Re: My 2 cents on Stumbling
This message is from: Mary Thurman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Carol, I also am amazed that you have never seen a Fjordhorse that stumbles with a rider. I saw it several times at the Libby show last year - nothing spectacular, just a caught toe here and there. I must agree though that most do not stumble - I always thought that Line stumbled because of her age, her constant pregnancy, and her HUGE feet. She even does it running around the field being silly. She never falls, just catches her toes and then catches her balance by nodding her head. The rest of our Fjords did not stumble, except when heavy with foal - the worst offender being this old mare's daughter who also has HUGE feet. That was until we started using one of our geldings. For some reason he has trouble paying attention to where his feet are, so he stumbles. If you keep his attention, he doesn't stumble. At Libby last year he did not stumble even once the whole four days - but he was also wide awake most of the time due to all the new experiences. With him it seems to be boredom, but he will stumble. It seems to be improving as he gets older, so may also have to do with him learning to control his rather large (but not draft-like) frame. He is long legged, long lean bodied, and has flat rather than chunky muscles. If he ever gets all his feet together, he will be magnificent - we are working on that now. Mary === Mary Thurman Raintree Farms [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
Re: My 2 cents on Stumbling
This message is from: "Jean Gayle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Okay Carol then how do you explain the tripping, falling and stumbling of so many fjords. And yes I also do not want to think it is a "fjord thing" but it happens. Jean Gayle Aberdeen, Wa. -Original Message- From: Arthur Rivoire <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, May 05, 1999 4:52 PM Subject: Re: My 2 cents on Stumbling >This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Arthur Rivoire) > > > >Hello from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia - > >We've been raising and training Fjords for going on twenty years. We've >imported over 100 Fjords, many of them adult horses that we've put in >immediate work and competition riding and driving. I've been to many big >shows in Holland. Some of them had 600 Fjords showing, and I never saw >even one of those horses stumbling, much less falling down with a rider, or >hitched to a carriage. We've trained a lot of Fjordhorses for clients. >
Re: My 2 cents on Stumbling
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Arthur Rivoire) Hello from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia - We've been raising and training Fjords for going on twenty years. We've imported over 100 Fjords, many of them adult horses that we've put in immediate work and competition riding and driving. I've been to many big shows in Holland. Some of them had 600 Fjords showing, and I never saw even one of those horses stumbling, much less falling down with a rider, or hitched to a carriage. We've trained a lot of Fjordhorses for clients. We almost always train on our cross-country courses, which are hills and natural, uneven terrain. Even our ring is fairly rough -- pockmarked with use. I've got to say that in all this time with all these Fjords, we've NEVER had a horse go down on us. And, frankly, I've rarely seen one of our riding horses stumble. And the same goes for driving. I just don't understand all this talk of stumbling. And I absolutely do not agree that it is "a Fjord thing." From my years of experience, I can say Fjords are as sure-footed as any other breed. --- Actually, as horses bred for the mountains of west coast Norway, I've always heard that one of their proclaimed breed characteristics is - surefootedness. Months ago, there was a long discussion on the Digest about the difficulty many Fjords have in cantering. At that time, I said that the Fjords I'm familiar with do not have difficulty with the canter. I suggested that it might be the heavier types that find the canter difficult because of being physically heavier in the forehand. --- Several people took exception to that. As a promoter of this wonderful, versatile breed, I really don't like reading that it's a "Fjord thing" to stumble, fall down, and go head over heels with a rider. I don't like it because I don't believe for a minute that it is a breed characteristic. Well . . . my 2 cents worth. Best Regards, Carol Rivoire Carol and Arthur Rivoire Beaver Dam Farm Fjords II R.R. 7 Pomquet Antigonish County Nova Scotia B2G 2L4 902 386 2304 http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/beaverdf
