A gradual method that works on small farms, and the method Pat used here for our single foal last summer, is to move the mare to an adjoining field for an increasing amount of time every day, leaving the foal in the company of horse friends. 

We moved our mare into a field close by for four hours a day for the first week, then the second week for eight hours a day, but left them together in the evenings in the foaling stall. Finally, after two weeks the filly was with other horses she knew in the daytime and at night alone in her familiar foaling box with her mother in the next stall, a standing stall which the filly could see from her box. The whole operation went smoothly. The foal became more and more independent, the mare’s milk dried gradually, and everyone was happy. I have to admit the weaning took place when the foal was ten months old. 

In the case of our foal, creep feeding didn’t work because Mother discovered how to feed herself from the creep feeder and I’ve heard,  Fjords are notorious at this. However, our mare was quite happy to share, so we did, in fact, feed the foal for many months before weaning. Also remember that hay is important too at weaning time, for roughage, even if your foal is on grass.

By Pat Wolfe

1.      It is very difficult to trim a mane or to bridle a horse when he is tossing his head around.  Here’s a way you can keep him still and cause him no stress while you work with him.  You can hold his head down with binder twine.

2.      Take three pieces of binder twine and tie them together.

3.      Take the centre of the twine and place it on the horse’s poll under his halter.

4.      Pass one loose end through the ring on the side of the halter, then between the front legs and up over the back of the horse.

5.      Do the same thing with the other loose end, finishing with both ends lying over the horse’s back.

6.      Get the horse to lower his head with a treat.

7.      While his head is lowered tie a shoe string bow on his back.

8.      When the horse tries to raise his head, he will put pressure on his poll.

9.      After a couple times trying to raise his head, he will remain quiet, with his head lowered.

10.      Once you have the mane trimmed or the horse bridled, simply untie the bow on his back.

I ran back around the hole, across the ice, and up to the barn for warm blankets.  Emmeline was fine when I returned with my wife Jane, but Gaja was shivering. We put their blankets on and tried to figure out how to get them home.                                                            We have a narrow foot bridge which crosses the creek that runs into the beaver pond. It’s a few hundred yards up the creek and it’s in rough shape with holes in the plank flooring, but that was now the only way back to the barn. Jane led Gaja and I led Emmeline with the harness piled up on her, cut pieces and all, and we walked the half hour home.                                             

As soon as we got into the barn, I rubbed the mares down and thanked my lucky stars I own Fjords. Would the outcome have been different with another breed?

 

After I got the harness fixed I went out and bought a pair of walkie-talkies so I can keep in touch with the house when I’m working with the horses in the bush.  I hitched the following day to make sure the horses were fine, and they were. But it was a few weeks before I was driving on the beaver pond again, and only after a very thorough check on the thickness of the ice.

By Pat Wolfe

Here is a knot I modified from one I first saw used in France 25 year ago. With other knots the lead shank is still around the hitching post when the knot is untied and if a horse pulls back, your hands are dragged into the post. With this knot, when you untie your horse, the lead shank will be free from the hitching post.

1. Clip the lead shank to your horse.

2. Make a loop with the loose end and pass it around the hitching post.

3. Make a second loop with the loose end and pass it through the first loop.

4. Make a third loop with the loose end. Go around the rope that is tied to the horse and pass it through the second loop.

5. Take the loose end and go around the rope tied to the horse, and then back through the third loop to complete the knot.

To untie the horse, take the loose end out of the last loop and pull. Your horse will be free.

By Pat Wolfe

It is very difficult to trim a mane or to bridle a horse when he is tossing his head around.  Here’s a way you can keep him still and cause him no stress while you work with him.  You can hold his head down with binder twine.

1.      Take three pieces of binder twine and tie them together.

2.      Take the centre of the twine and place it on the horse’s poll under his halter.

3.      Pass one loose end through the ring on the side of the halter, then between the front legs and up over the back of the horse.

4.      Do the same thing with the other loose end, finishing with both ends lying over the horse’s back.

5.      Get the horse to lower his head with a treat.

6.      While his head is lowered tie a shoe string bow on his back.

7.      When the horse tries to raise his head, he will put pressure on his poll.

8.      After a couple times trying to raise his head, he will remain quiet, with his head lowered.

9.      Once you have the mane trimmed or the horse bridled, simply untie the bow on his back.

By Pat Wolfe

A Balanced 900 pound, 14.1 hand mare

In Norway, in 1986, I attended my first Fjord evaluation.  The day before there was a meeting held to form an International Fjord Group.  Today this group is called FHI. (Fjord Horse International) There were about six countries represented. All, except for Canada, already had evaluation committees in existence.  I remember wondering how long it would take before we had an evaluation in Canada. 

I had to wait for 23 years.  The first one was held in Almonte, Ontario, this past fall.

For the last two years Canadians and Americans worked on this project together. A joint evaluation meant Canadian and American registered horses could participate in the same evaluation. This was a great idea because it allowed a person owning both Canadian and America registered horses to have them evaluated in one country and at one evaluation. Anyone on either side of the border could have their horses evaluated in Canada.  The evaluation scores of the Canadian registered horses would be recorded in the CFHA record book and the scores of the American registered horses, in the NFHR record book. It was also decided for this “held in Canada” evaluation, all Fjords, CFHA and/or NFHA registered, would receive Canadian ribbons.   

To drum up support for this first Canadian evaluation, I held a pre-evaluation clinic this past March.  12 Canadian Fjord owners showed up wanting to know what an evaluation was all about.  I asked for a show of hands. “Who would commit to bringing horses if I hosted an evaluation in the Ottawa area?”  All hands went up.  With the added support of one person who couldn’t make the meeting, we had a promise of 15 horses. 

All 15 horses committed at that time participated in the evaluation. 

To cover expenses for a two day evaluation you need at least 25 horses. We had only 15 with a total of 27 tests between them.  I contacted Mike May about the possibility of a one day evaluation.  Mike’s answer was “Keep expenses to a minimum and we’ll try.”  It was a go.

I found a very good facility for $300.  Jane O’Brien, one of our exhibitors, offered a room for Curt Pierce, our TD.  Karen Cabic one of our judges, used her own car, so that meant no car rental.  We also had some outside help for our other judge’s airfare.  Jane O’Brien donated home-made sandwiches, snacks and beverages for the judges, TD and volunteers.  Pinching pennies here and there, we were determined to make it work.

Friday was move-in and set-up day.  Curt Pierce, evaluation chairman for NFHR and Dan Watanabe, President of NFHR, were on the grounds Friday afternoon.  With the help from Gunnar Rogstad and Russell Brenneman, they set up the driving dressage ring, driving utility ring, and the draft ring.  Cones were also set up in the main driving ring for the conformation tests. The outside riding dressage ring had been set up by the owner of the facility.  Having everything ready the day before made things run smoothly.

While the rings were being set up, the exhibitors were arriving.  Renee Lafleur drove nine hours from Timmins, Ontario with four home grown CFHA registered mares.  Renee rode one of her mares in the intro riding test and put the other three in the conformation test. 

Andrea Thiel from Aylmer, Quebec brought her four year old CFHA registered mare, Bree.  Andrea had only owned this four year old, totally green mare for nine months.  With lots of work right down to the wire, Bree learned all her gaits and did a great job in the intro riding test. 

Russell Brenneman from New Hamburg, Ontario drove six hours with his rescued stallion Scotty.  This stallion had lived in a box stall without a window for four years, only allowed out for breeding. He was underweight and hadn’t had his feet properly cared for.  Two years ago Russell acquired Scotty as a nine year old and has done so much for and with him.  Russell showed Scotty in the conformation class. 

