Re:Get well Wishes For Richard
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook @ West Church Fjords Hello Everyone! Joyce and I would like to wish Richard a very speedy recovery! We know first hand what he is going through! As some of you know Joyce has been waiting for a kidney transplant to be donated by her brother who is a doctor. After about a year of evaluating and "fixing" various problems along the way, doctors discovered Joyce was 98.2% blocked in 3 places in her heart. So on October 19th, Joyce underwent triple by-pass. She is doing wonderfully and is now undergoing dialysis until sometime in January 2000 when she is tentatively scheduled to undergo the kidney transplant! At this time of year when there are so many reasons to give thanks, I believe the greatest gift of all is to be able to celebrate life with the ones who mean everything to you as Joyce does to me!!! I will keep you informed of her success in January!!! Happy Holiday's to all! Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords Swanton, Ohio
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #386
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook/West Church Fjords,Swanton,Oh. Hi Everyone! It's been awhile since we've been able to respond to any of the interesting topics of discussion of late. My new Tool business is going great!! Anyway, I wanted to touch on a couple of subjects of interest to me. The question was raised about stud fees and if that was a determining factor in choosing a sire, personally, why would the cost of the stud have any weight at all in deciding if a particular stallion is going to lend his best atributes to your mares best atributes with the sole purpose of ultimatly the "perfect" Fjord? Hm, as a new breeder looking for respect for my decisions and actions with this wonderful breed of horse, the fee has absolutly no bearing on our decision. In fact, we just contracted with Catherine Lindsay for her incredible stallion, Kila Grani. When I sit and ponder the outcome of the coupling of my mare Nanja and Grani, it just gives me goose bumps. By the way, Brian Jacobson needs to figure out how to "speed up" the time it takes for these horses to have their foalsJoyce and I can hardly wait till next year!! As far as the term "back yard breeder" is concerned.some people feel threatened by what other people are doing and could possibly be using that term to diminish the "threat" of losing a sale.Which is preposterous anyway. If you are breeding with the breed in mind first, you will find success. But make no mistake, there will alway's be people who don't care and want to just make cash, they will alway's be with us. Maybe the NFHR can figure a way to have truly approved breeders and advertise this in other periodicals so the person that has never owned a Fjord and wants to purchase one will get a good one the first time out. Which makes me wonder, why it is when I get my Driving Digest and see all the adds for all the other breeds that the Norwegian Fjord isn't advertised at all?Hmmm, are we missing out here? The idea of a new club in the midwest is an interesting one to me. We live in northwestern Ohio and if we want our horses evaluated, we have to go to Blue Earth Mn. Thats a long way away to haul horses, vehicles, tack and whatever else you need. Rich and Nancy Hotovy know just what we're talking about! Hopefully Rich's "collar" is off now!! If a new club isn't feasible, what about an evaluation and a show in our area.Also, Joyce and I would be willing to help with Equitanna, and the Education committee if you people need us, just let us know we are just up the road from Kentucky! Well I suppose I've been ranting long enough! Joyce and I really do enjoy the "open air" discussions on the digest! Keep it up! Best Regards, Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #305
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this messgae is from Mike & Joyce Cook/West Church Fjords,Swanton,Oh Hi All! In Regards to the frozen dookie(my daughter calls them that!) golf game, We play pasture golf all summer long! When they are soft, your swing is alway's incredible! Your distance is immeasurable and the accuracy..WOW! Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know that I have an 11 yr. old gelding for trade or sale. He rides great! His driving skills are incredible! He is a lead horse in tandem and unicorn and will go in pairs wonderfully. He's a very lively mover and alway's loves to be "used"! And his attitude is excellent and kind! Please e-mail me privately should you or anyone you know be interested in this guy! Stay Warm Everyone! Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #295
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook,West Church Fjords/Swanton,Oh. Happy Holiday's Everyone! It's COLD here in Swanton! In response to the "problem" with the Fjords in the arena.I believe we all expierience problems with our Fjordies from time to time and I get a great amount of respect from them just by using a very STERN tone of voice and deliberate yet kind action. In other words, get after those Fjords by being forceful action and more determined attitude than they have! We've never used violence as a means of responce to their reactions of refusal. All it takes is for the human to be more dominant than the horse in question and you WILL be successfull in getting them to respond to you as opposed to reacting to youJust my 35cents worthcost of living you know! Happy Holiday's to all Fjords and their pets err owner's! Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #265
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook, West Church Fjords/Swanton,Oh. Hi Everyone, I can't sit and read this anymore without responding to Carol regarding her not understanding the "extravagant" motion in the trot. With all due respect Carol, I believe the explanation was, and I don't want to post the whole original response and take up an entire issue of the digest.any motion that becomes uncadenced, out of form is considered "extravagant". What other explanation is needed? I believe this type of "nitpicking" is what's making this whole process of creating and writing the standard not only time consuming but almost impossible to do. I mean, does everyone need to figure out a way to "beat the system"? Why not put our energies to following it as it's written instead of spending the time trying to interpret in a million different fashions? I don't mean to single Carol out but c'mon people, when does this stop? Let the people write the standard and lets follow it. I'm done rambling. Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords Swanton, Oh.
