This message is from: Joel a harman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> #1 Do you feed your 1/4 of a horse grain everyday even if you aren't using it? I may grain my PONIES if I am using them. I may grain the young ones IF the good GRASS hay I feed them doesn't appear to be meeting their needs. I suggest you consult a nutritionist. Trace minerals are important in development of strong bones & pure thoughts, much like wonder bread is good for us. After all, it was on, TV wasn't it? The main difference between a horse & pony is how they utilize forage. A pony, much like a mule, can utilize rougher forage. I have never been to Norway( Spain either),however I'm told that fjords were relegated to the steepest, brushiest pastures on the little 20 Ac farms that used to be the backbone of Norway's agriculture. From what I have read, & heard in lectures, protein requirements decrease as an animal gets older (vets?).
2 Fjords are easy to train if you know what you are doing. If you don't, I suggest a trainer that has experience with mules. IF fjords are trained they don't forget. I gave my 12 yr old mare ( who is for sale, How's that for blatant commercialism?, toot!toot!) a few yrs off to farm with the young turks instead & she thought she didn't remember but a few stern words & her amnesia went away, shazam! However, she was trained before she took time off. 3 And your young 1/4 of a horse isn't mouthy? 4 I have never shod one of my fjords. Mostly because I'm lazy. I can put them on the gravel road for about 40 mi on a training cart before I give them a rest & use someone else. As far as I know this is the only advantage to having more horses than you can hook up at one time. 5 The very bast horse to buy is the one that will fit your needs. If you want to rope, get a 1/4 of a horse. If you have multiple needs but the fjord that makes you smile. If you are patient & knowledgable buy a young one. If you don't know what you are doing, buy a trained one. Make sure it is trained. What it will do for the trainer or owner is not what it will do for you. 6 How confident are you of your veterinary skills? Do you go to the doctor if you aren't sick? 7 As a rider you need to be aware of your surroundings. If you feel you can control your animal with a halter, go for it. 8 Is this a rhetorical question? 9 I was once told about a 270# man riding a 12.1 Icelandic ALL DAY long. At the end of the day, that pony was still tolting. Do what you think is right? Didn't seem to bother the Icelandic. A horse trader will sell you what they can. It is up to the buyer to be smarter than the horse trader. I don't have anything against 1/4 horses. I rode a young one in the Snake River canyons on a 6 wk pack trip years ago. He did fall asleep, & fall over, one morning when we were leaving camp but we had covered alot of ground the day before. I was on him when he fell over. Hard to pick yourself off the ground when you are laughing so hard. Dave, "toot" is kind of like "shazam", one can cover alot of ground with it. Sorry this is so long. This is a real candidate for the "scroll" action. Joel Harman ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