Gunnar Rogstad and his two girls, Quinn Rogstad and Casey Rogstad from the Toronto area, brought two CFHA registered mares.  Gunnar showed the mares in the conformation test and both girls rode the mares in the intro riding test.  It was wonderful to see young people so involved.

Cheryl Beillard from Douglas, Ontario brought two NFHR registered mares.  Both mares were shown in conformation.  Jane O’Brien from Carleton Place, Ontario brought a CFHA registered mare and entered the conformation, and the intro driving tests.  Cindy Duffy from Carleton Place, Ontario

entered two CFHA mares in conformation and intro driving tests.  I brought two NFHR registered mares and entered conformation, driving and draft tests.

Friday afternoon at 4pm, I gave a hands-on conformation clinic in the conformation test ring.  All competitors had a chance to do the conformation test with their own horses, in exactly the same way they would be doing the test the following day.

Evaluation day began with brilliant sunshine, donuts and a hundred cup thermos of Tim Horton’s coffee donated by Cindy Duffy, this despite a weather forecast predicting driving rain.

27 classes in one day meant a tight schedule. 

The day was to begin at 8:00 am with a chat between exhibitors and the judges.  There was one slight problem.  The judges were late.  “Oh no,” I thought.   “Here goes my planned schedule!”  I had allowed 15 minutes per test, plus 20 minutes after each division for the judges to explain their scores to the exhibitors.  Another 30 minutes was set aside for a lunch break.  All the times added up to 8 ½ hours.  That meant the last test should finish at 4:30 pm. 

Well guess what?  Mine was the last horse to do the final test of the day and I finished at exactly 4:30.  By 5:30 all the rings had been cleaned and all of the exhibitors were headed home.  The timing worked so well because Brian Jenson, one of our judges, asked me if we were still on schedule every time I went into a class, all 11 of them.  The exhibitors really helped with our schedule too. They were always ready when their classes were called. 

Barbara Neufeld, a director of the CFHA was our whipper-in,  Alison Bakken, chairman of the CFHA evaluation committee was assisting our TD, Curt Pierce and Unice Bosomworth a director of the CFHA and her husband John Bosomworth were measuring horses and manning the information booth.  Denise Lauzon was our official photographer.

All in all, the day went off like clockwork.  Everyone went home happy, many commenting on how much they had learned from the day.  And expenses came in within our limited budget!  The evaluation was a complete success, and all the effort of so many people to organize, to participate, and to help out was worth it, even though I had to wait for 23 years! 

Pat Wolfe

If you plan to take your horse to an evaluation, be proactive!   Here are a few things you can do to improve your scores.

Take a look on the score sheets.   What are the judges looking for?   For instance, if you are doing the conformation test, notice the mark for muscling in the body section.  And in the overall section, there is a mark for condition.  It takes a good month or two to get a horse in shape.  If the evaluation is in September or early October, start an exercising program in July or August and put him in a pasture where you can control his weight.  The best exercise is riding, driving or lunging, four or five times a week.  Riding or driving up hills builds muscle quite quickly.   As with any athlete, start slow.  Begin with walking.  Make your horse walk as fast as he can without breaking into a trot.

Along with an exercise program, pay close attention to diet.  Coat condition is important and a good food ration along with everyday grooming will give your horse a natural sheen.  You can use ShowSheen but the result is not the same.  What I find works well, along with grooming, is a mixture of whole oats, soybean meal, sunflower seeds and a vitamin mineral mix.  For my 1000 pound horse, I use 2 large yogurt containers (750 gram size containers) of whole oats, one cup of soybean meal, one cup of black oil sunflower seeds, and 2 scoops (suppliers recommendation) of vitamin mineral mix a day, divided in two feedings.  With this, my horse gets 20 pounds of timothy grass hay a day. 

Take a good look at your horse’s mane.  If I have a horse with a poor looking mane, that is one that doesn’t stand up properly, I roach it off completely three months before I’m going to show him.  After the second month you will be able to contour his newly grown mane the way that looks best for the shape of his neck.  In most cases, the high point of the arched mane is at the mid-point of the neck.  The mane should be about three inches high at the mid-point and one inch high at the bridle path.  The bridle path should only be as wide as the halter you are using.

 It’s a good idea to trim the goat hairs from under his chin and the hair around his ears.  Just cup the ear in one hand and trim the hairs flush to his ear.  It’s not necessary to shave the inside of the ears or to shave off the hairs on his nose.  Those hairs are there for a reason.  The ear hair keeps out flies and the chin hair lets the horse know when his head is going to touch something.  A good trim job gives a nice look to the head.

The only cosmetic thing I do is blacken my horse’s hooves.  When you put hoof black on, make sure it is even along the top of the hoof at the hair line.  If you are off at all, the hoof looks crooked.

Nose band 2 fingers below check bone

You can present your horse in a bridle or a halter.  Whatever you use, keep it simple and clean with the metal parts polished.  A small black leather halter looks better than a big clunky halter with a lot of brass or chrome on it.  The judge wants to see your horse’s head.  The lead shank should match the halter.  When using a halter, adjust it so the space between the cheek bones and the nose band is about two finger widths.  If I’m using a lead shank with a stud chain, I go under the chin and not over the nose.  (Practice this at home.) When I go under the chin I put the chain snap through the two lower rings and back to the ring on the chain.  This does two things.  One, it keeps the halter straight on the horse’s head and two, if you want to raise the horse’s head, you just give him a little tug with the lead shank.  I find if I put the chain over the nose it pulls the halter to one side and that doesn’t look good.

Personally, I prefer a halter over a bridle. The leather on the head stall of a bridle is very thin and I have seen a bridle break when a horse pulls back.  This happened on several occasions in show rings with stallions.

Now that your horse is ready to go, it’s your turn.  When presenting your horse, you want to give an all-round positive image so wear something smart.  I wear a shirt and tie, sports jacket, tweed cap, and newly polished shoes.  Wear light weight shoes because you have to run as fast as you can.  

Training for the big trot

 The judge needs to see your horse move at a trot.  A good trotting horse uses his hocks and is free in the shoulder.  His back feet and front feet will be at the same height when in flight.  He will take a long reach with his front legs and the back foot will land ahead of the print of the front foot.  The faster you run, the better his trot will show. 

When running beside your horse, remember to give him lots of lead rope so he can carry his head without restraint.   The horse needs this freedom in order to move in a natural way.

When showing your horse at a walk, take long strides.  If you walk slowly the horse will take short strides and will probably drag his feet.  If you walk as fast as you can the horse will take longer strides using his hocks and shoulders.  A good walking horse will place his hind foot ahead of where the front foot landed.  The horse has to be relaxed to achieve a good free walk.  If he is tense the strides will be shorter. 

During the conformation class your horse must stand still.  It is very difficult for an evaluator to assess a horse that is constantly moving.  Set up the test triangle at home, and practice walking, trotting, and standing.  Standing still must be learned at home.  If you are doing any performance classes, practice until you and your horse know every movement in the tests.  Don’t wait until you get to the show grounds. 

Lastly, get your horse accustomed to the show grounds before the evaluation starts.  I take my horse for a walk into the ring before the tests start.  If he is accustomed to the grounds, there is a better chance he will be relaxed during the evaluation.  That goes for you too.  I have found to relax a horse I walk in large circles for about ten minutes.

As you can see, the key words are exercise, conditioning, presentation and practice.  Nothing can compare with being prepared. 

Good luck.

Pat

Sonny was imported to Canada in the summer of 2001 at three years of age after receiving a K ribbon in May 2001 in Norway. With a K ribbon, Sonny is licensed to breed in Norway.

