[IceHorses] Re: New to group
Hi Rachael, where are you? I'm in Maysville. Kim
Re: [IceHorses] New to group
Hello Rachel, Welcome to the list. I have been reading your thread and would like also to make a comment regarding the SE problem in Icelandics... It has been my understanding that the greatest threat is to imported horses. The domestically bred ones have about the same percentage of this as does any other breed of horse. Pat G., in MN
[IceHorses] New to Group/SE
I have no experience with SE in Icelandics, but I did own a 14.1 hand grade pony of unknown origins who suffered with SE. I would be reluctant to consider buying another horse with SE. It was horrible for him, some summers worse than others. We tried everything that anyone suggested, including grinding flax seed for him, but it was pretty much a recurring discomfort for him. Nancy
[IceHorses] New to the Group
Just sending this it the list. ;] I think Nancy meant for it to land there as well. Raven ~:] Hi Rachel. I. too. am new to the group. I have an off-track Standardbred that I drive, a 14.3 Tennessee Walker gelding that I use for endurance and two Icelandicss that we just purchased in January. I've been riding since 1963, usually Thoroughbreds in those days. I was a hunter/jumper/dressage person who relaxed the horses by riding in the same mountains I now use to condition my endurance horse. I also owned some Welsh ponies and a Welsh cob in my too old to ride period. I did not particularly like the temperments of the Welsh ponies we had, although they were very fancy. The Icelandics are the most amazing horses we've ever owned. They were purchased from the dispersal sale of a 90+ year old breeder who concentrated on breeding sensible useful animals. From our experience, he was a huge success. They are calm intelligent, willing and absolutely tuned to anything I might ask for. These two , at least, are the most trainable horses/ponies I've handled in 44 years. Nancy Sturm, not too old to ride after all Raven Lucy Molly, the Girl Doggies Huginn, the American Ice Pony Dixie Chic, the Barn Goddess
Re: [IceHorses] New to group
regularly drive them with a small easy-entry cart that we can take apart What fun! There was an article about Icelandic horses in the Jan'Feb 2007 Trail Rider Magazine that made them sound like the ideal horse (hype?)and I was inspired to look into buying some. I found some online, ranging from expensive to VERY expensive. My husband is 6' 1 and I thought he might look silly on a very small horse, so hoped I could find one that was taller-maybe 14hh. I also want a matching pair so we can drive them as a team as well as trailride. What I want are horses around 14 hh that are free from foot problems, can go barefoot, don't spook, are sensible, cooperative, easy keepers, yet have smooth, fast lateral trail gaits. I thought I'd check forums to hear from people who own Icelandics yet aren't trying to gloss over their drawbacks. Since I don't want to have to spend as much as I would for a house, would I be better off with a gaited mustang or calm gaited Morgan, which go for much less? I only want geldings, so I could even buy an Icelandic cross, which would be cheaper and maybe a little taller. You will find a whole range of sizes, colors, temperaments, gaitedness, conformation, etc. within the breed. There are small ones and taller ones; narrow ones and round ones, ones that are calm and ones that are nervous; ones that are naturally gaited and ones that are not gaited; ones that are easy keepers and ones that are hard keepers; ones with good feet and ones with problem feet. Prices are up there; but probably lower than a few years ago. With more domestic stock, the expense of the original imported breeding stock has probably been defrayed by now. There are some less expensive horses occasionally, that come about possibly due to training issues or not-so-good behaviors resulting possibly from pain issues. Saddle fit is an issue. Many of us have moved to treeless saddles; I would say that the saddle least likely to fit an Icelandic Horse is an icelandic saddle. Training is something to look into. Some horses are tolt trained which does not bring out the natural gait of the horse, so you may hear of Icelandics that lose their tolt. It could be that their tolt may have been based on the icelandic saddle, weighted shoes or boots, heavy contact, being forced into a frame. More people are starting to do natural training now with their Icelandics, so you might look for horses from those owners. Are you open to a younger unstarted horse? There's lots of information on the website about everything from weight-carrying ability to saddle fit to gaits, etc., including lots of pictures and videos: http://icehorses.net For fun, check out my wonderful Icelandic mare, Cookie: http://iceryder.net/cookieyawn.html Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
[IceHorses] Head and Mouth in Gait
Watch this horse's head and mouth. Is he saying anything? http://www.tolthorse.com/video.cfm?SHID=90 Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
Re: [IceHorses] New to group
Problem: my horse, Banjo, is high strung, spooks easily, Rachel, what does he eat? Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
