>> One of the first things that was mentioned is that the Icelandic Horse is >> not a pony. > > this is a semantic argument.
He gave the wrong information and it is misleading people and misrepresenting the breed. And it has another effect: How do you think he looks to American horsemen when he says "it's not a pony, it's a horse", and he tries to back up that statement with incorrect information? We have some of owners responding to "Cute pony!" that they hear on the trail, with "It's not a pony, it's a horse!", and the poor people who were trying to be kind, rolling their eyes and keeping their distance from Icelandic owners. This all, in turn, reflects on the breed. There are about 3,000 Icelandics in the US. They came to the US around the same time as Pasos and Fjords. Their numbers have jumped! Ours haven't. I guess that would be OK; I have no vested interest in whether they are popular or not, and some people do NOT want them to be popular because then they would no longer have a "specialty" item; but I bet those who are breeding bunches of babies care! (BTW, there have been LOTS of herd dispersals due to over-breeding Icelandics and not having a market to sell them.) Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