In September 2002, Sonny achieved a blue ribbon in conformation with a score of 87 points in the North American evaluation system. That makes him the highest scored stallion ever in the NFHR studbook. He also won a blue (80 points) in introductory driving, a red in advanced driving (78.25 points), a blue in introductory draft (84 points) and a blue in advanced draft (88 points). Sonny also received a gold medallion of quality.

In the 2002 show season, Sonny was overall halter grand champion in two shows, one in New York and one in Ontario, and reserve champion stallion in Vermont. He also won three pleasure-driving championships: in New York, in Ontario and in Quebec. Along with his championships, he won 20 first place ribbons that year.

In 2002, Sonny bred 10 mares and got nine in foal. They were all breed in hand.

In September 2003, Sonny achieved a blue ribbon (83.75 ) in introductory riding and a blue ribbon (86.88) in advanced riding.  

With these scores, Sonny was awarded a blue sliver medallion and a blue gold medallion,  making him him the first stallion to receive a blue gold medallion.

In the 2003 show season, Sonny was overall halter Grand Champion in two shows, one in Woodstock and one in Ontario.  He was also the high point Grand Champion performance in Ontario.  He now held five Grand Championships, 10 Championships and 35 first place ribbons.  Sonny offspring did very well that year: one stud colt was first place in Ontario and a filly was second place in Woodstock.

As well as excelling in the show ring, Sonny is a really good stallion in his day-to-day farm life. He is a willing partner bringing in firewood. He works quietly, and is obedient and attentive.

 Sonny enjoys trail rides alone and in company. Other horses have to trot to keep pace with his strong walk. When on trail rides, he always behaves like a gentleman, even when he is with mares who are in season.

Another plus for this stallion is he trailer loads with no problem, plants himself in one spot for the duration of the journey, and rides quietly. He trailers with mares without incident. 

Sonny is now owned by Kelly MacDonald of Creekside Farm in Nova Scotia, Canada.  Kelly is using Sonny in dressage shows as well as using him for her breeding program.

SO WHAT DOES AN EVALUATION MEAN TO THE BREED?

By Pat Wolfe

Fjord horse evaluations have been going on for over 100 years.  If you buy a Fjord from Norway you will find every one of his or her ancestors has been evaluated.  The scores and ratings are kept in a stud book and today that information can be accessed online.

The Fjord we have today is the outcome of thousands of these evaluations.   Evaluations have allowed the Norwegians to keep the breed pure and to control the type of animal needed in their country.  Fifty years ago a good number of horses were of the draft type. They were needed on the farm.  Today more people are riding and driving their horses in the show ring, so the type has changed to a more elegant, fine-boned, ground covering horse.  What the Norwegians have not changed is the Fjord temperament and overall appearance.

Here in North America we have the riding, driving type, the all-purpose type and the draft type Fjord.  Contrary to what many people believe, evaluators do recognize all three types.  A well proportioned draft type Fjord will score the same as a well proportioned riding, driving type Fjord.  There is no discrimination in evaluation scores based on type. 

Here’s how the evaluation process works and why it’s so important as a tool for the buyer and the breeder. 

There are seven score sheets filled in during the evaluation process: Riding, Introductory and Advanced; Driving, Introductory and Advanced; Draft, Introductory and Advanced; Conformation and Movement.

The most noteworthy score sheet, however, is Conformation and Movement.  If you don’t have the form, you won’t get the function.  In other words, if your horse is not well put together, he can’t do his job, driving, riding or draft, as well as he could if his body was better put together. 

“Conformation and Movement” is comprised of nine categories for a total of 100 points: head, 10 points; neck, 10 points; body, 10 points; forelegs, 10 points; hind legs, 10 points; movement at the walk, 10 points; movement at the trot, 10 points; overall impression, 10 points; and type, 20 points. 

Taking their time, the judges examine your horse and make a determined consideration of certain detailed items listed under each of these nine categories. For example, under “head”, the judges have eight items they must take into account in awarding a score. These are length (proportional to the body), eyes (large, expressive), ears (small, truncated), forehead (wide, slightly dished), throatlatch (clean), jaws (strong, wide), nostrils (large), and bite (proper occlusion).  On the Conformation and Movement score sheet alone, there are, in total, 49 specific areas of the horse which the judges examine.

Over all of these categories you must average 8 out of 10 to get the top award of an over 80 score.  It takes a top quality horse to get an 80 and above.  Remember when you check American evaluation scores, our red ribbon is their blue ribbon.

As I stated, most horses with high scores on the Conformation and Movement test, especially on the Movement section, also do well in Riding, Driving, and Draft, the three performance tests.

The Performance Tests score sheets tell a mare owner an awful lot about a perspective stallion.  This can be seen in the Introductory Driving Test.  The categories are behaviour; movement at walk and free walk on long rein; movement at the trot; quality of transitions; halt/ stand/ rein back; submission; impulsion; and body position.  As in the Conformation and Movement score sheets, there are many items that judges examine under each of these headings.

So what does an evaluation mean to the breed? 

An evaluated horse with a score of 80 and above in Conformation tells us this horse has been approved as an excellent specimen of the Fjord breed.  An 80 in Performance tells us the horse has something between his ears, has the ability to move well, and is willing to learn from and work for his or her handler.  Scores between 70 and 80 also indicate you have a very good horse.  All these things are important to know and that’s why evaluations are so important!

Evaluators are trained professionals.  Practically every year there is a judges’ clinic held in one of the countries evaluating Fjord horses.  I attended one clinic in Denmark where nine countries’ judges were present.

Looking over the score sheets of a Fjord you are considering, or checking out the evaluations of various stallions to find the right match for your mare, is like looking in “Consumer Reports”.  You use that tool when you buy a new car.  Why not when you consider a new horse? 

Recently when I bought three mares in Denmark, I used this system and it worked very well.  The Danes have all their evaluation scores on the Web.  I was able to look up a horse I was interested in and there I could find the scores of that horse and the scores of all her ancestors.  Having a look at the father is really enlightening because you can then look at all his offspring, not just the mare you are interested in. The same thing goes for the mother.  You can see what they have thrown, and what your young mare may turn out like.  Having evaluations, and then making the scores available, is a great tool for a buyer and for a breeder.

Postscript:  Out of interest, here’s what happens in many European countries.

In Norway, 200 stud colts may be born in one year but by the time they are three year olds, only 10 to 12 will be licensed as breeding stallions and the rest are gelded.  At five years old, these 10 or 12 stallions are tested for conformation, free jumping, draft work and riding, after going through a six week training program.  At the end of this testing, five or six will be kept as stallions and the rest gelded.  This way, only the best reproduce.  One stallion can produce hundreds of babies in his lifetime whereas a mare is limited to one a year.

SKIJORING

Skijoring began several hundred years ago in Scandinavia as a way for people to travel during the cold and snowy months of winter.  Towed behind  reindeer on long wooden skis, these early travelers found skijoring a useful and practical means of getting from one place to another when the  roads were impassable.

 I live near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where we also have cold and snowy  months of winter.  In fact, last winter we had over 12 feet of snow, a  record year. And, as in Scandinavia, if you are not an outdoors person, winter can be a very long season.

Skating and skiing are our most favoured winter activities. Riding  outdoors is a little chilly in -20 temperatures so most people ride in  heated arenas. Horse and sleigh riding is another great way to enjoy  winter. However, I like to put skiing and driving horses together, not to get from one place to another as the Scandinavians did, but for the pure excitement of it.

Do you enjoy water skiing behind a 50 horse power boat? Try skijoring behind one horse.  It's a lot of fun and you get the same thrill.

In this article I will explain the nature of the horse you need, the necessary equipment, and the techniques to use. I want you to have fun and be safe. As we all know, safety is a big facture when working with horses.