[IceHorses] Plain Text
Be sure you are posting to the list in plain text. If you need help setting your email program to plain text, let me know. You can always post in plain text from your Yahoo email account. Does anyone need an invitation to a gmail account? It's also a good web-based email program. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
[IceHorses] Jiaogulan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFs41dqEb9U Text: Sadie has hardly been able to walk at all, until she had some Jiaogulan (Chinese herb) 2 weeks ago. She feels so good she is escaping to eat some grass! __ Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
Re: [IceHorses] Nervous Nellie
Dama had her first professional training session today. I was hoping to ride her a bit but she became so nervous that she was trembling all over, and the trainer and I agreed not to push things. Etain, can you recap some of her history for us... age, background, training. And also let us know what she eats, what type of tack you're using, and what type of trainer you're using. Thanks! Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
Re: [IceHorses] Brunka in burgundy
On 3/3/07, Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: A rare picture of me with a horse - I'm usually the one behind the camera. That's a burgundy Zilco halter with add-on bridle, and the Sensation Hybrid saddle on Brunka, with Sina's tapestry saddle pad. Cute!! Our digital camera broke last month, so I'm back to film cameras. Can't wait until we get another digital so I can share photos easier! Steph -- Brutality begins where skill ends. Correctly understood, work at the lunge line is indispensable for rider and horse from the very beginning through the highest levels. Von Niendorff
Re: [IceHorses] Which Bit?
On 3/3/07, Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't think they are milder; but I don't think there's too much difference. I bought the ones I have because I was able to find the short shanked ones (called Tom Thumb Pelhams - Susan at Saddle Up has them) in difference widths, and I was having trouble finding the plain mullen mouth snaffles in various sizes. I import them regularly. Would be happy to do so at cost for list members. Normally they're around $50 a piece, but that is dependent on exchange rates to GB. I have found 4.5, 4.75, and 5 avaliable in the states for $25, but I like the design of the European ones better. The mouthpiece is more curved like the Pelham mouth. And, we did have a Mullen shaped Happy Mouth. None of the horses liked it and I sold it several years ago. I like the metal mullens or double jointed happy mouths, the mullen happy mouths are just too thick. If you're ever in Gastonia Trish you can come borrow some bits from me. I have about 10 I loan out, most of them are duplicates that I purchased to leave with clients. Steph -- Brutality begins where skill ends. Correctly understood, work at the lunge line is indispensable for rider and horse from the very beginning through the highest levels. Von Niendorff
Re: [IceHorses] What do I mean - dignity in a horse?
On 3/3/07, Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: What do I mean when I talk about allowing a horse some dignity? Here are a few of my examples. That's beautiful Karen! Steph -- Brutality begins where skill ends. Correctly understood, work at the lunge line is indispensable for rider and horse from the very beginning through the highest levels. Von Niendorff
Re: [IceHorses] New to the Group
Thanks, Raven - I do seem to have trouble with fumbling fingers on the keyboard. You must remember, we've come a long way since I first worked in an office and used something called carbon paper rolled into a manual typewriter. Nancy
Re: [IceHorses] New to the Group
we've come a long way since I first worked in an office and used something called carbon paper rolled into a manual typewriter haha! i remember having to make copies on this roller machine. you smeared ink on the big roller, and put the papers in a tray, turned the roller and ...out came the copies. boy..i'm old. raven
Re: [IceHorses] New to the Group
On 3/4/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You must remember, we've come a long way since I first worked in an office and used something called carbon paper rolled into a manual typewriter. Oh yeah, I remember that--what a hassle when I made a typo! V
[IceHorses] Kentucky
From Rachel: where are you? I'm in Maysville. I live halfway between Morehead and Olive Hill on 60 East..about two hours from Maysville! Say, do you have any Icelandics for sale?? Rachel from E. KY
[IceHorses] Icelandic Horse Info
