Small gift for horse's former owner?

[Twisting]

[QUOTE=peedin;8853870]
I gotta ask. How does a horse get to Hawaii? Boat, or plane?[/QUOTE]

Both are an option, and I have done both in the past. Pacific Airlift is the plane route, and Sheila Head’s Hawaiian Transport is the boat. The plane is faster, and less stress on the horses, but 3 times the price. The boat takes about 4 days, and they tend to lose some weight on the ride. They are attended to on both modes of transport, and I have never heard of one not making it just fine. This time I chose the boat again. The boat runs out here once a month, so it’s pretty common to ship them over. Finding a good horse on the island, without selling a kidney, is rough. Many folks choose the shipping route, even with the added cost you still get more horse for your money.

[Foxtrot_s]

My rider gave me a collage of pictures from the year - I really treasure it…
plus I like the idea of macadamia nuts, coffee, etc.

[IronwoodFarm]

[QUOTE=Twisting;8853766]
I did look into the Fjord terms for the coloration. So I was aware that, in Fjord speak, he is a brown dun, but my signature refers to horse color genetics, and genetically speaking he is black based with at least one copy of Agouti and most likely two copies of dun. Since the poster who asked about his color mentioned my signature I wanted to be genetically accurate. I know the Fjords can also carry cream, but I see no indication that he has it. Though with a brown dun it would be more difficult to tell just from phenotype. [/QUOTE]

As a breeder, I do understand that one can get caught up in color genetics. The point I am raising is that you have an uncommon breed that is not often seen in Hawaii. You will get interest. While you can be genetically accurate, most people’s eyes will glaze over. You really need a 1 minute elevator speech about the breed so brown dun makes more sense and it is the term that the breed registry uses.

Fjord colors are interesting, but what really matters to me is their temperament and versatility to do a variety of work. My horses compete in dressage, eventing, driving and draft. Fjords are a great breed. I am hoping that as a defacto ambassador for the breed you’ll be able to share experiences about performance and temperament. As many of us long time breeders say, color is just the icing on the cake.

Enjoy your Fjord!

[Twisting]

[QUOTE=IronwoodFarm;8854854]
As a breeder, I do understand that one can get caught up in color genetics. The point I am raising is that you have an uncommon breed that is not often seen in Hawaii. You will get interest. While you can be genetically accurate, most people’s eyes will glaze over. You really need a 1 minute elevator speech about the breed so brown dun makes more sense and it is the term that the breed registry uses.

Fjord colors are interesting, but what really matters to me is their temperament and versatility to do a variety of work. My horses compete in dressage, eventing, driving and draft. Fjords are a great breed. I am hoping that as a defacto ambassador for the breed you’ll be able to share experiences about performance and temperament. As many of us long time breeders say, color is just the icing on the cake.

Enjoy your Fjord![/QUOTE]

I do plan on being an ambassador, to the best of my ability. And I promise not to drone on about genetics of color. I am a bit of a science nerd, and I adore genetics. I can drone on about them for hours, and not just horse color.

I was first introduced to the breed when I was a teenager and someone brought their fjord to a Hunter show. He wasn’t exactly the classic hunter “look”, but he was sweet and willing and they did well in everything but the undersaddle classes. Daisy cutter wasn’t the right description for him, but you couldn’t help but to fall for his sweet face and kind attitude. I no longer jump, and just want to focus on trails and low level dressage. I would be over joyed to introduce someone else to the breed the way I was when I was a kid.

His pedigree was listed out on his Dreamhorse page. http://www.dreamhorse.com/ad/2035657.html The names mean nothing to me, but maybe you can see something that looks familiar?