Fjords have a nature that is quite suitable for this sport. You need a well trained and well mannered quiet horse. What I mean by well trained is that your horse must be able to stand quietly when asked, and definitely have a quick and strong WHOA in him. If you are skijoring along and you fall, you want your horse to stop immediately and stand quietly until you get back on your feet. If he doesn't stop you could be dragged or your horse could head for home without you. Trying to ski home without ski poles is a bit of a challenge, especially if he leaves you several miles from the barn.

Your horse has to respond to voice commands because you don't carry a whip when skijoring. The voice commands I use are walk, trot, steady (which means slow down), and of course, whoa. Whoa means to stop and stand still. I don't canter when skijoring because with a lot of horses it's a problem getting them back to a trot and you don't have any leverage to pull back. You can try snowplowing with your skies but in heavy snow that is difficult. If you are in a sleigh or carriage, you place your feet on the dash board and pull. That does not work on skis.  It's definitely safer not to canter.

For equipment you will need skis. I find short downhill skis work best. I have the safety harness adjusted to my weight. If you take a bad fall when skijoring you want the safety harness to work and your skis to come off. Maybe cross country skis would work too, but I find them too long. Their length makes it difficult to turn quickly if I have to.
 

There are several different types of harness you can use. The one I really like is my Norwegian harness. It has short tugs from the collar to the D  rings on the outer belly band. (See photo) I attached  ropes to the D rings with  snaps. The rope should be long enough so that the tips of your skis are about six feet from your horse's back legs. You will need two ropes, one on either side of your horse. Each rope has a snap on one end attached to a D ring. The other end is attached to a handle. The handle should be about 14 inches long.  The handle can be made from an old broomstick or a one inch piece of dowel. Plastic chain also works well  instead of rope. I attach each rope or chain to the handle with a wood screw in the end of the handle. The left chain or rope will be attached to one end of the handle and the right chain or rope will be attached to the other end of the handle.  Another type of harness you can use is a common driving harness. All you have to do is extend the length of the tugs with ropes so again the tips of the skis are about six feet away from the horse. You do not need a breeching on a harness to skijor. If you leave the breeching on, use trace hangers that keep the traces up off the ground and not under the feet of the horse. Whatever harness you use, your lines have to be long enough to reach from you to the bridle of the horse. Light rope lines work well.

  

      For your first few skijoring attempts, have someone ride your horse and tie a single tug directly onto the saddle. My Australian saddle has a strong D ring on the back of it. This D ring is normally used to attach a crupper to the saddle.  If you can't connect directly to the saddle, connect to the cinch. Use straps with  rings, on both sides of the horse. You will need two tugs.  The straps go around the cinch and the rope tugs are snapped into the rings.  Hame straps with rings  work well. (See photo)  A hame strap is the leather strap you find on the top and bottom of the hames on a work harness.

When driving a horse while skijoring, you have to drive with one hand because the other hand is holding on to the tow bar. In my case, with my right hand being the driving hand, the left rein goes between my index and middle  fingers and the right rein goes between my baby and ring finger.  My left hand is holding the tow bar but it is also holding the ends of the reins. The ends of the reins go over the tow bar and under my left thumb. If I have to adjust the reins in my right hand, I can hold the reins with my left thumb while I make the adjustment. It sounds a little tricky but you will catch on quickly.

When you are ready to start, put your RIDING HELMET on and be sure you have someone leading the horse. It is a good idea to start on a flat surface because you don't want to ever glide forward and hit your horse'legs with the skis. This could end up with your horse kicking and maybe even a runaway. When you are skijoring and your horse stops suddenly, you must turn quickly to avoid hitting him. If need be, just fall and you will stop quickly.

Once you are accustomed to skijoring it can be a lot of fun. Driving down a laneway or on a lake in fresh snow is something special.  To test your driving and skiing abilities, set up a cones course in an open field and have a blast. If you are really good, set up a jump.

Be safe and have fun.

I’M IMPRESSED 

Top ten stallions evaluated in the NFHR

Take a look at the Stallion Photo Gallery in the North America Record Book, Volume 2!  61 stallions have been evaluated and approved in North America under the NFHR evaluation program.   In addition there are at least 8 stallions here in North America, evaluated and approved as breeding stallions in their countries of origin before being imported! We have 69 plus excellent choices for breeding and improving our general gene pool.

 Compare this to Denmark’s 52 stallions standing at stud.

 Compare this to Norway and Holland- similar numbers to Denmark.

 Thanks to AI and Fed-ex Overnight Service, everyone in North America has access to this incredible gene pool.  (AI does work.  In 2004 Prydarson bred 6 mares by AI and 5 conceived.  In 2005, 7 bred and 6 conceived.)

Over the last 20 years many of Norway, Denmark, Holland, Sweden and Germany’s best stallions and mares have come to North America.  These imports are sons, grandsons, daughters, and grand-daughters of the top breeding stallions in Europe.  Many of our imports have produced top quality offspring in their country of origin. 

Note: In 2004 “Fjord of the Year” in Denmark was Marcus, son of Fernando owned by the Howard and Sophie Fiedler and standing in the mid-west.

 Note: In 2005, Ljosprins, high point 8 year old in Norway, was fathered by Felix, one of my imports, now owned by Susan Cargill and standing in the mid-west.  And these are just a couple of examples.

We don’t appreciate what we’ve got.  Our gene pool is not being used effectively.  If these stallions were standing in a European country, each would have had 25 plus breedings.  Here, many mare owners go to backyard breedings.  It’s a shame.

 So why not have fun this spring looking for that perfect stallion for your mare?  The record book is a perfectly good place to start.

 Pat Wolfe

www.patwolfefjords.com

p.s. My former stallion Prydarson, now owned by Kelly MacDonald in Nova Scotia, Canada, is high point stallion of the 61 stallions in our record book!  

WHAT EXACTLY DOES A BLUE RIBBON

MEAN TO A FJORD BREEDER?

...By Pat Wolfe

...By Pat Wolfe

by Pat Wolfe

32 years ago I had an opportunity to drive a horse and sleigh on ice.  I was hooked.  There is nothing to compare with flying down a frozen river with your horse trotting as fast as he can motor.  Since then, every December I start checking the thickness of the ice, waiting for the day I can hitch and go.

Driving on ice can be a lot of fun but it can be dangerous for you and your horse, if you aren’t careful. Here are a few things to be aware of.

Your first concern is the thickness of the ice.  I use a cordless electric drill with a ½ inch drill bit at least 12 inches long.  I test the ice everywhere I will be driving.  You have to be more careful in some areas than others. Anywhere water is flowing under the ice, and anywhere in the vicinity of a beaver house, drill many test holes.  I will not put a horse on ice that is not six inches thick.   

Secondly, winter shoes are a must for your horse.  If you do not use the correct shoes your horse can slip and do major damage to his muscles and tendons.  All four shoes must have corks in them.  I use the rivet type.  Make sure you use four corks for each shoe, two in the toe and one on each heel.  I also use snow pads between the foot and the shoe.  This keeps wet snow from building up in the foot.  When snow builds up, the corks will not make contact with the ice and the horse is liable to slip.  

Thirdly, choose your vehicle well.  You need a sleigh that is stable if you drive on sheer ice.  My Norwegian sleigh is fantastic.  It trails behind the horse really well and does not slide from side to side.  Only use a vehicle that has shaves or a pole.  Never use a stone-boat on ice.  Be careful when driving a bobsleigh. The back end can slide around and meet the front.

Finally, drive straight to keep your vehicle from sliding, especially when you fly.  Make your turns only while driving slowly; at a walk is the safest way.  If you turn with any speed, you risk the shaves or pole knocking the horse off his feet causing a nasty accident. 