Rachel is having a hard time switching her email program to plain text and her posts are getting caught in the spam filter, so I will copy / paste them to the list. http://icehorses.net For fun, check out my wonderful Icelandic mare, Cookie: http://iceryder.net/cookieyawn.html Thanks for the link and the information! I guess I just have to try out all the Icelandics I can, and especially any I'm considering buying. Still, it seems that most people are very happy with their Icelandic horses. I was thinking, if, or when, we buy some Icelandics, we should also buy bitless bridles and CorrecTor saddle pads to make certain the horses are always comfortable. I noticed that my sensitive skinnedTennessee Walker, Banjo, becomes noticably more relaxed when I ride bareback. Besides, I don't use the reins anyway, except for correction. When I was little, I read that American Indians cued their horses with weight shifts alone, so I tried it on my mustang, Lightning, and it worked, so that's the way I've trained my horses from then on. The idea is, to avoid my putting pressure on them, all the horses have to do is keep my center of balance directly over theirs. In other words, I simply act out what I want them to do. For instance, if I want to go left, I lean in that direction and the horse also swings in that direction to keep my weight balance over his. Strangely, horses and even mules seem to pick this up almost at once, so that even if I ride a strange horse for a short while, the horse will be responding to weight shift cues by the time we return from the ride. If I want to slow or stop, I lean back and brace as though anticipating the horse doing it, and the horse learns to immediately slow or stop, or whatever it takes to keep my weight exactly centered. If I continue to lean back even after the horse has stopped, the horse will back up. Teaching horses to do this only requires a short session of John Lyon-esque pressure and releases, to show them what is desired. Soon, I can knot the reins and throw them down on the horse's neck. After awhile, the cues can grow so subtle, the horse seems to be an extension of my thoughts. Or maybe he really is reading my mind. Horses seem eager to do anything to avoid having their mouths pulled by a bit or their sides kicked. Rachel from E. KY
[IceHorses] Icelandic Horse Info
From Rachel: The Icelandics are the most amazing horses we've ever owned. They are calm intelligent, willing and absolutely tuned to anything I might ask for. These two , at least, are the most trainable horses/ponies I've handled in 44 years. Again, thankyou for the input! Every piece of knowledge helps Rachel from E. Kentucky
[IceHorses] Spooky Banjo
From Rachel: Problem: my horse, Banjo, is high strung, spooks easily, Rachel, what does he eat? He eats orchard grass/timothy hay, and a quart of Triumph sweet feed in the evenings. I think he is just inbred (he's a purebred showhorse)-his skin is very sensitive and I have to be VEEERRRY careful not to cue him even a fraction too hard or he'll overreact. He would much rather be driven or ridden bareback, and seldom spooks then, so I plan to buy one of those CorrecTor pads, and have been avoiding using the saddle until I do. But still, he is just way too nervous for my taste. If I spent the time I have spent getting Banjo to accept new things, I could have trained several herds of mustangs. While we were at the horse show yesterday I noticed that the showhorses kept spooking when they passed a trash can near the railing. Rachel from E. KY
Re: [IceHorses] Head and Mouth in Gait
From Rachel: Watch this horse's head and mouth. Is he saying anything? http://www.tolthorse.com/video.cfm?SHID=90 Has anyone tried using the Bitless Bridle on Icelandics? The websites say that the bridle uses subtle pressure points and at no time hurts the horse. I checked the chatlines and everyone who had used one, loved it. As a less is better advocate, I only the reins for correction, but I wonder how the bitless bridles would work for English style riding where there is constant bit contact. Rachel from E. KY
Re: [IceHorses] Head and Mouth in Gait
On 3/4/07, Judy Ryder [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Has anyone tried using the Bitless Bridle on Icelandics? I tried Dr. Cook's but sold it--my mare went OK with it but my daughter and I both hated the rings where you attached the reins--they were heavy and dragged. Maybe the 'regular' size was too big, but it fit her head OK. V
[IceHorses] Using the clicker to start ground driving
I took Andi for his walk down the road today, and in addition to the lead line, I attached a set of reins to either side of his halter. It was a little tough at first to get him to walk with me at his girth line, but a few steps and clicks, and he quickly caught on. At that point, we started steering to either side of the road, click/treat. He learned whoa, smooch to go, and ended up doing figure 8's all with me at his girth. That boy will do anything for the clicker! It makes the whole process so easy and positive and he craves doing good so he can get his click and treat! I think we can graduate to the longer lines tomorrow and I can fade back a little farther with him. He is shedding so much, it looks like snow on the side of my trailer where I groom. The spot on his neck where the vet shaved when he was sedated for his gelding is a rich gold! I can't wait till his winter white is gone and he is a golden dapple palomino again! Susan in NV Happy High Desert Trails Susan in NV Nevermore Ranch http://users.oasisol.com/nevermore/ Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos. http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html
Re: [IceHorses] New to the Group
Ohmigosh! Weren't those awful! Nancy
Re: [IceHorses] Which Bit?
