Fjords For All Reasons

The cover photo was taken at the Teddy Bear Fjords Combined Driving Event (CDE) in Mead, Washington. For the readers who are not involved in the driving world, a CDE is a competition involving three phases: dressage, cones, and marathon. The picture is of Linda and Greg Stevenson and their talented pair of Norwegian Fjord Horses during the marathon course.

Although the athletic, intelligent, willing and kind Fjords are amongst the most versatile horses on earth, people are first attracted to Fjords by their appearance. Fjord owners soon get used to total strangers coming up to them and exclaiming, “Your horse is sooooo CUTE!” This is a nice compliment but only the tip of the iceberg of what these animals have to offer!

Originally bred on the West Coast of Norway several thousand years ago, these horses were selectively bred to be all around family farm horses. The terrain in that part of the world is mountainous and rocky and horses needed to be strong, sure footed and very easy keepers. Farms were small and life was harsh. Generally a family that was fortunate enough to have a horse, had just one and it had to plow, log, pull a wagon or cart and be ridden. The early Norse also wanted a horse that was friendly and people oriented.

Today the Norwegian Fjord is still the versatile and kind horse of old. They are talented and steady driving horses as well as able to perform any riding discipline competitively. Fjords have been trained to be cutting and reining horses and make wonderful trail riding mounts. The dressage world has had Fjords compete up to Grand Prix and there are still farmers who plow and log with their faithful Fjord companions.

Even though the Fjord Horse is smaller in stature than some breeds with their usual height ranging from 13.2 to 14.2 hands, their stockier build and extreme strength allows them to comfortable carry and pull loads much larger than lighter built horses are able. They make wonderful family horses and their size is appealing also to older horsemen who want to have a horse that is closer to the ground. For the family or individual who wants a horse that is versatile and also willing to be a real friend, no horse is better than the Norwegian Fjord Horse.
photo by Kathy Shissler - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it