This message is from: "Robin" <t...@pa.net> Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and my husband, Michael, and also to thank and acknowledge some of the wonderful people that we have come to know in the Fjord community . Although I read the Fjord digest almost daily this is the first time I am submitting a post. We recently purchased two wonderful Fjord geldings from Phillip Odden of Odden's Norwegian Fjord Horses. Odden's Fenris and Odden's Gunnar are full brothers and are exceptional horses. Both are very calm, willing, interactive, intelligent and well mannered. We are thrilled to have them here and wanted to express our thanks and appreciation to Phil for not only the wonderful Fjords but also for all his time and the attention he gave to us. We were unable to see either of these horses in person prior to purchasing them but between Phil's accurate descriptions of the horses along with Else's wonderful photos we felt very comfortable in our decision to purchase them. I also want to thank Phil for his excellent ongoing communications and updates on how their training was progressing. My husband and I have had horses for many years but we have only recently discovered the Fjord. About 8 years ago Michael had a bad fall off a horse that had bolted. After that incident he did not ride again and was very untrusting of horses. Last spring he came across an article in Trail Rider magazine about rare breeds. He showed me the article and pointed to the Norwegian Fjord and stated that was the horse he would be willing to ride. So began our search for our Fjord. One of the first people I spoke with was Marcia Pace of Fjordbergen Farm who was selling a beautiful 7 year old gelding, Torlend. Unfortunately, at that time fuel prices were at their highest and the cost of transporting him from Washington to Pennsylvania was astronomical. After she sold Torlend to another party Marcia kept in touch and spent quite a bit of time trying to locate another Fjord for us. I was so impressed that this person that I hardly knew would be that generous with her time assisting us in our search. Marcia suggested we contact Phil whom she said was extremely knowledgeable about the breed and had an excellent reputation. As per Marcia's suggestion I called Phil. He had just returned from an elk hunting trip to Colorado with some of his Fjords. It was fascinating to hear about the trip and how well his Fjords responded in some very interesting situations. Cool, calm and collected as you would expect them to be. After describing to Phil the characteristics we were looking for he suggested Fenris. He said that he was very calm, analytical and interactive with people. We said we were interested and mentioned that we would be using him primarily as a trail horse. Phil had worked with Fenris before and said he would continue his training concentrating on trail riding. He wanted to make sure that Fenris was not only calm on the trail but would willingly go through water, brush, etc. Phil has a wonderful philosophy about training. He is very patient and he respects his horses and they in turn trust and respect him. The effectiveness of his training methods is very apparent in how well mannered and responsive both Fenris and Gunnar are. Fenris arrived last December and my husband and I both fell in love with him as soon as he walked off the trailer. He was everything that Phil said he was. I guess it was at that moment in time that two new potato chip craving Fjord lovers came to be. Shortly thereafter we began looking into purchasing Fenris's younger brother, Gunnar. Phil began working with Gunnar and soon told us that he felt Gunnar was as good as Fenris and maybe even more willing and quick to learn. I could not imagine that this was possible as Fenris was perfection in my eyes. Phil continued to train Gunnar and began driving him with his large Fjord Herger. He commented that they made a good team and Gunnar was doing exceptionally well driving. Gunnar arrived here about 3 weeks ago. I have to agree with Phil. As wonderful as Fenris is Gunnar is one of the kindest, most willing and agreeable horses I have ever known. In the time he has been here I have never seen him spook at anything which I guess is appropriate since the name Gunnar means "bold warrior". We have had him on the trail and on the road and nothing fazes him. Within the first week he was here two motorcycles passed us as I walking him along the road and he was totally indifferent to them. He is truly amazing. Coincidentally, Marcia emailed me a few weeks ago a couple of days prior to Gunnar's arrival to let me know that she was selling her 4 year old gelding, Soren, who in fact was born on her farm. I had not been in touch with Marcia for a while so although she knew we had purchased Fenris she was unaware that the brothers were about to be reunited. The timing of her email was pretty uncanny. We also want to take this opportunity to thank Patti Jo Walter of Francis Creek Fjords who was also helping us find a Fjord when we first began our search last fall and again recently when we were (believe it or not) contemplating purchasing a third Fjord. Patti Jo is amazing in what she does. She is very honest in her assessment of the horses she is selling and is concerned about matching the right horse with its new owner. She had some very nice horses but we came to our senses and decided to stop at the 2 Fjords (for now). Sorry that this is starting to sound like an acceptance speech for an academy award but I would like to thank two more people, Anita Unrau and Brian Jacobsen, who provided me with valuable information about the breed. I cannot tell you enough how impressed I am with the people I have mentioned as well as some other members of the Fjord community that I have had the pleasure of talking with. Initially I was amazed at the common thread between these people; their kindness, friendliness, generosity and willingness to assist. Then I realized that of course they would share these characteristics. After all these are the same qualities that they admire and appreciate in their Fjords. We hope to make it up to Barronett, WI sometime to attend one of Phil's driving weekends. We look forward to learning to drive as well as meeting Phil, Else and the rest of their Fjord family. Robin Urbach and Michael Van Sickle Wooly Acres Pennsylvania Phil - http://fjordhorses.norskwoodworks.com/horses/horses.shtml Marcia - http://www.fjordfarm.com Patti Jo - http://www.franciscreekfjords.com Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
