>>>> I think this is like saying "Let me sell you a naturally gaited Icelandic Horse; and then let me tell you (sell you) how to "fix" him to be able to gait. What does this say about naturally gaited Icelandic Horses?
I'm not so sure it tells us so much about the naturally gaited Icelandic Horse, but more about the "Would you like fries with that burger" mentality we have had shoved at us with re: Icelandic horses. Thank goodness there are enough of "us" now that it doesn't come up on THIS list much any more, but many of us remember the way it's been - you couldn't just buy the Icelandic horse, but you were expected to buy the Icelandic saddle, the Icelandic bridle, your bit had to come from Iceland, and of course, you could only train with folks from Iceland, and only Icelanders knew how to trim and shoe Icelandic feet. Yeah...sort of reminds me of the computer printer industry - I swear they make the bulk of their money on the printer ink and toner, while they virtually give their printers away. Same with the cell phone business - ever notice how they keep changing the adapters for your phone charger so you have to buy all new accessories when you get a new phone? They don't HAVE to do that, you know...they do it because they can. I DO think there are a good number of naturally gaited Icelandic horses...but of course, there are a noticeable number that aren't either. And, as long as we have farriers who are willing to manipulate gait, naïve people won't know what they're breeding, and that sure doesn't help the FUTURE of the naturally gaited Icelandic horse. It DOES make for a bright future for the "gaited horse" farriers - at least as long as new owners keep falling for their hype. Shame on Cornell for falling for the hype. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.32/1131 - Release Date: 11/14/2007 4:54 PM