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #253
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook, West Church Fjords/Swanton,Ohio Hello Everyone! Cold here in Ohio. Still driving my team though! All this talk of the breed "standard" and Mr. Hipsley's last remark regarding the absence thereof in Europe. Are we to assume then that whatever "type" we want for our needs will be recognized as a good Fjord as long as it passes the guidelines that the evaluation judges use? I don't know if I'm the only one who seems totally confused now or not but By the way, Joyce and I are putting out some feelers for a new filly or mare for our breeding program. If any of you have any suggestions, please e- mail us privatly. And Ms. Revoire.we just recieved your latest mailing so we know what you have. Lastly, We wish everyone a safe a warm Thanksgiving! Mike & Joyce Cook, West Church Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #172/babies
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike&Joyce Cook/West Church Fjords/Swanton,Ohio Pamela, in response to your question about what to feed the mare to insure the baby gets full nutrition, our mare Nanja had a Red Dunn Colt in march and every night we gave her plenty of carrots and apples plus 2 flakes of hay and all the pasture she could eat...AND MAN COULD THIS MARE EAT!!! Anyway, the colt is superb and weaned, they still get carrots and apples every nite. He's a spectacular colt almost as big as his mom at only 6 months. Thats all we did and everyone is doing wonderfull. We've never givin the mare any grain at all. On saturday I mentioned we we're going on our first drive with our club, our mare Nanja was incredible. She looked beautifull and drove like a cadillac. I'd like to thank Pat Wolfe for training her like he did a couple of years ago! The people in our club went nuts over her. There was 14 turnouts and everyone had a wonderfull time. Now we can't wait to team Nanja and our new gelding Jerry together in pairsbut we have to get another vehicle for pairs..don't ya just love these FJORDS? Best Regards, Mike & Joyce Cook West Church/Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #170
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce [EMAIL PROTECTED] Church Fjords/Swanton,Ohio Hello Everyone, In response to Merrick from FJORDING about my gelding JERRY, with an attitude like that merrick, maybe you should consider selling ALL of your horses. It's really to bad you feel that way about such a wonderfull creature. Or maybe training your animals would help you become better bonded with your animals. It's worked wonderfully for us. And that is exactly what everyone is talking about here on the digest. Better training and more education is what most of us need! And now we're off to get our horses ready for what should be a BEAUTFULL drive today with our club, The Black Swamp Driving Club. Joyce and I have the only Fjord in our club,and with the acquistion of our new Stolzfuss Country Gig, we are really looking forward to it! Regards, Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords p.s.Merrick, Joyce & myself, hope you have a better day today!