Our Trip to Denmark

by Pat Wolfe   

My wife Jane and I just returned home from a shopping trip to Denmark.  There we purchased two gorgeous young fillies and a “conformation plus” six year old mare. As if this wasn’t enough, we enjoyed a horse experience money can’t buy.

From early morning until late at night we crisscrossed Denmark, seeing more of the countryside and its people than most visitors ever see, and more horses than you’d believe possible.

We were met at Arhus Airport by Birgit Mortensen, secretary of the Danish Fjord Association.  For the next four days, this knowledgeable woman and other members of the Danish Fjord Association treated us like royalty. Birgit, on her own time, translated for us and took us to farm after farm where we ate delicious Danish specialties including “real” Danish pastries, and drank incredible amounts of coffee.  And what we saw on all the farms impressed us no end. 

There are 50 licensed Fjord stallions in Denmark and we were privileged to visit 14 of them.  Two things about these Danish stallions really impressed me:  first how gentle they were, and second how well they moved at the trot.

These stallions acted like pussycats.  Not one of their owners used a stud shank. One of the best breeding stallions in the country, Orion, was shown to us by the owner’s mother.  He was led past mares with only a rope lead shank.  Another very good stallion, Abel, was led, again past mares, with one of the owner’s fingers through his halter ring.  We saw this gentleness repeated in all the stallions we visited.  They were housed right beside mares and geldings.  I personally agree that stallions need to be close to other horses, not necessarily nose to nose but within a few feet.  Stallions, like all horses, get very lonely and worried when out of sight of other horses.

And could these Danish stallions ever trot! There was one particular two year old called Fuzzy Stanstorp that could really fly.  I have never seen a Fjord move as well as this guy could.  Another stallion with a beautiful trot was Fjordens Marcus, not surprisingly the 2004 Fjord of the year in Denmark.  We had him in an arena for half an hour and he spent most of this time on his own just cruising around the rail at a wonderful extended trot.  What a site that was.

After Birgit picked us up at the airport, our first stop was historical Vilhelmsborg, one of the largest equestrian centres in Europe, a lovely estate with facilities of high international standard.  We were treated to lunch in the converted blacksmith shop of the attached nineteenth century farm. Vilhelmsborg is where the annual stallion evaluation and the performance test are held. Next year the 65^th Studbook Jubilee will be held on these grounds and Jane and I hope to be there. 

After lunch we visited Claus Brokholm in Thorso.  Claus has 30 Fjords on his farm.  It was a pleasure to see so many good mares and fillies at one time.  The only disappointment for me was that the filly I liked best was not for sale.  This was to happen many times during this trip.

Our next stop was the Birken Riding School in Skingstrup.  Here we met Jens Hoegh and Helle Graves.  I’m a stallion man and when we walked into the barn and saw five licensed stallions stalled side by side my mouth dropped open.  Here is where we saw Fjordens Marcus.  He was the one who floated around the arena on his own for half an hour.  I was really impressed.  His father is Kastanjegardens Fernando, now in Illinois and owned by the Sophie and Howard Fiedler.  Another very nice young stallion in the stable was Vikkelsoe’s  I.P., a two and a half year old who placed third at the 2004 Danish evaluation and received a breeding license.

We came to the riding school primarily to see three yearling fillies.  The one I really liked was Birken’s Morel.  This filly has wonderful movements and a very large engine in the back.  She has tons of energy and can really motor.  I immediately put her on my possibility list.

That first evening we stayed in the same village of Skingstrup in an old school house, the G.I. Skole, now a B&B.  We enjoyed a wonderful fish stew dinner with Helle, Jens, Claus and Birgit. Here was my chance to talk about Fjords in Denmark.

On Day Two we traveled to the west side of Denmark to visit Birte and Knud Bjerre at Spoettrup.  The Bjerres are presently building a new house overlooking a fjord, the geographical kind.  What a beautiful ocean view!  They have 18 horses and we looked particularly at three good-looking yearling fillies.  Each was from a different father: Birk Halsnaes, Citrus Klattrup and Halskovs Vulkan.  I find it fascinating to meet the stallions and then see what they throw.  Here we also experienced our first taste of “real” Danish pastries.  They were marvelous and quite different from what we get at home.

Next stop was Neils Bisgaard’s farm in Redsted Mors.  Here we met Dennis Bisgaard and his girl friend Ditte who owns a beautiful filly, with a score of nine, a full sister to Fernando, and, unfortunately, not for sale.  We also met the stallion, Cadeau Halsnaes, sire of many good young horses. After visiting Dennis we went on to meet his brother, Carsten, and looked at a few more nice fillies but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for.

That evening we stayed with Birgit and enjoyed a wonderful meal and visit with Niels Mortensen, a senior Danish evaluator, and his wife, Anna.  Niels and I compared notes on the North American and Danish evaluation programs.

After a 7 am start on Day Three we stopped at the farm of  Lone and Jes Boesen in Horsens.  Three stallions are stationed here.  The stallion I was excited to see was Golf Gudena.  In 2004, many of his get did really well at the final evaluation. They came first and second place in the two year old stallion class, and second and third in the three year old stallion class.  He had three of the top ten in the two year old mare finals: second, fifth and sixth places. Golf is a very up-headed stallion and he moves well.  He passes these traits on to his offspring. We saw three more very nice fillies at this farm before we were off to visit Jorgen Juhl in Fredericia.

Jorgen had a six year old mare he wanted us to see.  Her name is Hirse.  She was a very nice looking mare but I told him I was looking for a young filly.  Just as I told him I wasn’t interested I heard this voice behind me say, “I’ll take her.”  The voice came from my wife Jane.  I thought I was the one shopping for a horse, but Hirse became number one on our list to go to Canada.  I’ve since had a chance to check her lineage and I’m impressed with Jane’s good horse judgment.  Hirse’s father is Citrus Klatrop, a top breeding stallion.  Her grand-father is Pikant Halsnes, holder of the highest score ever in the Danish studbook. Her sister was the first place four year old mare and Hirse, herself a first class mare, received a 9 for type. 

Over a delicious lunch with the Mortensens, Niels and I continued our conversation about evaluation programs and then Niels showed us Halskovs Aera, the number one, two year old mare for 2004.  She has a beautiful head, lovely movement and great conformation, but, surprise, surprise, not for sale. 

Our next stop was Jens Kristensen’s farm at Ringkobingvej.  We saw Jens’ 20 Fjords and his stallion Abel Stanstorp.  He is a very gentle stallion with a wonderful trot.  Abel gave his trot to the three young fillies Jens had for sale.  They were lovely but I was still waiting for the perfect one who would say, “Take me home.”

The sun was setting as we headed for the home of Vivian and Jens Erik Skott at Hamborggardsvej where Vivian had a traditional Danish supper waiting for us.  We had high rounded spiced ground meat patties covered with onions and gravy and topped with a fried egg.  They were delicious.  Then the whole family came out with us to see the horses.  We were very impressed when young Simon and Therese automatically put on their hard hats to go into the barn.  We’ll make this a rule at home for our grandchildren.  While the adults looked at Fjords, the children played with their miniature Shetlands.  Jane was all for adding a few of these to the shopping list, but I was more interested in the grey fillies.  One of these fillies, Vikkelsoee’s Kunst, is coming home with our three.  She will be going to Russ Rasmussen in New Brunswick, Canada.

Day Four came all too soon.  This was our last chance to look for the perfect filly.  The day started at Helene Lund Frederiksen’s farm, home of the stallion, Orion Halsnaes.  Orion was led out by Helene’s mother, Karin.  I was so impressed at how gentle he was.  Karin led him past many mares in standing stalls with just a lead shank and no chain over his nose.  There was a beautiful filly by Orion in the barn but, again, she was not for sale.  They sure like to keep the good ones.

