>>> I don't really buy that all Icelanders define "tolt" as all easy gaits. I heard Gudmar at the Equine Affaire telling the audience that "tolt" is an even 4 beat gait, "one, two, three, four". How would that fit into this?
I'm pretty darned sure I've heard him mention the "single foot support phase" too - maybe on the Rick Lamb interview? That audio doesn't seem to still be available for me to check any more though. As far as dealing with Icelanders on import issues, etc...somehow I've managed to accumulate 19 Icelandic's on my farm (plus the five I've sold) without ever having imported a horse. A good many Icelandic horses in this country are second, third, maybe even fifth or sixth generation North American, and a lot of the imports are transferred from American to American. They are very much North American horses now - they couldn't go back to Iceland if anyone wanted to take them back, because of Icelandic law. Anyone have any numbers...? I'd bet there are a lot more domestic-born Icelandic's in the USA by now than imports...and that percentage will probably keep increasing. Not to mention the approximately 500,000 TWH alone in the USA...plus RMH, Saddlebreds, Spotted Saddle Horses, KMH, MFT, McCurdy's Tigers, Peruvians, Paso Finos...and who knows how many grade gaited horses and mules. I'd bet there are at least 1,000,000, if you add in all of the grade mixes. Out of 1,000,000 gaited horses right here in my own country, maybe 3000 of which are Icelandics, I'm not so worried what a few of the quarter million Icelandic-speaking people call the gaits. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
