>>>>> Wow, I've been on this list for three years and don't remember discussions about people being unhappy with their horses. or breeders who sell for color etc. Janice, how many are there in each group? 10 percent of how many?
I think there's a reason for that. A lot of the people who aren't satisfied won't speak up on the lists, particularly on this list. I think most of "us" ARE satisfied, even VERY satisfied. No one is more satisfied than I am. But, I get contacted off-list all along from people wanting me to sell their horses on consignment (which I have NO interest in doing) or take them as rehabs, or who are looking to try one more time to buy, after a bad first attempt - and those owners are rarely reading this list. (Maybe if they had, they wouldn't have made the mistakes they've made...) And, remember, this list isn't always representative of a certain profile of Icelandic owner. I'd wager a good bet that the people on this list are more like a cross-section of informed North American buyers, many of us experienced with multiple breeds, multiple disciplines, while the dissatisfied owners are less "mainstream," even isolated from the rest of the equine world. Judy used to ask the list what we could do to get the breed more "mainstream" and I suspect this is the sort of thing she was referring to, but maybe I'm wrong. I don't want to see the breed "mainstreamed" in the sense that the horses become commodities, but it would be good if more owners were gaining more information from multiple credible sources to achieve a balance of knowledge. I'm preaching to the choir here though - I'm afraid the people who need that advice most aren't really tuned in. As Laree pointed out, bless the new members who are trying to do just what I'm talking about - get informed. May your searches be fruitful! Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
