Re: Fjord Crossbreeding
This message is from: Mary Ofjord ma...@boreal.org I also fell in love with a Fjord mule cross named Zena She rode, drove and was beautiful to boot with a lot of leg stripes, shoulder stripe and the beautiful golden color. She was advertised in my Mules More magazine by Hawleywoods Mules in Arkansas. At the time she was for sale, I couldn't afford getting another animal - her price was $6,500.00. I also believe that I mentioned previously on the list that the highest selling mule at the Jake Clark Mule Days sale in 2010 was a Fjord cross mule that sold for, I believe $14,500.00. Fjord mules are in high demand with the mule people, they can't keep enough of them. So we know that somewhere, someone is breeding Fjord mares to Jackstock. Also, in my Mules More magazine's October issue, a mention was made of a couple of Fjords at an NATRC (North American Trail Ride Conference) clinic. The lady that wrote the article had taken her mule to the clinic and stated: The leader of the group was riding her newer Fjord mare, but another member was on her very experienced and award winning Fjord gelding. and later went on to say The leader had her friend on her experienced Fjord gelding lead us through the obstacle, which was a good ending. Anyone know who this might be? Beth, was that you? This message is from: Amy Evers fjord...@aol.com Curt Wrote: In my opinion, since mules are infertile, I see no reason to prohibit crossing Donkeys with Fjords. __ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 7551 (20121005) __ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
Re: Fjord Crossbreeding
This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah han...@ai.sri.com Amy Evers fjord...@aol.com wrote: Yes, there have been a VERY few cases of mare mules having foals. Something like a 1 in 100,000 chance, or there-about. I have always heard that if this does happen, the resulting foal would be genetically pure either horse or donkey depending on what the mule was bred by. Not sure if that's true, but it's what I have been told... I guess it's something about the genes matching up. My other equine is a donkey, so I've been following the fertile mule articles in the American Donkey and Mule Society's publications for many years. There are occasional reports of a molly (mare mule) having a foal---I can think of 3 that were reported in the past 30 years (US, China, and somewhere in northern Africa). The one in the US was studied extensively---genetically, she was a mule, and her offspring (two, by her donkey father, whom she was pastured with, because everyone said of course mules aren't fertile!) were also genetically mules. There was a famous fertile mule back in about the 1930's, I think. When bred to a donkey, she produced what appeared to be mules, and when bred to a horse, the foal appeared to be a horse (although was not fertile). So, that would say that the fertile mule had chromosomes that were horse-like, rather than mule-like. As I recall, the original prohibition against Fjord mules came about when zebra hybrids were popular. Fjords were seen as an excellent canvas on which to paint the zebra stripes. This offended some folks in the Fjord bureaucracy, so they threw out the useful Fjord mules with the designer Fjord zorses. All this did was guarantee that mule breeders would use unregistered (or Canadian, or FBA) Fjords---the fastest way to get a mule man to do something is to tell him that he can't. ;-) Marsha Jo HannahMurphy must have been a horseman-- han...@ai.sri.com anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
RE: Driving Blinkers
This message is from: Karen McCarthy weeg...@hotmail.com Susan, Re. driving w/o blinkers, yes, you can do this! It is permissable in all venues, however, in a pleasure show it might be frowned upon by some uber-subjective judges. Some horses are just naturally happier like this, and I have driven some horses (Arabs mostly) who actually go better in blinkers, I think because it limits their 'informational intake' and keeps them focused on whats in front of them. I always start my horses by driving open when hooked to a vehicle, then as they start anticipating the aids cues, I move back to a blinkered bridle. As you have figured out, driving is not as easy as you think, and you are wise to ask alot of questions before jumping in...and you mentioned the implications of driving 'round the property. Well, just so you know, but not to scare you, things can get really funky in a hurry with a horse that is not a confirmed driving horse, and especially w/ a green driver at the reins. You need some buddies driving mentors if you are going to delve into this discipline, and my suggestion is that you contact the Oklahoma Harness Horse Assoc, http://www.oklaharnesshorse.com/index.html which is an ADS affiliated club. From the looks of their website and calendar, they are very active, and I am sure as a newbie they will take you under their wing and point you in the direction of a good trainer and some beginner driving clinics. Just fyi, I have a Gjest grandaughter too who at age 5 has just been driving for 2 months. She was a bit fussier at first than most of my other Fjords, but one day she just decided that the world was ok behind blinkers and moved right along in her training. I also do TONS of groundwork before I ever dream of hooking them to a cart. Almost 100% of the groundwork is in an open bridle, then I add race track blinkers over the bridle off and on and it becomes no big deal. we do lots of standing, tied and untied while in harness, they learn a good whoa and I expose them gradually to ever more challenging scenarios away from home while ground driving (and riding too, I am not the energizer bunny I once was walking for miles...) I also work my horses in a draft harness during most of the groundwork phase: it's wonderful for desensitizing them to weird stuff with the bulk of the harness, the collar, heel chains clanging and traces around their legs, plus they learn to pull progressively heavier objects which teaches them to pull (which is actually not such a Fjord problem, but maybe more of a tendency reserved for Arabs and lighter breeds). Costs for a decent (read: safe!) used harness, anywhere from $350 - $600 (make sure it is American, Amish made typically), and a good used easy entry type of cart can be had for $400-$800 depending. (I like the Jerald or Houghton training type carts, esp. the ones w/ wood wheels. They are light, easy to hop in and out of and if you move on up to a vehicle you can use to show in, you can sell them pretty much for what you paid for them.) Anyway, I've digressed quite a bit here in this post, but I think with the right s-l-o-w approach to training for the both of you, you and Sparrow will be driving for many years. Bon Voyage! Karen :: Karen McCarthy :: Great Basin Fjords :: Madras, Oregon :: From: ssext...@hotmail.com To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com Subject: Driving Blinkers Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2012 20:22:31 -0500 This message is from: S Sexton ssext...@hotmail.com I've noticed there seem to be several driving folks on the list so I hope they can answer this one and hope they'll have alot of patience. I've never done any horse driving or related events before, just riding so it's all new and interesting to me. Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
RE: Fjord Crossbreeding
This message is from: S Sexton ssext...@hotmail.com Okay, still confused. Wouldn't the fact of having a registry and parentage verification fix the issue of worrying about having mud in the water or halfbreeds in the purebreed gene pool? They'd just be registered as half-breds and only 2 purebreds mated would make a purebred. New entries would have to either trace and prove purebred status via other registries or they'd enter only as halfbreds - many other registries do this such as Arabians. And actually, if a horse isn't registered anywhere, their progeny are never getting into most registries anyways so there'd be no bad papering going on of a half getting pure papers. I can see how it may have been an issue before registries and before DNA and such though. Is it more that there aren't many folks interested in making crosses with the fjord? I hear from the list the great love of mule fjord cross/foals. Is it the experience that the fjord crosses tried previously didn't have the merits and characteristics the breeders were looking for so the cross was considered a failure and not repeated? I could see that being a we tried it, we didn't like it, we're not doing it again thing. But then, anytime you cross different breeds, or for that matter 2 horses, you aren't guaranteed what you'll get from each one, if you were, I'd still be in the breeding business! Stephanie Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
