This message is from: Karen McCarthy [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dagrun,
It was really neat to hear about your team efforts with Tinn and Ruthie,
and I look forward to meeting you all very soon.
I think Brigid Wesson and Jack Long might be neigh bors of yours, also
too, Cindy Vallecillo.
I know they all plan on attending Turlock, perhaps you can Hitch a ride with
them?
Good Luck and see you all soon!
Please email me privately and I will help you to sort out classes the best I
can.
Karen McCarthy
Great Basin Fjords
Carson City, NV
Original Message Follows
From: Dagrun Aarsten [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com
To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com
Subject: Working with Tinn / Turlock (oops, long)
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001 12:49:05 -0700
This message is from: Dagrun Aarsten [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Hello all listers,
I am deeply touched by all the warmth I see and hear from you Americans in
this time of tragedy. The US now has a special place in my heart.
Thought I'd tell you a little about Tinn (Tinngutten) that I am working on
together with Ruthie Koch (his owner) and how he's getting on. He is four
years old and he is doing great! He had some riding and driving training
before Ruthie bought him about a year ago (?) through Betsy (Bauer). Maybe
from one of you on the list for all I know?
For most of the past year Tinn has just been enjoying life in pasture with
his buddies. Then I started working him a little, long-reining and sitting
on him. He is great, although I have to say a little slow when it comes to
moving forward... Ruthie has been working on groundwork Pat Parelli style,
which was new to me and quite fascinating!
She also got him a pair of those horse boots that look like sneakers. His
forefeet would get a little tender on hard ground but these boots did the
trick so he can be kept barefoot. At the moment he is a farrier's
nightmare...he is calm and quiet, but his trick is to fall over when he
feels he's been holding his foot up long enough. I am sure he might have had
some real balance problems to start with, but now he has learned that a
human being will rather let go than having a big fjord falling on top of
him/her:-) This is a little exaggerated he doesn't actually fall over
completely, but he is kneeling so his knee touches the ground. Now we're
practicing with his feet and he is doing better and better.
He was a sight the first two minutes with the sneakers, lifting his legs
real high and seeming a little confused. but the he realised his feet didn't
hurt walking on the rough gravel anymore and he just settled in and was
happy.
Two weeks ago, I came back from a trip to Norway and Ruthie was all excited
about her new cart that had just been delivered. We decided to try hitching
him up carefully, after long-reining him and introducing him to the cart. He
was more bored than scared, you know, fjord style. The hitching went great,
even with some extra time due to adjustments and general clumsiness on our
part... He just stood there like an angel. Ruthie stayed by his head with me
in the cart and we started going around carefully. He loved it! He has
definitely decided that going around the arena with or without a rider on
his back is boring. But pulling a cart, that's great fun! Suddenly I had
all the forward movement I could ask for! The steering still leaves a little
to be desired... but we are doing much better already. Ruthie has tried
taking the reins, too, and she is doing great. Even her husband and youngest
son have been in the cart and they're just as enthusiastic as us!
Yesterday we hitched him up for the fourth or fifth time and he is still
great. Now we're both in the cart together. Just around sunset (half-dusk) ,
a bobcat jumped out and crossed the road just in front of us and he didn't
even flinch! These fjords... He has spooked lightly a few times, but his
reaction is over in half a sec. Then he stands still and waits for further
instructions. Great for Ruthie, who is building up her confidence in riding
after her former horse bolted with her.
He loves the cart and trots steadily along, being really light and
responsive in his mouth. The two things we are working on now are
straightness (especially going downhill when he has to hold the cart back -
this will be easier when he builds some more muscle, too) and more precision
in steering. In trot he steers fairly well but in walk we still have some
zig-zagging now and then. I'm no driving expert but I have had the pleasure
of driving an extremely well trained horse in Norway (my friend Kneist,
fjord stallion) so I have a picture in my mind to work towards.
We have also been on a bareback trail ride with Ruthie walking along as his
companion. We climbed steep hills up and down (he likes climbing up but was
a little unsure going down - we just took it nice and easy and he did
great). Along the trails were also some small ditches to cross and he was a
little unsure about them but decided to trust