Our next stop was at Trille and Peder Lindberg’s in Sandved.  Here we saw the first place two and a half year old stallion for 2004, Mosegardens Kejser.  His father is Golf.  Also in the barn was the second place two and a half year old mare, Katrinedals Isabell, also by Golf. They did have a very good nine month old filly by Golf for sale,  Mosegaardens Bine.  I liked her a lot so she was put onto my possibility list.  Then we headed for the house and more of the Danish hospitality we found everywhere: good strong coffee, fresh rolls baked especially for us by Trille and Peder’s daughter, and the delectable Danish cheese we had at every stop.

Next on the itinerary was lunch with Jette and Flemming Strange-Hansen.  Flemming is Chairman of the Denmark Fjord Horse Association and an evaluator.   After lots of horse talk we headed out to the barn to see 28 year old Caesar Halsnaes.  This stallion is the last breeding son in Denmark of the famous Rei Halsnaes.  There is one other son owned by a German family and standing presently in the UK.  Practically every horse born in Denmark today has Caesar Halsnaes in their pedigree.  Old Caesar was in excellent condition and it was a pleasure to see him.  Flemming has many older horses at his farm, most of them born there.  His older mares have produced some top quality animals, however, there were no fillies for sale.

We were off after lunch to a nearby farm to visit with Camilla and Freddy Larsen at Svinninge.  Here we saw a very nice filly from Abel. Kia Enghaven is coming two years old, just the age I was looking for.  She has very good movements so I put her on the list.  I now had three to consider.

Our next stop was just down the road.  Michael Ravn had a filly by Golf, just coming two, a full sister to the mare that placed second in the 2004 final mares’ class.  As I walked into the barn I caught sight of the filly at the same time as I heard her say very clearly, and amazing as this sounds, in perfect English, “Take me home.”  Luckily, Katrinedals Vanessa was for sale because she went to the top on my list.  She had lots of presence and was overall as good a mare as her full sister. Now we were getting somewhere, and it wasn’t just down to the wire.

Leaving Vanessa behind for the moment, we were off to our next stop, the farm of Annette Fredslund in St. Merlose.  Annette owns the stallion, Idon Busklund.  Annette and some of her students put on a show for us and free jumped Idon easily four feet.  It was an impressive performance, especially as they say Idon also jumps four feet with a rider.  Annette also had a nice young filly for us to see.  The sun was setting on our last day as we headed towards the town of Gislinge and the last farm of our trip.

Jane and Leif Grimbuhler, another evaluator, had a filly coming two, also from Golf.  This filly was very nice overall and could trot beautifully.  My only concern was her size.  She was a little smaller than what I was looking for. 

Then Leif showed me his flying machine, Fuzzy Stanstorp.  Man could he move, all four feet off the ground and just floating. I have never seen a Fjord move like this guy.  If I had been shopping for a stallion I would certainly have considered bringing him home.

The sun was down on our last day and supper was on the table.  On the way to the house Leif told me he also had a very special nine month old filly stabled at a neighbors across the way.  She was not for sale, Leif continued, but perhaps I would like to have a look at her?  This filly’s father was Marcus, Fjord of the year in 2004, her grandfather was Kastanjegardens Fernando, Fjord of the year in 1998 and 1999, and now living in Illinois, and her great-grandfather was Orion Halsnaes, stallion of the year in 1997 and her great-great grandfather was Knast Halsnaes, Fjord of the year in 1988.  What a lineage!  She was just across the road in another barn and Leif’s wife was calling us in, but who can resist seeing just one more Fjord? 

Well guess what?  Young Emmeline had also been practicing her “Take me home,” and she is now on her way to Canada with Hirse and Vanessa. They will arrive on April 7th.

a logging lesson
with pat wolfe

text and photos by Ruth Freeman & Dana Whittle

This article originally appeared in the Spring 1999,
Year 4, Issue 12 of The Draft Horse Connection, and
has been reproduced here with permission. It has
been reformatted slightly to fit the web medium.
©1999 by Farmer's Daughter Publishing.

We visited Pat on his farm in the tiny town of Ashton, Ontario. He and his wife Jane Beall live in a lovely old fieldstone farmhouse built in 1839. The barn is of square log construction and he has adapted the interior to suit his horses' needs. Our visit was to include a logging session with his imported six-year old Norwegian Fjord stallion, Felix, who had never before worked in the bush. It was snowing lightly all day long and we had a wonderful time learning from and watching Pat as he worked with Felix (who was an equally wonderful host). We also had some great sleighrides behind Felix as well as Pat's team of Fjord geldings, Donder and Haakon, who just happen to be one of Canada's top competitive driving pairs (needless to say, they move right along!). Pat and Jane have six Fjord horses and two ponies. Pat is owner and director of the Pat Wolfe Log Building School (see ad this issue). In addition to logging and doing a variety of farm work with his Fjords, he regularly competes in North American combined driving events. He has won many events with these versatile horses--together they have been named 1996 Canadian Men's Pleasure Driving Champion, 1997 Canadian Pairs Grand Champion and the 1998 Canadian Pairs Reserve Champion. The first part of our visit included a taped conversation about Pat and his history.

My first experience with horses was when I was ten or twelve years old and I helped the neighbours in Kitchener drive the teams for threshing. This gave the farmer a chance to get off the wagon and put sheaves on. This is where I thought I always wanted a horse. I did this for a few years. When I got married, I wanted a horse and I wanted to build a log house. I put this all together and in 1970 we moved to British Columbia. I bought a drafty quarter horse named Prince to move the logs around. This is where I started. I learned to build log houses in British Columbia and when I came home I decided to create a log building school.

    I came back to the London, Ontario area for about a year and decided I wanted to get back into the horse world. The only horse I could afford was a seven-month old, grade baby at the sale yard. I had never worked with babies before but I kept him for a year, started him and trained him to drive. I had a fair number of Morgans, mostly stallions. I like stallions because they have a little extra high headedness and alertness, which is good for the show ring.

    After living in London I moved to MacDonalds Corners. This was a back-to-the-land sort of thing and also the time I bought my first Fjord, from New York in 1979. I went down and picked up the Fjord, Rolf, and then my eight-year old daughter and I moved onto the farm, all on the same day! We moved into a tent. I had made this type of move once before but the difference this time was I had a little girl with me. I needed Rolf to skid the logs to build the house. This was in September, and by November we had the house built, put the roof on and moved in. I still had a Morgan at this time so I had to make a decision as to which breed I wanted, so I stayed with the Fjords.

    I had always worked with one horse and decided I wanted to learn more so I participated in the Eastern Ontario Workhorse Workshop, in Athens, Ontario. I took the workshop two years running in 1981 and 1982, and 1983 I became a teamster for the course. I wanted to learn all I could about working with horses. It is like the log building course I teach; I can give the people all the information and instruction in ten weeks, but it takes them another two years to learn the skills. But being involved with the workshop also gave me the opportunity to be around horse people sharing a similar interest. I made some good friends there and eighteen years later I'm still good friends with Aden Freeman and John Male. 

Basic training

Pat starts his horses at about 1-1/2 years old but spends lots of time before this doing obedience training: tying, picking up feet, leading, grooming and reinforcing good behaviour in the youngster. He starts formal training in a round pen and has a special technique of working on the leadline with a chain leadshank under the horse's chin. He teaches the horse to follow his body movements, moving forward and backward with him. Both of us went home and tried this technique with our young and older horses and were amazed at the immediate results! A part of this technique's success is that it demands the constant attention of the animal. Dana's eight-month old Fjord even seemed to see it as a sort of game in which he had to stay right there with her in order to "win."

