Re: rideability
This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah > Gail Russell wrote: > > I believe there are some lines of the sweet, draft Fjords that are > "born to bolt." I have no idea why, but I think it may be true. I > saw a video recently of a Fjord for sale. The horse had a look in > his eye that led me to believe that he was a "born to bolt" Fjord. > I looked at the pedigree, and it had the bloodlines that I > suspected. Hmmm, I'm not sure that I want to start publicly "dis"-cussing such bloodlines, although I AM curious However, there are a couple of possibilities. Years ago, we bought a gelding, R, who we soon discovered had a bunch of behavioral quirks, the most distressing of which was bolting. Some time later, I had an extended e-conversation with the new owner of R's sire. Interestingly, for every quirk of R's that I mentioned, she had a similar story about his sire. Some aspects of their temperaments were clearly inherited (R never met his sire, and had been sold in-utero by the original stallion owner). A couple years after R's purchase, we bought a gelding, S, and while shopping, had also tried out his 3/4-brother, T (same sire; dams were mother/daughter; they were born 2 months apart, and spent the first 4 years of their lives together, as they moved thru 4 owners). T was bunchy, and clearly just barely holding things together (windy day, laundry flapping on the clothesline). Given my negative experiences with R, I asked the seller to head T so I could get off safely, and said "no thanks". OTOH, S was "Mr Steady Eddy"---totally at ease with that windy situation, calmly doing what he was told. The most obvious difference between them was conformation. S had fairly good "definition" to his back and withers, which meant he could be comfortable in more types of saddles. T (like R!!!), was an "oil drum with legs"---very flat back, low withers, round barrel. Many saddles "poke" behind the shoulder blades on such conformation, and indeed, we had to get R a custom-made saddle (which did improve his rideability). Conformation can also be inherited, although clearly these two closely-related Fjords had gotten different pieces of their parents' conformation genes. Marsha Jo HannahMurphy must have been a horseman-- han...@ai.sri.com anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
RE: rideability
This message is from: Gail Russell I believe there are some lines of the sweet, draft Fjords that are "born to bolt." I have no idea why, but I think it may be true. I saw a video recently of a Fjord for sale. The horse had a look in his eye that led me to believe that he was a "born to bolt" Fjord. I looked at the pedigree, and it had the bloodlines that I suspected. Not scientific, and I do not mean to malign Fjordsbut I thought it might create an "interesting" conversation to state my hypothesis. Gail This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah > Anthea Thacker wrote: > > I'm new to the list and Fjords and was wondering how they ride? > I've had some horse people tell me that Fjords ride like a pony - > very jarring. It's an individual thing. My old Nansy mare had a glass-smooth trot and a rocking-chair canter---lovely to ride. My husband's gelding, Rom, had a jack-hammer trot and a "can I bolt now" canter that we didn't use much. = Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
RE: rideability
This message is from: Linda Lottie Oklahoma fjord owners.. Maria and Trip HannahClaremore OK918-341-9037 Jay StewartElgin Ok301 589 9026 These names are from a 2006 membership roster so may be far outdated, but, worth a try Linda > From: anth...@globalclientsolutions.com > To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com > Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 10:25:33 -0600 > Subject: rideability > > This message is from: Anthea Thacker > > I'm new to the list and Fjords and was wondering how they ride? I've had some > horse people tell me that Fjords ride like a pony - very jarring. Is this > true? > > Thanks > > Anthea > Oklahoma > > Important FjordHorse List Links: > Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e > FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw > Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
Re: rideability
This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah > Anthea Thacker wrote: > > I'm new to the list and Fjords and was wondering how they ride? > I've had some horse people tell me that Fjords ride like a pony - > very jarring. It's an individual thing. My old Nansy mare had a glass-smooth trot and a rocking-chair canter---lovely to ride. My husband's gelding, Rom, had a jack-hammer trot and a "can I bolt now" canter that we didn't use much. Try before you buy Marsha Jo HannahMurphy must have been a horseman-- han...@ai.sri.com anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
Re: rideability
This message is from: Robin Churchill I think it depends on the fjord. My gelding Ooruk is very smooth to ride and not jarring at all. The mare we had was more like a pony to ride. I think you need to look at the conformation and try the individual horse. Robin in wet SW florida > > I've had some > horse people tell me that Fjords ride like a pony - very > jarring. Is this > true? > > > Important FjordHorse List Links: > Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e > FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw > Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
Re: "Rideability" / Useability
This message is from: Arthur and Carol Rivoire <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia - I've been busy all day getting ready to leave tomorrow for our annual Christmas trip to New England to be with family. And all day I've been hoping for a few minutes to comment on the Denny Emerson article and, particularly, on Lori's comments about "Rideability". What "Rideability/Useability" means to me is what "The Ideal Fjord" is all about. The term applies equally to driving. I think when the dressage and event people talk about "rideability", they're referring to a horse that has a good mind and athletic ability. All the loft and brilliance in the world won't win the class if the horse is a nutcase. There are few nutcase Fjords whose "flakeiness" gets in the way of athletic ability. However, there are pleasant and willing Fjords that don't have the basic ability to be a good ride or a good driving horse. By "good" I mean, "competetive". - These Fjords do not have good "rideability" in that sense. There are also, (though not too many, I think), Fjords that have good athletic abilities, but don't have the "forward" mindset necessary for competition. These Fjords also do not have good "rideability" since it's necessary to push them so much, and therefore, not a pleasant ride. In my experience, this is not a big problem for Fjords as the ones that have the physical ability (movement) seem to have the forward mindset. Then there are the Fjords that might have possessed "rideability", but were not brought along correctly, and therefore, never developed the all-important WORK ETHIC. These are Fjords with a history of doing things "their way", and boy, I'll tell you, those Fjords are tough, and difficult to change. In the Dutch IBOP Performance Tests (ride, drive & draft), they have a very important section called "Willingness", which to me partially correlates to "Rideability". I say "partially" because the Dutch award points for "Willingness" even though the horse might not be particularly athletic. "Rideability" in the sense we're talking about means a horse that's a pleasure to ride and drive, and using that definition, the horse has to have ability as well as willingness. It's not much fun driving a horse that plods along on his forehand, and likewise for riding such a horse. I always talk to people about a horse's "work ethic", which is similar to "rideability". When I first saw Gjest in Holland in 1985, a stallion handler told me that "Gjest had a great work ethic". And the man also said that "Gjest passes on this trait." That impressed me, but frankly, I didn't, at that time, know how important this characteristic is. Now I know! It's very very important. A horse should want to "do the job". Whatever that job may be - riding, driving, pulling a harrow, breeding. A horse with a good work ethic is a pleasure to use - to ride, to drive, even to lead in and out of the barn. It might seem strange to some people to think that a horse has a "work ethic", and really cares about completing a task, but it's true. Some horses have that ethic. Some, a lot stronger than others, and those are the ones that become true partners to their riders and drivers. - What's that big word that means assigning human characteristics to animals? Not the case here. Horses really do have work ethics . . . Some have great work ethics, others a poor work ethic. To sum up . . . My understanding of "Rideabiity/Useability" is a horse that posseses the physical ability to do the job, the desire to do it, and the willingness to "submit" or work with his rider or driver. That's a pleasant horse to use. Actually, that horse is a JOY to partner with. 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://www.beaverdamfarm.com
