>>>The judges made the comment to a friend that brought 2 yearlings from >>>Indiana that you >>>could tell the most about gaits and conformation in the really young foals.
Not with pasterns, you certainly can't! Oh, wait, Icelandic judges don't think legs are important, do they? And what about those QH babies who also show "flying pace" as youngsters? That's certainly nothing significant or predictive about how they will move as adults. >>>The comment was also made that it was most difficult between 1-3 years old. >>> I really >>>wonder how true this is. Most babies really pick their feet up for that >>>"big lick". You're right, Renee. I have pictures of Landi showing all sorts of "lift" and knee action when he was about a day old. His parents are about the two flattest movers (as in having forward reach instead of vertical knee action) of any two Icelandic's you can imagine. Landi's shoulders are exactly the image of his dad's at this point in time, and Melnir has exception reach in his gaits. In other words, what Landi did as an infant was simply a result of having rubber, baby joints, and it revealed NOTHING about his future gaitedness. At two, we don't know for sure what gaits he'll do under saddle, but I can tell there's no knee action coming out, and knowing his parents, that's exactly what I'd expect. I honestly think these people need to watch some other-breed horses for a while, to get a little perspective. Karen Thomas, NC