    Pat's next steps include longeing in the round pen and unlike many horse farmers, riding. He considers this a major step in his training program stressing its value in providing important personal contact with the horse and another opportunity to work on responding to commands: whoa, gee, haw, back, stand and getting the feeling of the reins or lines.

    Once he has the horse responding comfortably, he introduces it to a vehicle with shaves. Later on, he will hook the horse as a team with another, experienced horse. He stresses again that teaching a horse to stand quietly is crucial to having a pleasurable, safe driving horse. He also feels that teaching the horse to back is important for these same reasons.

A lesson in the bush

It was time to head out to the training site with Felix, a six-year old stallion. This was to be his first day working in the bush. He was harnessed with a heavy breast collar harness, called a marathon harness in competitive circles. Today, Felix was just going to learn the basics and wouldn't pull any really heavy weight--he would be outfitted later with a collar for tougher work. As is Pat's habit, Felix's halter was left on in addition to the bridle so he could be tied up if Pat decided to cut more logs with the chain saw.

    Felix's previous training consisted of obedience work, riding and driving. In fact, we hooked him to a sleigh to get out to the lesson site, where Pat had already felled a few trees and prepared the equipment to be used (chain saw, swingletree, chains, etc.). Pat stressed the importance of teaching the horse to stand quietly, no matter what you are doing. He demonstrated this training by leaving Felix unrestrained in the middle of the logging road as he went into a small barn looking for additional equipment, reemerging and hooking Felix to the sleigh. This training is especially important if you must work alone with your horses.

    Before attempting to hook in the woods, you must introduce your horse to all sorts of noises and experiences: the sound of the chainsaw, chains clanking and bouncing, branches hitting the legs. Logging can be very spooky for a green horse. If possible, a round pen is an ideal and safe place to begin introducing him to these things. Felix had already been introduced to the whippletree dragging on the ground and his lesson today started with the chainsaw. Pat kept the end of the lines draped over his arm as he walked all around Felix, revving the saw but not completely starting it. He showed it to Felix in a nonchalant manner so as not to make too big of a deal out of it--as if to say "it's just another tool, like a broom or pitch-fork." Then he started it up, standing behind Felix and a bit off to the side. Felix listened carefully and with interest to the whole process but didn't move an inch. His obedience training and trust in Pat paid off here. Pat also noted that it is a good practice, when working away from the barnyard, to stand your horse facing away from the barn, if only to remove the obvious temptation.

    All this time, the traces were hooked to the whippetree, which lay on the ground behind him. Pat always kept the lines within easy reach. He prefers to work with shorter, rather than long, lines (which many horse loggers prefer) and keeps them attached. While this requires being careful not to get them hooked on a stump, he believes it is even easier to loose a line when you stumble or fall in deep snow or difficult footing. He's made this decision out of his own experience working with horses in the woods. Pat shows us another trick: how he has trained Felix to "come off" the trace. When Pat puts pressure on Felix's leg with the trace, Felix gently moves away from the pressure. This technique saves time and doesn't require the teamster to "drive" the horse into position to hook to the log--in addition, only the hind end moves. This kind of training helps to precisely position the horse in what can be difficult and dangerous working conditions.

    Pat likes to adjust the trace length so that the whippletree misses the horse by just three or four inches when he steps out. This prevents Felix from being hit on the heels but ensures that a log behind him will stay neatly on the track, even around tight corners, reducing the risk of cutting a corner and overshooting the track. Pat also taught us another little trick to avoid hooking a dragging whippletree on stumps and bumps in the trail: when he comes upon an obstacle in the trail, he steps lightly on the chain for a moment, lifting the whippletree a few inches off the ground and effectively skipping over the obstacle.

    Once Felix had been through a few minutes of ground driving with the whippletree--the logging road was sheer ice; Pat appeared to be "water-skiing" behind him at times--we headed into the bush, breaking through knee-deep snow. Pat made two tracks, one for the horse to walk on and one for him (and in this case, us). A few trips in and out got Felix used to the sensation, which didn't appear to bother him one bit.

    Pat then instructed us on hooking logs, continuing the lesson outside of the wooded area so that Felix could first feel the load of the log on a flat surface.

    When skidding a log, the teamster should always walk on the trail that is to the outside of the log, to avoid being knocked over on turns. If the trail turns, stop the horse and switch sides. Don't step on the log while switching sides and never step on it if it is moving, for obvious reasons! Pat tell us that you should walk just behind the head of the log so that you can always see what is happening and avoid problems. He practices ground driving with a log, turning left and right to accustom the horse to this kind of manoeuvering on a snowy or rough track with weight behind him.

    When you arrive at your destination with the log, it is helpful if you have trained your horse to set the whippletree down on the ground to make unhooking the logs easier. It is very easy to get hurt doing this job--fingers can get caught in chains and between logs so anything you can do to reduce the risk is worth the extra training effort. When Felix comes out of the bush with his first log, Pat asks him to whoa and he steps back a half step, setting the whippletree down and taking pressure off the chain. Next, Pat unhooks the chain from the whippletree. Very important to do this first!

    During the course of the lesson, Pat asked Felix to make five or six trips in and out of the bush in fairly deep snow, pulling only light logs. He gradually added a second log, increasing the draft needed, to give Felix a taste of "real" work and see how he responded to this greater demand. Pat had warned us that probably Felix would resist a bit on the second or third trip in, a common reaction with a green horse who has begun to realize that this was going to be actual work, but this never occured. Felix passed with flying colors, remaining happy and interested and always listening attentively to Pat, even with the two of us chasing them in and out of the woods with our tape recorder and cameras, a training distraction if ever there was one!

After our enlightening visit, I went home and began experimenting with Pat's lead-line training technique on my own horses and was amazed at the immediate results. I think that a part of this technique's success is the fact that it demands constant attention from the animal. In fact, it is really all about teaching your horse to stay focused on you (it could be compared to methods used with kindergarteners, who are easily distracted and have a short attention span). Our eight-month old Fjord colt seemed to see it as a sort of enjoyable game--it engaged him right away and he began to make a visible effort to stay right there with me--and this responsive behaviour is carrying over into other things we do together. I suspect that Pat's technique would also be excellent for horses who are prone to the "who's-leading-who" syndrome. --DW

 

When preparing to skid a log, always hook to the horse LAST, putting the chain on the log and leaving the horse free until you are ready for him to pull. When unhooking, the reverse applies: always unhook the chain from the horse FIRST.   The hook should always lie flat.   Hook about one foot back on the log. This helps prevent the log from flipping end-for-end if it should catch on something while skidding.   First, go under the log with the chain.   Then, go back around and under it again so that you are lifting the log when you finally hook to the whippletree.

Keep the swivel just ahead of the log.   When all is set, hook to the whippletree.   When skidding a big log, cut a "shoe" or angle on the bottom of the log with a chainsaw. This prevents the head of the log from catching on roots or rocks. The shoe angles up, making the log head into a kind of "fishhead" shape. Be sure to hook the chain on the top of the log.   Always walk outside of the log, changing sides care-fully when necessary as the trail turns.   Walk just behind the head of the log so you can always see what's coming.

