Fjord Promotions
This message is from: Larson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pamela and a few others have mentioned, both on the list and privately, how they came to love Fjords prior to every having purchased one. I'm beginning to believe this Long-Term Promotion idea is the very best for NFHR. We just returned from a week at West World in Phoenix, AZ where they were hosting the National Indian Rodeo Finals. I had one of my Fjord mares with me, not for rodeoing of course (the cows are taller than she is). I happened to be exercising her in the warm-up arena just as the afternoon show was ending. Now, you have to understand this place was loaded with horses and loaded with some of the finest quarter horses you've seen outside a AQHA performance show. Who did all the folks gather around? The Fjord of course. I probably should have charged admission. Oh, well. I asked one of my kids to run back to the trailer for pamphlets. At least one person in that crowd will own a Fjord one day. Not today; but one day. That's what makes Equitana and the like so very important. Go for the long haul, not the short.
RE: fjordhorse-digest V98 #209
This message is from: Larson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 02:28:41 -0400 From: Werner, Kristine [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: where ? This message is from: Werner, Kristine [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi Josie - you mention that you live in the Southwest. Where ? Please let me know - perhaps we would drive out and see you and your desert ponies. Regards, Kristine Hi Kristine! We are located just north of Gallup New Mexico on the edge of the Navajo Nation. Look on any map and where it says, Beyond this point there be dragons, that's us! We would love to have you stop in for a cup of coffee and a trail ride. E-mail me any time at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Josie
Re: Equitana
This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sam Sue Banks [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have talked with several people from my area who attended Equitana. [...] it was a planned trip, not a local event. Likewise, I know several people from our area (California) who vacationed at Equitana (as well as taking in other horse-related events in the area). It is a destination, in and of itself. Like others on the list, I saw my first Fjord years ago, and decided when the time came to get another horse, I was going to look into the breed. [...] honestly, it was the Fjord competing at an open show that captured my attention [...] I agree that the NFHR could run small ads for the Registry and available Breeders' Directory in more magazines Yes! My introduction to Fjords (mid 1980's) was one that competed at a low-level CDE that our driving club put on. He didn't place well (driver didn't understand about pacing, so they went too fast for the pony times), but everyone there agreed with the lady who said, I just want to put him in my pocket and take him home with me! I had had a childhood fascination with drafty horses, as well as with the buckskin coloring, and here it was all in one package! However, finding one was a challenge. Not long after, there happened to be an article in a magazine (EQUUS?) about the breed, with the address of NFA. I wrote for a breeder's list, wrote to everyone in my half of the US, and ended up buying my Nansy mare. So, yes, the open shows are important promotional tools. (I've even hooked 4 folks on Fjords just letting my husband amuse himself by dinking around with my Sleepy, at local donkey and mule shows!) Anything that gets Fjords out there in front of the public helps, from Equitana to trail rides (including prattling about them on various Internet newsgroups and email lists). But, once we've got prospective buyers thinking Fjords, we need a way to direct them to folks who have some for sale. Magazine ads are small, and easily missed; IMHO, illustrated articles, complete with registry contact info, are also needed. my sister [...] was telling another horse person about her sister (me) who has two Fjords, and this person said, Oh, I heard about them, they are the up and coming breed! Now, THAT worries me! Popularity has been the kiss of death for so many breeds I don't want to see pony-mills! Marsha Jo HannahMurphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 30 mi SSE of San Francisco, Calif. ---
Tinkerbell intro and personal info recommendations