If you're ever in Gastonia Trish you can come borrow some bits from me. I have about 10 I loan out, most of them are duplicates that I purchased to leave with clients. Steph Thanks, Steph! Are you still doing the freestyle musical in Tryon? Trish
Re: [IceHorses] Head and Mouth in Gait
I tried Dr. Cook's but sold it--my mare went OK with it but my daughter and I both hated the rings where you attached the reins--they were heavy and dragged. Maybe the 'regular' size was too big, but it fit her head OK. V Same hereplus the pressure at the poll seemed to confuse Gusti. I switched to a sidepull to start him and he did fine in that. Wanda
Re: [IceHorses] Using the clicker to start ground driving
On 04/03/07, susan cooper [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: That boy will do anything for the clicker! It makes the whole process so easy and positive and he craves doing good so he can get his click and treat! I think we can graduate to the longer lines tomorrow and I can fade back a little farther with him. Way to go!!that's what you want. A horse that enjoys training and plays an active role in it. These horses are so smart...we have to let them participate in the process. Wanda
Re: [IceHorses] Which Bit?
I use a french link on Stigandi. He likes it better than any bit I have used on him. His is sweet iron on the outer pieces and copper in the middle. I think it has o-rings but I would have to look to be sure. I bought it from an Icelandic breeder from Kentucky (I think) at Equine Affaire in Ohio several years ago. He used to fight the regular snaffle (two pieces) but he is very soft with this bit. Unless I go bitless I won't be changing with him. I did buy a pinchless bit from Brenda Imus last year. But Stigandi did not like it so I went back to his french link. I have found my morab (very flighty mare) like the TTeam bit I bought from Linda way back in 1991.I don't know if they have changed them since then or not. But I noticed a change in her carriage the first time I used it on her. It does not make her braver but she carries her head much lower than with any other bit I have used on her. Sherrel
RE: [IceHorses] Which Bit?
I use a french link on Stigandi. I use French links more than any other bit too. Karen Thomas, NC -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.6/709 - Release Date: 3/3/2007 8:12 AM
[IceHorses] Re: Kentucky
--- In IceHorses@yahoogroups.com, Judy Ryder [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From Rachel: where are you? I'm in Maysville. I live halfway between Morehead and Olive Hill on 60 East..about two hours from Maysville! Say, do you have any Icelandics for sale?? Rachel from E. KY Not for sale, but I do have two Icelandic geldings, one is 13 this year and the other is 3. Is that Elliot county? I used to live in Morehead and sometimes go riding out around there, when my friends invite me to go with them, I don't have a trailer. Kim
[IceHorses] O/T Wild boar
There was a story on one of our local stations talking about a man in George shooting the worlds largest wild pig. I commented, Men...why do they always have to shoot everything? Kevin's response was, Wanda if you saw that standing in your front yard, you'd shoot it yourself. I think he might be right. I know there was a scare here a few years ago, when a neighbour lost a few of the wild boars he was raising. The pig in Georgia is quite a bit bigger than any measly wild boar around here. http://www.gon.com/article.php?id=1017cid=158 Wanda
RE: [IceHorses] Nervous Nellie
Hi Etain, Dama had her first professional training session today. I was hoping to ride her a bit but she became so nervous that she was trembling all over, and the trainer and I agreed not to push things. The trainer thought she was one of the most nervous horses she's ever seen. What has been done with her before today if today was her first professional training session. Is it the first time she has had a rider on her back? What have you been doing with her up to now? How old is she? Do you have any photos of Dama being worked and a good photo close up of her face and side body shot. If so I will look at her for possible inherent personality characteristics. Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
[IceHorses] large animal rescue
The large animal rescue course that Judy sent out a notice about sounds like it could help save a lot of animals. My husband and I are thinking about going at least to audit or maybe even take the course. Thanks Judy. Renee BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[IceHorses] Re: Kentucky
I guess I'll have to reply from the Yahoo! groups website, to give Judy a break. I'm in Rowan County, close to the Carter County line, on 60 East. To get to Maysville, I go to Morehead, then drive north on 32. I have a trailer, and right now I'm back in negotiations to buy a discounted herd of Icelandics, since the owner has to move this month and doesn't want to board them. I had given up on trying to buy them, but after doing some research and deciding that it was a deal, I decided to try again. Except that the hauler has now more than doubled her price to $1200 per horse from British Columbia. Ouch. If the deal goes through, I'll have a 5 1/2 yr old proven blood bay stallion, two 14 year old brood mares (blue dun and gray), a two year old blue dun filly, an 8 month old silver dapple filly, and an 8 month old black colt. All we really want are the adults, so we'll be selling off the young stuff. Since we are buying sight unseen we are taking a chance. The Walker horses are still unsold, but we can keep the male Icelandics at a nearby farm. Rachel from Morehead, KY
