--- Christopher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >We paid over > $11,000 for him as an un-trained four year > old....... He would have been worth more if we > received him in the condition he is in now..... so a > gelding in the $12,000 to $15,000 range is not > unrealistic......
I do think they have gone down somewhat from there, but the thing is, when people are paying those prices, they are usually paying for the middle-man's commission. If you go to a person in the US, Icelander or not, and they go find you a horse in Iceland, you are paying extra for their time. That's ok, but that and transportation are where these prices come from. Of course domestics don't cost that much. > > Now the reason why the price of Icelandic horses are > dropping is because of the indiscriminate breeding > that is happening in North America..... Anyone with > a Mare and a Stallion think they are breeders..... > regardless of the quality of their bloodlines or > confirmation of the breeding stock......Most horses > that are breed in North America would be eaten in > Iceland.... You may find that thought distasteful > (no pun intended) but that is why this breed of > horses is so special..... Yet in less than one > generation North Americans have destroyed the > quality of this wonderful breed. Ok, I know where you heard this, "they" (generically) tried to get me to join "the cult" too, I resisted and escaped, into a life with much better horsemanship and pleasant times with my horses. So, you know, I have become more experienced with gaited horse, especially after I met some RMH people, and I think I got a perfectly nice Icelandic gelding from a domestic breeder. I also see some domestic breeders out there turning out some nice horses. I also think it would be little difficult to ruin a 1000 year old breed in one generation., that sounds a little far fetched, but I understand, this is what you have been told. Where have you seen these horses that would be eaten, the ones who are so horrible? Actually, I have seen some VERY nice Icelandics who were born and bred in the US. I guess I can see the motivation to tell people this, because if you convince people, usually easier with horse novices, that all the horses in the US are ruined, then they will have to buy a horse from Iceland, hopefully from the person telling them this, so they too can get a "good quality" "Icelandic Horse". I know the pressure, I was heavily pressured. I am not for indiscriminate breeding, but I think a big part of this is just about a click and belonging, and domestics just won't do. > > > > Since I am on my soapbox..... They are called > Icelandic HORSES only because they are horses not > ponies...... Only in America is a pony defined by > height and not ability.... The Icelandic horse is > the only horse that is 12 to 14 HH and can carry a > 250lb man (or Woman) for hours unaffected.... That > would kill most ponies... The rest of the world > calls them horses why do Americans have such a > problem with this..... I can't be pressured into conforming, in fact, the harder someone tries to get me to conform, the more I rebel, so just because the rest of the world does something, doesn't mean I'm doing it, and they are ponies! :) If they aren't ponies, someone tell me what I'm doing with them, because I wanted a pony! Really there are studies that point to Icelandics being closely related to Shetland ponies and the Nordland (I think that's it) pony. I think the point is they are not so closely related with the slim tall horse breeds, like Arabians and Thoroughbreds. Kim