This message is from: Doug Knutsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tinkerbell is here! Hi Everyone! I'll attempt to keep my intro short as I want to share a bunch of other info with you this time. I adore all of those hooved fuzzies we commonly call horses; I believe they always deserve more than they get simply on account of their essence. (no, not that kind! Do you really think I'd talk like that first time on the Digest!?) Regarding relationship(which I've noticed life is all about: I find I'm always in some kind of relationship with something) horses have such an awesome amount of wisdom-and joy- they offer to share with us in relationship(there it is again!) to this, our lives. Due to this adoration of mine, I currently find myself in a position called trainer(by the people, anyway) at Knutsen Fjord Farm. Owned by Peg and Doug Knutsen, we have Fjords coming out of our ears here. Ok, so there are only 3-well 4; I saw #4(who will have a real name in about 7 months)with the ultrasound. So I hope you catch my drift, I find the find Fjords particularily delightful and that goes for their people, too. Show me your horse and I will tell you what kind of person you are.(old English proverb, I'm pretty sure) So, in reply to those of you hunting for good info, what I would like to do is share with you a list of some of my favorite books, et c. They have become favorites because I find the information correct, comprehensive and well written(easy to read-I don't want to decipher languages, I want to spend time kissing my horse!) The Body Language of Horses by Tom Ainslie and Bonnie Ledbetter For anyone who has anything to do with horses. The Man Who Listens To Horses by Monty Roberts Same as above. I was deeply moved by his autobiography. Incl. in book is language of horses he calls Equus. Website: montyrroberts.com Breaking and Training the Driving Horse and Drive On! by Doris Ganton Excellent. Probably good review for the exp. driver, too. Commonsense Horsemanship by Littauer If you sit a horse's back, read this. I put off looking at this for years because of it's tome-like appearance. It's because it is so incredibly full of well organized, easy-to-locate information without getting lost in what does not necessarily apply to you right now. The Complete Training of Horse and Rider by Alois Podhajsky As complete and marvellous as Com. Horsemanship, but with direction for collection in later training: this is the method used at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Horses are Made to Be Horses by Franz Mairinger Holds a very special place in my heart. Is the method of the Spanish Riding School presented from Franz's point of view which is full of a wonderful sense of respect and sensitivity for the horse. The Art of Horsemanship by Xenophon An oldie but a goodie. Training Your Horse to Show by Neale Haley Just that. Preparing horse and rider physically and mentally, show etiquette. Very handy and helpful. Basic Equitation by Cmdt. Jean Licart A gem. Good pictures, tells what, how, and why. I stress that, because when I discovered it ages ago, it was the first book that did. Thrilled me to pieces. Centered Riding by Sally Swift If you sit a horse, read this one too. Superb for hunting up fun solutions for specific technical(or emotional!) difficulties. Think Harmony With Horses by Tom Dorrance Deserves to be gilded. He conveys the feeling of the magic that can be. He shows us how, and it's real easy. The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable by Juliette De Bairacli I hold in extremely high regard. I have remedied some nasties that those used to doing the drug routine would freak at with the knowledge and wisdom in here. Everything we need is in our own back yard. The Complete Horseshoeing Guide by Robert F. Wiseman If your horse has hooves, add this to your library. Any books by Margaret Cabell Self Hers are anectdotal, practical and fun to read. To find these: Some are common enough to find in your library, The Book Stable, Inc., 5326 Tomahawk Trail, Fort Wayne, IN 46804, has a high quality selection, and Chamisa Ridge- www.chamisaridge.com-has an illumined selection of books, herbs, gifts and those kind of cool things. Of course try your tack and book stores, too. These are a few of my favorite things. I did my best to address the various subjects I recall (correctly?) some of you seeking info on. I'll stop myself here (there are so many great sources of help and info available now it is easy to ramble on), but I'm more than happy to recommend more, or help you locate a particular one. Hope this helps! Ingrid Ivic, Tinkerbell rides a Friesian. In fact, she is my business partner and helps me train baby stallions, et cetera(every thing else that needs doing on a farm)... Please bear with me as I express a few other ideas I felt I needed to at this time? One: A reminder I really wonder if any of you need: There is so much info out there, I
Trailering Introduction
