>>>> while i fully agree on the nutrition and healthcare part, don't you feel that iceys are on the VERY EASY end of "horse" in management and especially in training? while i would never dream of starting an untrained "big horse" (or riding many a trained one, for that matter), starting Icey youngsters is fun. the young "big" horses of some of my friends (who are much better riders than i) take quite long times and lots of directed work to become dependable trail mounts, but the two Icey youngsters i have started have both basically begged to be taught and then progress amazingly quickly, and safely. don't you find that also?
Overall, yes, absolutely - that's what converted me to the breed. But there are a few pretty easy big horses out there. The very last young "big horse" I worked with was a young QH, that we started under saddle at age four - I'd had him since he was a weanling. He was awfully easy too. I sold him to a couple of friends, and the wife, a beginner rider, took him to be her horse. He was seven when I sold him, ten now, and she and her grandkids ride him now. I think I see a LOT more Icelandic's like this, but there are easy horses of other breeds. And while I haven't encountered a really difficult Icelandic, I'd have to admit that some aren't quite as easy as others, particularly if they were started roughly and need to gain confidence in humans again. I take the attitude that you assume first that they are "horses", then thank your lucky stars on the issues where they are extremely easy and sensible. :) Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
