I want to go to see the geography and the horses--I may not agree with
how Icelanders handle/raise/train etc., but I still want to see the horses.
I've been thinking about that for a couple of days, Virginia. I think I was
very lucky that the first big herd of Icelandic's I met were at Unicorn
Valley. The horses had huge pastures to run in. They had hills and
valleys, streams, ponds, fields, woods to play in. They had access to miles
of trails on their property and on neighboring property. There were two
stallions living together in one big pasture - one of them is now mine -
Melnir. There were mare and geldings and babies. I at first associated
that ideal environment with Icelandic horses. But, Anneliese handled her
horses and loved them. She wormed them and vaccinated them and had their
feet done - with love in her handling. She is present when most of her
foals are born, helping with deliveries if necessary - but she leaves them
alone when she's sure they are well to bond with each other for a while.
The foals weren't kept up in small stalls over the winter - she only stalls
her horses when she absolutely has to.Obviously she started them
gently - I haven't seen any horses easier than the ones I've met from her
farm, even though a lot of others are also easy. Her horses have confidence
and spunk, but they also love and adore people. They aren't skittish or
afraid - they've never had any reason to be. Even Svertla - having lived
her first two years in that idyllic healthy environment at Unicorn Valley
seems to have left a stronger mark on her than the four years of
malnutrition and neglect. The Unicorn Valley horses had a lovely balance of
nature, freedom with good human contact. That remains my ideal for raising
horses, even though I don't personally have property that approaches Unicorn
Valley. I doubt that ideal can be matched with many herds, in any part of
the world.
My next exposure to a big herd of Icelandics was at the Icelandic Horse Farm
in BC. There were lots of nice, easy, friendly horses - more than I could
imagine on one farm. They didn't have the room that the horses at Unicorn
Valley did - but heck, where else would you match that ideal? But the
horses there were also friendly and curious and alert, and seemed to adore
people. It proved to us that Anneliese didn't have some magic spell that
she cast on her horses - that there are indeed a lot of awfully special
individuals in this breed.
When I was in British Columbia, I also saw another herd of Icelandic's kept
in...squalor. No other word would describe it. They were not Robyn's and I
won't say where I saw them. It was just sad though. The horses were in
crowded conditions, and they appeared to be lacking in nutrition, and
probably weren't being wormed regularly. They looked sad and bored. The
horses were in very crowded conditions. It was simply heart breaking. All
herds of Icelandic's are not idyllic, not by any means. That was an
eye-opener, after seeing Unicorn Valley and the Icelandic Horse farm.
I've seen a few small herds of Icelandic's elsewhere since, and now I have
my own herd: 25, with 18 of them Icelandic's. I guess that's another thing
that's dampened my "need" to go to Iceland. There are some nice herds here
in North America, and I feel lucky to have seen some of them. I feel like I
have seen Icelandic's in paradise, thanks to Anneliese. :)
Karen Thomas
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