This message is from: Bushnell's [EMAIL PROTECTED] I thought the tip on trailering the prospective pair on a trial run, eg. to the coffee shop, a splendid idea! It was horse sense at its best and deserving of an award for practicality. It is this kind of gem that makes the list special for me. Ruthie Bushnell
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #215
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hello List! First off I have a couple of announcments. One of my regular chatter's Jackie, from Australia, has been hired to be my co-host on Fjord Chat at PetsandVets ! When I'm out of town showing, or just get busy when everybody drop's by at once, doing those speed greetings, Jackie will be there to pick up the slack. She is out of town competing, so hold all the posts for her till she get's back, and we'll give her an official welcome! The other new's is, that after some tricky bugging on my part, I have gotten Dave McWeathy to guest speak on Fjord Chat! ( The tricky part was pinning Dave down to a date, as he is VERY busy driving, competing, and otherwise unavailable alot of the time) Dave has agreed to guest speak on Nov.1st, Sun. night, at 9:00 Eastern time at PetsandVets. He is writing a short bio for us to properly advertise this chat, so stay tuned.For those of you who have been around awhile, you know that Dave has some interesting stories to tell, about his Fjords and related events. ( X-country trip with a 3-up of Fjords, ending at Libby, and that 40 Fjord container of Fjords from Norway ) His recent win at Myopia... ect. I have been enjoying this forum very much lately, and wanted to also add that it seemed that half of Norco, this very horsey town of mine, left, and went to Equitana the last few years... I 'cant tell you how many times we have been out driving, and had someone pull up alongside in their car and say... Oh a FJORD! I saw them at Equitana!! ) Pat, I like the way you train!!! As a true coffee addict myself, I also have a local coffee shop, Pats Kitchen and my Fjords have been spotted tied up there with my cart's taking up a few parking spots, while I visit and drink a pot or two. ( All in the name of training, of course! ) Im headed to an ADS show on Halloween at Jodi Cutler's house. We are going to have some interesting classes, along with all the normal stuff. There's a Coaching Dog class, that I intend to enter. To be judged on manners, ( that elimanates the Corgi ) appearence, ( takes care of the one eyed /deaf dalmation with a serious skin condition ) and suitability to the overall turnout. EEE Gads, you mean I have to carry a spares kit just for the pooch? Lets see... leash, tags, treats could get heavy! That ends up with the German Shorthair, ( very disinterested in the carts,) and the black mutt... ( outshines them all in brains anyway! ) Any and all suggestions please! Take Care everyone!! Lisa Pedersen, in 80 degree So. Calif. where the Santa Winds have stopped for awhile!
oops!
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Just re read my last post, I am sure you all know I did not hitch my fjord with my Hanovarian, Sounded very comical!! L of the H
What a beautiful weekend for horses!
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] We hitched Evita and Carol today, they were perfect, I think they will be Craig's pair for Sleigh rally season, Ekkar went to his new home. We will miss him!! My Brother navigates for Craig at CDE's and he was here learning to ride on Hostar, a very good teacher, and learning to drive Hilde on the roads.We hitched our one and a half year old fjord gelding to a cart for the first time and same age Hanovarian, She thinks she is a fjord in a brown suit. Went off really well. We spend alot of time wearing harness in the stall while we are doing chores to get them use to feel, movement and sounds in blinders (ofcourse you must be ever vigilant) Cynthia I thought your idea for the Herald would be fun! Doesn't Sally Weber do a super job, and she is always so pleasant! Pat, nice picture of the Tandem, cool! Enjoy the autumn on horseback! L of the Hollow
Breed Standard
This message is from: Mike May [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ok I just looked at the NFHR Home Page stats for last week . We had 225 home page hits last week. That is a new record I think. I also noticed the the Breed Standard that I posted was accessed 62 times. I guess a lot of you took a look at it. Mike == Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry Mike May, Registrar Webster, NY, USA (Suburb of Rochester) Voice 716-872-4114 FAX 716-787-0497 http://www.nfhr.com mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Gunthar's Canter Phobia- Unabridged Version
