving school in Norway, married a fine Norwegian woman who shared my love of folk art, carving, painting and the like, and set up shop in America. After many years of building a business and moving back to a farm we acquired some fjord horses, not just a few but several. When first I learned to drive horses I knew I needed a sleigh. Eventually we ended up with several sleighs dont you know. About the same time we got our first Fjord I wanted to make a Sunday sleigh like those I had seen in Norway. Most of the other sleighs I have made were carved and some were carved extensively, but not like this one. Finally this winter I finished the sleigh I had been dreaming about for many years and today I hitched one of my own home bred fjord ponies to it for the first time for a photo shoot. My talented wife Else directed the photo shoot and handled the cameras. The day was perfect with warming temperatures above freezing, lots of sun and nice snow. Oddens Elinor Moegun, a five year old mare out of highland Prairie Gunvor and sired by our stallion Smedsmo Gråen got the nod to take the inaugural ride. We call the mare Sweet Pea. She is doing very well though I have taken her training very slow. I wanted her to develop well before I started her. She is a very quiet sensible mare with tons of athletic ability. Sweat Pea is very well balanced through the body with a well muscled hind quarter and fairly long neck. She articulates her hocks very nicely allowing her to reach up under and she has good reach with her front legs. This mare has a big walk and a big trot. Sweet Pea is being trained single and in pairs and she is fun to ride. I expect she will see some pleasure driving, CDE, and sleigh rallies in her future. The sleighs I saw in the museums in Norway were used for special occasions like going to church or important social events. There was room for one to sit in the sleigh and one could ride the runners holding on to the handles at the back. I suppose, if needed on the steep mountain roads, the person on the runners could easily hop off and even push a little to give the horse some relief. I used my Norwegian harness with padded hames and carved saddle today as well. You can see pictures of the new sleigh, Sweet Pea and me on the snow on our website http://fjordhorses.norskwoodworks.com/horses/horsegallery.shtml Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
