Re: fjordhorse-digest V2003 #68
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Actually we took Red to school for a project with the school kids. Our group was studying zebras. I found that black Halloween face/body paint worked the best. The paint comes on a thick popscicle stick that you dip into water to moisten. You can then smear the paint onto the horses body very easily. Being the fjord that he is, he stood for almost 3 hours with a handler, in front of the elementary school. The school principal even jumped up on his back for a photo op. We got some super photo shots of the day. Even the special needs kids were able to take part in the activity. Some of kids had never seen a real horse before. The paint washed off nicely that evening. A few marks remained but within 1 or 2 more washes it was all gone. Sheri and Red > > Bill Kelley - sorry you've had no luck attracting Zebras. Have you tried > painting a fjord with stripes so it could act as a decoy...?
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2003 #68
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi Fjord friends, I haven't written in awhile. I just got home from a NARHA (therapeutic riding/driving) region 6 annual conference in Fondulac Wisconsin. At the Free Spirit (TR) barn several different speakers presented on a few subjects. I was so thrilled to find a fjordhorse in the barn when we arrived. Even better yet, our first speaker was Richard Monheim. He is a John Lyons certified instructor and he showed us about handling the horses from the ground. The exciting part was that he brought out his 6 year old fjord stallion. I don't remember the horse's name, but what a beauty!!! So many people were excited to see the horse and so many questions and interest in the breed. I spoke with several people, mostly instructors for therapeutic riding facilities, and exchanged emails so that they could get more info about the breed. I wanted to let others know that Richard did a wonderful job promoting the breed. I for one was proud to be a fjord owner. His stallion was fabulous! I'd like to know more of his bloodlines. Richard wasn't sure of the lines. My horse Red, is learning dressage as a coming 6 year old fjord. He is so funny because he is so anxious to show me that he KNOWS what I am asking him to do and can't wait to do it. Monday I take a caviletti lesson, our first. What a wonderful horse, I'd never go back to another breed! Sheri and Red
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2003 #2
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello fjord friends, Sheri and Red here in Wisconsin. We are now at a hunter/jumper/dressage barn in Elkhart Lake Wis. Red is age 5+, 6 in May, we are starting some dressage lessons. Most of the horses where we ride with are 17+ hands tall in this barn. Our very talented trainer Julie is new to fjords. She is also helping us to get going in dressage driving, what fun!! The people at our barn can't believe that Red can stand for any length of time standing alone,,, almost, without moving a foot. Julie says that he is a very smart horse with a sense of humor and very willing to please. I took the advise of you fjord people and didnt work Red until he matured. I have riden/driven him for short times, mostly out of doors in many different locations. I wanted first to be mind safe and calm with new things which he is!! Julie hopes to have the barn represented in the local 4th of July parade this year and has asked Red and I to drive a cart with them. Red has helped our "special people" at the REINS therapeutic riding/driving program for 2 years and is loved by a few people there. Our first driver in the program was John, he has downs syndrome and was too heavy to continue to ride horses. The driving program was designed for a guy like him. John's dream was to drive a horse in a parade, guess what.. I hope to have John drive in the parade also. I want to thank you for suggesting that I wait to "work" Red till he was more mature. I sometimes questioned if I would have a lazy, no work ethic type horse if I waited too long. I did ride and drive him,,, don't get me wrong. I just didn't "work" him. Red is my best buddy and he loves kids, animals and doing new things. As we start our more serious lessons he is alittle more "work" for me, but he is very willing and always there for me. He is at least 15 hands tall and slightly portly. I was once told that fjords are the golden retriever of the horse world, I would totally agree. He is very people oriented and calm as a kitten. I read the digest/list every day and I want to thank all of you for your helpful advise. Red is my first fjord, but haved owened more than a few other breeds. I will stick with the fjord!!! Sheri and Redford,, Red,,fjord
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2002 #283
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Please check my subscription again, I am not getting the fjordhorse-digest anymore and I NEED IT!! My server says everything on their end is ok. Please help me! Sheri and Red
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2002 #200
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello Fjord friends, I have something to ask all of you. My Redford is out on pasture, 4 acres of it with 4 other horses. He is happy as can be. Today he came in looking terrible. They say he must have gotten into the Red Clover they told me. He was drooling all over and his eyes were swollen too. The barn owner told me that she mowed it all down today but even tonight he would stand for awhile then just spill out a huge mouthful of clear saliva. They said that most of the horses stay away from it. Have you heard of this, can it be dangerous?? He did not show any signs of colic or otherwise being sick. Have you heard of such a thing, Should I be worried about the next time he gets into this? Thanks for your help. Sheir and Red
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2002 #180
