>>> Was your Skjoni North American bred? Or was he imported from Iceland? If he was an untrained 4 year old imported from "only excellent breeding" Iceland, why did he develop "trust issues"?
First Trish, I won't even tell Cary that you called Skjoni "your" when talking to someone else! He might have to go visit you and set you straight on that one. :) Skjoni is Cary's horse, and they are a match made in heaven. It will take a major health issue or some other major misfortune for us to ever offer Skjoni for sale. I will always be thankful to Christine for her quiet encouragement of our buying him to be Cary's horse. Christine doesn't waste a lot of words, but I've found that when she says something, it's usually meaningful and important. I've never felt like she held anything back from me - most certainly not about Skjoni. The proof is in the pudding now, since he's been her for pushing three years now. Skjoni (RAUDSKJONI FRA FITAMYRI) was born in British Columbia, Canada, bred (and I believe initially trained) by Arnold Faber. I've never met Arnold, but he's been around the North American Icelandic scene for many years. I'm sure many people on the list know him, or his reputation. I heard that Skjoni had "trust issues" before we got him, but you've seen him. You know he's a low-key, easy-going horse - now. Skjoni is a little more stoic than some Icelandic horses - but not as stoic as some others either. It may be notable that we never ride with a dropped noseband, we don't crank his head up to get him to tolt, but let him do it his way, we don't shoe him, and we've been super-careful about his saddle fit. But, we do that with all our horses - and we've seen no trust issues on Skjoni's part. Coincidence? It's really no one's business, but we're an open book regarding our horses. Here's his pedigree: http://tinyurl.com/2v6b6o I have no preconceptions as to whether it's a "good" pedigree or a "bad" one. Who cares, he's a gelding, and he's a wonderful horse, perfect for Cary's needs and personality. >>> The breeder who said he should be euthanized, was that one of the indiscriminate North American breeders? Well, knowing what I know about Skjoni, I think maybe I need to find out who that breeder was and go buy all the horses he/she says that about! (I can't help but wonder if it was the same breeder who said that Tivar should be eaten because he's three-gaited...and who said that we shouldn't check on our about-to-deliver mares more often than every eight hours.) You know, if Skjoni HAD been such a nervous horse, don't you think I might have mentioned it here? Heavens, I've freely talked about issues with Loftur, Tivar, Svertla, Gracie... Why wouldn't I have talked about Skjoni's past, had I thought it significant? And much as I think Christine is a good trainer and a good horsewoman, I think if Skjoni's past issues had been THAT bad, I think we would have seen some of it when he came here. I DO think he probably had some trust issues. Most horses revert to their insecurities at least a LITTLE bit when they change homes. He's a good boy, plain and simple, and has been an easy horse since he arrived. And he was well worth the "market value price" we paid for him! ;) Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
