>>>> 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]