IMPORTING BREEDING STALLIONS FROM NORWAY

...By Pat Wolfe

...By Pat Wolfe

I FIRST MET RALPH in September of 1980. I'm sure that we both remember the day well. I was fairly new to horses and Ralph, at 9 years old, had never done a day's work in his life. It was 6:00 a.m. in Cold Springs, New York. It was still dark. Ralph was loaded and we started down the lane. I suddenly realized I didn't know his name. I rolled down the window and yelled back to Wendy O'Brien, "What's his name?" I thought I heard, "Ralph!" A month later ROLF'S papers arrived but it was too late. He was a Ralph and he still is. We had an eventful first 24 hours together. Wendy had given me the wrong border crossing papers. I realized this half way to the Canadian border. I badly needed a vet who could issue federal papers. A couple of hours later we were on the road again but that wasn't the end of our troubles. I had to get those papers stamped. That meant two hours back to Albany or reaching the border before the wet's quitting time. We made it to the border with five minutes to spare, yet it was another three hours before we were allowed into Canada. It is certainly easier today.   Then we got lost in Montreal, and finally arrived in McDonalds Corners, near Ottawa at 10 p.m., a tired new horse owner and a very tired horse. Home that fall was a tent on 100 acres and no fencing. I left Ralph off at neighbors in their foolproof, or so I thought, paddock. At 7 a.m. my neighbor arrived in a hurry breaking the news to me that Ralph had escaped! There was an old chicken coop with two very small doors in it. This big fat Fjord had managed to squeeze through. I found him in two minutes, in a very lush hay field behind their house. Ralph was bought for one reason: winter was coming and I needed a house. Ralph's job description was log skidder. Now the trouble started. I had one big fat lazy Fjord who had never worked for a living and much less seen a harness. It sure was fun getting him skidding those heavy logs.    However, by the time the house was built, he had accepted the fact that he was going to work most of his life. He is now 23 years old and is still skidding logs for a living. For ten years on that farm Ralph skidded logs for our house, his house, all the outbuildings, firewood and all the logs for my log building business. He also ploughed and disked and harrowed 10 acres of land all by himself. I had a driveway that was half a mile long. I used Ralph hitched to a V plough to keep it clear of snow. Many times I got stuck in the snow with the car. You know who pulled me out. It was a little tricky hanging out a window driving the horse and the car at the same time. I remember one time when I was stuck in the mud with my truck, right up to the axles. Ralph tried a couple of times and couldn't move it. If a load doesn't move the first time, he is reluctant to try a second time. I had to trick him into thinking the load was lighter. The truck was stuck on the rise of a little hill. I took a 100 foot nylon rope, tied one end onto the truck and Ralph to the other end over the hill. He thought it was great pulling down the hill. By the time the rope stretched he was pulling quite hard and the truck just popped out of the mud. The best times I had with Ralph were the winters. We used to go sleigh riding at night in full moonlight. We had a creek that was quite winding. It was great sleigh riding when the creek was frozen and windblown. We would put corks on Ralph for traction. He could surely fly around the comers on the creek. It was great fun. We still take Ralph out on Christmas Eve and visit our neighbors. And he still brings home the Christmas tree. Ralph loves children. When our daughter, Janeva, was nine years old she would harness Ralph by herself and drive him two miles down the road to play with a girl friend. She would tie Ralph to the fence post for a couple of hours and then head for home. Our son, Christopher, when he was 13, would take a couple of his buddies and Ralph five miles down a busy country road to the local swimming hole for an afternoon. Ralph has given many pony rides in his day. When school groups come to the building site for visits, Ralph is always the biggest hit. Ralph not only likes children, he likes and protects young horses. For this reason he has been a great help to me in starting young horses. In fact, Ralph and I have started fifteen or more beginners. He will stand in one spot while I hitch and he gives the beginner great confidence. I start by putting Ralph and the young horse in the same pasture for a few weeks, so they can get to know each other. When I finally go to hitch, I always tie the youngster to Ralph's hames using a lead shank. I make the length of the lead shank just long enough so that I will always have control of Ralph. If the young horse bolts, he will hit the end of the lead shank before his head passes Ralph's. If I didn't have control of Ralph, he would run with the young horse.

Ralph not only starts young horses, he has been my teaching partner in Workhorse and Pleasure Driving Training Clinics. We worked with Lyn Miller from Small Farmers Journal. My wife, Jane, was one of our students who fell in love with Ralph and decided to stay. Ralph also insisted on bringing us home from the church in a cutter after our wedding. It was 20 degrees below zero that day. When we moved farms and were organizing new barns, for a time Ralph was left behind in a field at the old farm. He adopted an unusual new friend, for a horse. He became very close to a little red banty rooster. They were inseparable all that summer. It was a comical sight to see the two friends pacing the field together, never more than a few feet apart. And at night the banty would roost on a beam just above Ralph in the old barn. When I purchased Ralph, I had two black, full brother Morgan stallions, Nick and Diamond. I started both of them with Ralph. When the Morgans were 3 and 4 years old I decided that having two breeds was too much. It took me two months to decide whether to keep fat Ralph or the beautiful, matched pair of Morgans. One day it was Fjords, and the next it was Morgans. We all know which it turned out to be. The decision came one spring day when I was planting a hedge of cedar trees around the garden. I had Ralph hitched to a stone boat loaded with trees - He was standing on the field side of an electric fence and I was working in the garden on the opposite side. While I was planting trees, a friend came by for a visit. When he let his young German Shepherd dog, Thor, out of the car, my Black Lab, Molly, came running to greet him. The young dog was afraid of Molly and ran for cover, under Ralph. Both dogs were barking wildly and Ralph just stood there watching. Suddenly Thor realized he was under a horse. He stopped barking and backed into the electric fence. He let out a wild scream and came flying out from under Ralph. Ralph still just stood there. Nick and Diamond would have been long gone. The next day there was an ad for a matched pair of Morgans in the Morgan magazine. Ralph had a great adventure in 1987, the year that Jane and I spent in France. While we were away, ninety year old Henry Judd looked after Ralph. This man never owned a vehicle and lived alone on his family farm. He would harness Ralph once a week and take the family buggy (65 years old) six miles to town to get the mail and weekly groceries. There was a big fall fair every year and Henry wanted to be in the parade. He spent hours getting Ralph ready and then lay down for a nap. When he woke up several hours later, he realized that he was almost too late to make it. He ran Ralph into town, just managing to join in at the last minute. When it was over he left for home not realizing that he and Ralph had won first prize in the parade contest. He was too deaf to hear the announcement. He heard the news next day when the Ottawa newspaper came out to take his and Ralph's picture. That year was sure a holiday for Ralph. Henry liked Ralph a lot and Ralph liked Henry and Henry's old pet cow. Henry would feed the chickens a handful of grain and Ralph and the cow would get a quart. Ralph gained over 350 pounds and weighed 1500 when we returned, pretty heavy for a 14 hand horse. His neck was like a rock. It took a full year to get him fit again. Besides all the work Ralph has done for me over the past 15 years, he has given me a lot of fun and success in the show ring. Woodstock has been our favorite show. He has been to Woodstock eight years and in that time has never come home without a blue ribbon. He has won several times in singles and pairs, in gamblers choice, cones, cross country, obstacles, log skid, stone boat pull and farm versatility classes. He has won the Valdor trophy many times and has brought home many championships for singles and pairs. At home this year at the Canadian Driving Classic Show he won seconds and thirds in the pair pony classes. In his last show this year at our local fair, he was first and second place winner in the driving classes in the morning and first place beating the big draft horses in the log skidding competition in both single and team classes in the afternoon. He was also first place in the team "backing up through pylons" competition. 1994 is Ralph's retirement year from showing. He is 23 years old and the long trips to the shows are now too much for him. At home though, he still pulls logs just as hard as the young horses. And presently I have three young horses to start in harness. So Ralph and I are still a partnership and we're going to have a busy winter. You would have to go a long way to find a horse with a heart like Ralph's.

FJORDS MAKE IT BIG TIME AT THE CANADIAN CARRIAGE DRIVING CLASSIC

...By Pat Wolfe

Pasture Notes

...By Dave McWethy