Re: Dave Schneiders Fjords
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook @ West Church Fjords/Swanton,Ohio Hi Everyone, Just wanted to let everyone know Joyce and I went to visit Dave Schneider and came home with one of his geldings, a Smuckers Pairs harness, A Smuckers Singles Harness and a Stolzfuss Country Gig! Dave still has another Fjord gelding left for sale...incredibly trained for driving in any style you'd like, the gelding also is ridden by children. He has a stud for sale as well. This stud looks very good and if you're interested, the stud shows great tempermant, drives and rides with children. Seems to be very safe and QUIET! Dave came to Swanton yesterday to give Joyce and myself some pointers in driving. This gentleman CAN drive anything, anywhere. He has some vehicles left for sale that are outstanding. Most notably a swedish made, 200 year old wagonette that is just GORGEOUS! He and his father have quite a collection of vehicles there in Strongsville, Oh. They are switching to a different breed for driving and I believe David said they were going to focus on marathoning. Anyway, it was neat to see what they have and the Fjord gelding we purchased,Jerry, is a gentlemen in front of this Country Gig! Boy did we look "SMART" yesterday going through the park! On a different subject, I totaly agree with Cynthia Madden in her beliefs on the evaluation subject. Kudos to Wayne Hipsley for lending more expert info on the "Evaluation Process". Don't you just love this time of year when it cools off, the bugs start disappearing and you can ride or drive these wonderfull horses till your hearts content? Joyce and I do! Best Regards, Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest breeding standard
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook/West Church Fjords, Swanton, Oh Hi Everyone-Julia wondered, do breeders really want thier stallions gone for 6-8 weeks? Handled by strangers? put through a bunch of tests and if this stallion fails these tests, he'll not be recognized as a breeding stallion?.I believe the answer to that isTHEY BETTER BE WILLING TO. Aren't we, as responsible breeders for the betterment of this wonderfull breed, OBLIGATED to do so? Aren't we all striving to achieve the best possible example of the RECOGNIZED, UNIVERSAL STANDARD? By putting our stallions and mares through countless hours of training, spending countless hours ourselves, researching pedigrees, to make sure the actual breeding itself is proper. We as RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS should be willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to achieve that signature from the NFHR,that our stock is legitamate, approved breeding stock. And that anyone who purchases from these legitamate, recognized breeders will be purchasing a TRUE example of a Fjord Horse, that hasn't changed in hundreds of years. Joyce and myself (even though we're new with THIS breed) will do whatever it takes to get that recognition for our stock. We all have to have a GOAL. If that goal is getting our young stud colt to the level of approved stallionthen we will set short term goals for training, medium and long term goals for conformation and ultimatly, approval for RECOGNIZED BREEDING STALLION. And if our young stud colt ultimatly fails these tests, and isn't an approved stallion, we will then do what is expected and not breed him to an approved mare. Ultimaly gelding him and having a wonderfull "freind" who knows us, loves us as we will love him, and use him for driving or whatever else he's been trained to do. All of these steps lead to a profound sense of pride not only in your horse but in ourselves for achieving those goals! Whoanuff preaching, but I do strongly feel this way in regards to our goals with this breed! Now it's time to get out and drive our mareit's beautiful here in Northwestern Ohio in early fall. The "B-52's" are all gone, cool afternoons.excellent driving weather! Regards, Mi ke & Joyce Cook W est Church Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #158
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook/West Church Fjords, Swanton, Oh. Why did all the discussion regarding stallions suddenly end? I personally still believe we as the NFHR should adopt the European standard for this breed. Does anyone else feel the same way? Let's get the "talking" going again.. Mike & Joyce Cook West Church Fjords
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #155
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook @ West Church Fjords/Swanton, Ohio In a round about way, Carol brought up a point that needs furthur discussion, Carol said Mr. Van Bon dismissed the tempermant issue regarding Fjord Stallions in the Evaluation process..2 things I see, 1. Why don't we adopt the European Standard for Fjord horses as our own? If it's worked for the breed for literally centuries, why, as americans, are we trying to change success? 2. We as members need better education from our leaders so that we know what is expected of us and our horses for the betterment of the breed. I had a wonderful conversation with Wayne Tipsley on Tuesday evening. This man really knows his Fjords. We discussed several topics including the stallion situation and the need for adopting the European Standard. Also, my mare Nanja and her gorgeous little stud colt, Magnus, have been seperated now for 3 weeks. We've been driving the shoes off this mare and she goe's like a cadillac We've been working with Magnus as well and he's such a quick little learner and very smart to say the least. What a wonderfull breed of horse to be blessed with We hope all of you are enjoying your Fjords as much as we are Have a wonderfull FALL Mik & Joyce Cook
Re: exporting to europe
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook/ West Church Fjords/ Swanton, Ohio Can anyone fill us in on the legalities of exporting a Fjord to Europe? Most specifically Germany? Any insight would be helpfull!Thanks!
Stallion Tempermant
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook @ West Church Fjords/ Swanton, Ohio I guess I have one question, why is so much being made over ONE stallions behavior @ ONE evaluation? Does the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry change it's procedures in judging because of this ONE incident? Shouldn't we all remember that stallions ARE stallions and take necessary precautions? Yes, the Fjord Horse IS known for it's wondefull tempermant, but come on people, stallions naturally are different from mares and geldings. I personally hope that this ends soon and we all realize that Fjords are still animals and will act as such. If you want consistant reactions...drive a car!