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I'd like to comment on a few of the issues that have been discussed lately on the list. I own 1 Fjordhorse, 5 years old, trained to ride and drive. He also works, in a light capacity, in a therapeutic riding program. I am a certified level instructor through NARHA. This is my first Fjordhorse. He is indeed the most level headed, kind and gentle horse on earth, but can be very easily bored and single minded. I believe that he can sense a special needs rider and will cooperated nicely for them, but if a weak rider,, gets on and doesnt demand respect from him, he will take them wherever he wants to go. He wouldnt hurt a fly, but will take the reins over and move on to greener pasture, literally, if you let him. A rider must learn to "control" the horse properly,ANY HORSE, ANY RIDER!! To think that any breed of horse is child proof is ridiculous. At this stage in my horses training, I would not sell him to a child without knowning that he/she has good horse skills. When my Fjordhorse was a little over 3 years old I sent him to a friend of mine who breeds and trains Fjords to ride/drive. She is known to many of you on this list, she lives in Wisconsin, I do also. I had my horse riding lightly and ground driving at this time. She had him for 1 month. I went to her for some basic driving lessons while he was with her. He came back to me like he had driven for his whole life. My Fjordhorse loves driving and I go everywhere with him. I always take along another person in case of problems, but I've never had problems yet. I have taken each step very slowly and I do alot of reading. I think the trick is to "listen" to your horse and take things slow. If they are not ready to move ahead, then dont! I believe that my horse loves to drive, and enjoys trail riding because he bores easily. Now that he is over 5 years old I will move him to a lesson barn where we can take regular lessons and he can loose his big fat grass belly. He has been on a very chewed down grass pasture with 5 other horses while away at the therapeutic stables and he is FAT! I cant wait to get him going nicely into the canter and actually take lessons on him. I have made the commitment to take things slowly with him. I hope to keep him a good long while. I find the need to be very firm and consistent with him in every area, I dont mind this because I have a friend that will go anywhere, do anything for/with me A small price to pay for the best friend on earth!!! Last year I taught a basic driving class for a few of our special needs clients at the REINS using Red. He was fabulous This year we have been told that every NARHA certified program needs an additional certification to teach driving classes. I am ready and willing to go to get this certification but with fees and travel expenses,,,etc. I am not able to attend such a clinic. Our program is riding around 80 riders each summer, 2 months right now. We are non profit and we all work our tails off to see that our riders get at least 1,4 week riding session per year. We dont have the $ to fund this either.I guess I am writting this in hopes of finding some special funding for such a special program. I can tell you that when you see these special people riding/driving a real horse, you will never be the same again. These special horses are the real healers and they give everything for us. I hate to think that my drivers will not be driving again. Two of them have weight issues, and 1 has back issues so that he cannot ride anymore. 1 driver was a small child when he was hit by a car on bike. He will never marry or drive a car, but he can drive a horse. He lives to do just that. Any one of us could be placed in that position at any time. We need to support one another. If you really love horses you will understand. Thanks for listening, I read the list everyday! Sheri and Red
bits for Fjords
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi friends, I need to buy 1 more bit for an extra bridle for my 5 yr. old fjord gelding. I have a psoasis (spelling) bit that is a very fat snaffle type bit. It has 2 sets of rings on the lower end and 1 set on the top of the main ring if I wanted more leverage. I have been happy with this but I am wondering what other types of bits people are using for general trail riding and fun riding. I dont have trouble with him spooking, and he is pretty darn good at stopping. Only 1 time in 3 years did he spook and leap into the trees leaving me with quite a job of pulling him down. In the meantime I lost my glasses and rubbed my leg on a branch. I hate to use "more bit" than I need. Any suggestions? Thanks, Sheri and Red
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2002 #86
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi Friends, My sweet 4 going on 5 gelding and a friend of mine took to the trails driving today. A girl on horse back joined us. It was our first trail ride with driving a cart behind. Red and I have been on many riding trails and lots of driving, but never driving on the trails. He was wonderful, never even spooked. I spooked a few times due to close trees on both sides and tree stumps and down hill type things. You were all right to advise LOTS OF DRIVING and building trusts in all areas before venturing out. I always wondered if I could stand the lose of riding if I ever had to quit riding. After today, I can say that I would survive if I could drive with Red of course. Sheri and Red in Wisconsin, the best spring day ever!!
Re: fjordhorse-digest V2002 #84, horse paint
This message is from: "sheri kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi Fjord friends, Horse body paint. I found an interesting item that many of you could use,,, I'm sure. I will explain first my need for the item. I work in the schools and we have a group time called VIP every other week on Wed. This year our groups are learning about Zoo animals all year. My group is learning about Zebras. At years end each group must present a model for school viewing on a special day. Well,,, my red Fjord is going to school as a zebra as my groups demo and I needed a paint to make the black stripes. My husband is bringing the horse and the round pen so that each kid has time to do some painting on the horse before the zoo tour. All of the other groups made clay animals or paper mache type things. Cant wait to see the looks our exibit brings at the end of the school tour when everyone goes outside to see the zebra. The principal is very supporting, thank goodness. Red can handle the attention, he works around children all the time and transports anywhere like nothing. I will have several horse handlers standing by also. Tonight I tried out the Halloween type Disquise Stix. It is a soap based face paint that works in skin and hair. It is non toxic and costs $2.50 per stick. I used a very small amount of 1 stick doing his face and neck and chest tonight. Of course the kids at the barn all laughed at seeing Red as a zebra and he loved all the attention. It washes out easily and shows up pretty darned nicely. Maybe for 4-H costume classes or just for fun, give it a try! >Sheri and Red
Re: fjordhorse-digest V99 #310
This message is from: "Sheri Kane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Please, please don't let our fjordlist net. go away. I'd also be willing to pay for the wonderful service. Finally I have a source in which I can learn about this wonderful breed. Without this internet connection I would be lost in a world of "other breeds" and no where to be with "real" horse people. We owe it to our horses to confer with others about their uniqueness. Sheri >*