This message is from: Werner, Kristine [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi Gail - read your article with much interest. I am always interested where training is concerned - like to read about other folks' experiences - compare notes - and get some comfort and reassurance out of the whole procedure myself. I can`t diagnose what is going wrong with Gunthar, but I can tell reassure you a thousand times that my gelding, Kai, has gone through the same stages as your pony. And I have wracked my brains as to what the causes or ailments could be. But then the problem corrects itself and I forget about it - until the next one crops up. There is always going to be something that isn`t quite perfect in the training phase. I remember when Kai suddenly seemed to have decided that he couldn ´t bend to the circle. Yesterday he was fine, the next day he simply coudln´t. He would toss his head about - stop - try to go the other way - back up - you name it. That concerned me. I mentioned this to a girl at our stall, Monika, who said, more or less, you can`t expect a horse to be the same all of the time - just because he turned once, doesn`t mean he is always going to bend for you - horses change, too, you know, and they have their moods - that`s the way it is during training - and throughout the whole of a horses life. Oh. I found his sort of discouraging, to tell you the truth and decided that Monika didn't know what she was talking about. But, actually, I think now, that she was right, to a certain extent. She was obviously perturbed that little old me - new to the scene - insisted that Kai must have tooth problems. Well, on that score, I was right - his back teeth were too long and had to be capped - afterward he turned like a charm. Other developments, though, just don`t seem to make sense to us, because we can`t explain the behaviour, we can`t find the reason, which often has several motivating factors - all of which seem to come and go in such a mysterious way that it is simply beyond our grasp to comprehend. It would certainly be easier if our ponies would simply tell us what was the matter with them ! To me, it seems like you have reasonably explained Gunthar`s ills: He is older, and just started training. (Several months training is not alot. Basic training takes up to two years. You have already cantered him - so he has shown he IS able to do so). You have tried a variety of different saddles, all of which, to your mind and eye, seem to fit him okay. So this probably is not the culprit. He seems to have a joint ailment. This could be it - don`t you think ? Sometimes he canters, sometimes not - perhaps depending upon how he feels ? He bolts - maybe he is in pain ? It could also be that Gunthar doesn`t feel like working. One glimpse of the arena and he has already had enough. This is also still quite new to Gunthar: physically, he feels perhaps overtaxed - the hock out of whack and increased swelling are both portenders of strain. You say he is not perfectly proportioned to executing dressage exercises ... So it`s no wonder he is balking. He might not bolt in front of a cart - no saddle, no extra weight of a rider, no circling - no fear of keeling over for lack of equilibrium. You might consider giving the driving a try - I don`t know why that is more dangerous than riding. Riding poses just as much of a risk to animal and human, doesn`t it ? My horse, Kai, has been in training since mid-February of this year. 8 months or so. He has been ridden consistently once a week by a good rider and I get on him 2-3 times a week. Kai and I do bending exercises - shoulder fore - shoulder in - travers etc.. - and lots of circles and of course some straight ahead. We do this predominantly at the walk. (This trains the mind as well as the body. You might try some of these on Gunthar. After he got used to them, Kai has really sort of gotten into it - but it`s gymnastics that are very exhausting - no time for panic :O)) I do trot him quite a bit - but with lots of little pauses inbetween. But I leave the canter out nowadays - in fact, I have not cantered Kai since last June. I decided to leave that to someone who a) really knew what she was doing and b) was not afraid that he might go berzerk, which he has done once or twice with me on him. One time he threw himself so far forward - I thought he would fall (which is my worst nightmare), I let go and was flung against the arena wall. What he lacked was self-confidence and balance, which is even more important. But I guess you can`t have the one without the other. So, I decided to leave Kai alone. And I am sure he was quite relieved. I was relieved myself. Sonja, the good rider, rides him at the walk, trot and canter. She saw how Kai would work himself up into a high-pitched panic every time she simply sat out the trot. He immediately thought - oh God, in a minute I'm going to have to canter and I am afraid of falling down - especially with that horse-eating Sonja on my back -
