Bluebird Lane Blog
Bluebird Lane Blog

Posts in Category 'Fjord Resources'

Cutting the Fjord Mane

by Lori Albrough

A beautiful Fjord with its mane neatly cut into the traditional crescent-shaped arch is a glorious sight. Those who have never seen it up close before have even described it as awe-inspiring.

To help you make your Fjord looks its best, we created this video showing how our resident mane stylist, Stefan, cuts our Fjord’s manes.

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The Colours of the Norwegian Fjordhorse

Uls (White) Dun

by Lori Albrough

The Fjord horse has several different sorts of dun colour. This is the same kind of colour as the wild horse of Central Asia, the Przewalski, and the Tarpan, the European wild horse. This kind of colour is also called wild colour.

The basic wild colours are brown dun, red dun and grey. In addition, uls dun and yellow dun are genuine colours of the breed. At the annual general meeting of Norges Fjordhestlag in 1980, it was agreed upon and decided that these five colours shall be acknowledged as the genuine and typical colours of the Fjordhorse.

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Use of Cavalletti in the Training Program

Pricked ears and an expressive entry in a more rounded outline.

by Lori Albrough

The use of cavalletti in the training program has benefits for all riding horses, whether they are destined for a career in dressage, jumping, eventing, or pleasure riding.

Work over cavalletti can enhance the regularity and rhythm of paces, loosen up and strengthen the muscles, contribute to development of the heart and circulatory systems, increase balance, sure-footedness, and suspension, and develop and test the ability to learn.

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Kestrel’s Excellent Adventure

Here we are in the ring!

by Lori Albrough

I thought it would be fun to share the story of some of our preparations in getting Kestrel ready for going to her first show! We entered her in Training Level at the National Spring into Dressage show at Palgrave.

Leading up to the show, we took some photos of our preparations for the big outing. Here is a bit of a behind-the-scenes chronicle of the story…

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NFHR 25th Anniversary National Show

Kestrel and Lori

by Lori Albrough

On October 11 to 15, 2006 we attended the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry’s 25th Anniversary National Show held in Winona, MN, USA. We enjoyed five days surrounded by over one hundred Fjordhorses and the positive spirit and camaraderie of hundreds of fellow Fjord lovers, including many distinguished guests from overseas.

We are thrilled to announce that our own home-bred six year old, Bluebird Lane Kestrel, was GRAND CHAMPION MARE at Winona!

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Experiencing Norwegian Culture

Lori standing in front of the lovely restored Norwegian farmhouse at Nedreberg.

by Lori Albrough

While we were originally attracted to the Fjordhorse breed because of the horse itself, as a result we have now twice traveled to Norway to visit the Stallion and Youngstock Evaluations, and in doing so we have also fallen in love with the country. Being in Norway, especially Western Norway where the Fjordhorse is from, is like being in a totally different world from what we are used to.

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Making Breeding Decisions

Illustration by Beth Beymer

by Lori Albrough

If you own a Fjord mare and are considering breeding her, then you are a breeder. You might think that in order to be a breeder you have to have lots of mares – or at least a certain number of mares – and maybe you even need to own a stallion. That is not so. The technical definition of a breeder is the owner of the mare at the time of service. It is not the number of mares or the size of your operation that makes you a breeder.

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Our First Visit to Norway

The view across a fjord

by Lori Albrough

The first thing you notice about Norway is how beautiful it is. I mean, really beautiful! Everywhere you look there is another gorgeous, stunning, striking vista. Turn around, and there is another one behind you. After a while, you can hardly take it in anymore. Your brain starts to filter out the beautiful landscapes because, well, you just couldn’t get anything else done if you gave them your full appreciation. Sometimes, however, in the middle of a horse show, I’d glance up and it would strike me again – what a beautiful country!

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