Re:Grabb
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook @ West Church Fjords/Swanton, Oh. The way Harold Jacobson explained the Grabb situation to me was that the 2 stallions had "words" and a fight insued. The FENCE got the better of Grabb and a vet was called. Grabb appeared to have survived only to sucomb to the wounds of the fence 3 day's later.in any case, it was a tremendous loss to the Fjord world. The seperation of mother and colt has gone better than we expected (although we're beginning to see the unexpected is true in regards to Fjords and their tempermant). Nanja seems to not miss Magnus at all, and the colt, has "attached" himself to his new buddy, a 21 year old quarter horse named Big Guy. The 2 of them look like Mutt & Jeff. So now Magnus is learning the way's of manners and Nanja is getting her figure back now that we're driving and riding her again. The 2 are 10 miles apart and the seperation in terms of distance apart seems to be working perfectly. Joyce and I hope everyone in Fjordland is enjoying their summer. Best Regards, Mike Cook
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #142
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] this mesage is from Mike & Joyce Cook @ West Church Fjords We would like to take this opportunity to let everyone know that we mourn the loss of Mr. Harold Jacobson. Harold was a wonderful man, he was instrumental in our acquistion of the Fjord breed. As a professional salesman myself, it was refreshing to find another that believed in integrity and the truth even when it meant maybe losing a sale.Mr Jacobson worked closely with us till we were absolutly sure that the Fjord we purchased from him through Brian, his grandson, was everything he said she would be! Mr. Jacobson was ware of the loss of my wonderfull mother-in-law and alway's said she was in a better place would alway's watch over the ones she loved. Mr Jacobson, you too are in a wondefull place, along with your favorite Fjord.GRABB! WE WIIL MISS YOU HAROLD!!
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #133
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi to Everyone on the list...this message is from Mike & Joyce Cook/ West Church Fjords in Swanton, Ohio! We had a wonderfull time at Blue Earth. The information we "gathered" while there and the people we met made for a wonderful excursion. It was nice to put a face to some of the people we've "seen" on the list. We discovered our 4 month old colt, "Magnus" is a Red Dun and we are very proud to have been blessed with his arrival in March. At this point in time he appears to be very well put together and after imprint training, he's a little gentleman (we know this will probably change tomorrow!) We enjoyed the evaluation and were impressed with the judging. I'm glad we didn't have to be the ones to put the points together. Alot of very nice horses. We will be weaning the colt this weekend and are looking forward to putting the mare in front of the cart again.We hope to see you all again! Mike & Joyce Cook
Re: fjordhorse-digest V98 #35
This message is from: Ford37truc <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello Everyone in Fjordland! We would like to introduce ourselves here at West Church Fjords. We're Mike & Joyce Cook. The latter being the "boss" and me the barn manager ( i get to "pick" the "dookies"(potatoes,road apples i think you get the drift). We purchased Nanja from Dr Jacobson last january and have been having a wonderfull time with her. She had her first foal, a beautiful colt, March 26th. Nanja was bred to Brians Stud LEIK. And it was a wonderfull pairing. Someone asked about maiden mares, we were "maiden" as well as Nanja, and discovered some interesting things. 1. the mare will have no clue as to whats going on...Nanja's utter filled 12 hours before the blessed event. The vet (Dr. Jacobson as well as our local vet) kept telling us things to look for. Well Mother Nature had it all planned out and kept even Nanja in the dark.2. We imprint trained right off the bat and actually I'm glad we did because mom was'nt interested untill later on in the evening. We had to "gently" persuade her (and ourselves) that everything was ok. It was kind of a catch 22 situation where by the utter was so full it was painfull and the only way to relieve the pain was for the little one,Magnus, to nurse. Which was painfull. 3. Mother Nature DOES take over, by the next morning Nanja had turned into a wonderfull mother. This fjord list is incredible. We've been able to "communicate" with others who love this breed as much as we do. In such a short period of time Nanja has become a friend aswell as "motor" for my buggy. One last comment and I'll close, I'm a little disturbed by some events that have taken place recently and would like to bring them to light. When my wife showed and bred Great Danes, we were taken advantage of by the breeder. The breeder took all the credit for the Koodo's and accolades for all the hard work and not to mention cash that my wife put into the puppy. Fjord breeders want new people in the field and by taking advantage of the owners hard work tends to shun new people away if it's gone unchecked. Lets give credit where it's due. Yes the breeder bred the animal, but the OWNER of that animal did all the work! Okay, Enough out of me Bye the way, West Church Fjords is nestled in Swanton, Ohio. You may not see us on a map, we are here!!! 45 west of Toledo in an area rich in horses!!! COME SEE US!!! Mike Cook P.S. Thanks again to Brian Jacobson for Nanja!!!
