Norwegian dictionary

By Melanie Huggett

“The eyes ought to be such as the mountain ponds on the midsummer evening, large and vibrant. A bold bearing from the neck just like a lad in the mountain tops on his method to his beloved. Well-defined withers such as the curves from the mountain tops set against a night sky. The temperament as lively like a waterfall in spring, but still good natured.” – Norwegian description from the Fjord equine

The Norwegian Fjord is one among the earliest pure kinds of equine. When they bear an uplifting resemblance towards the Asiatic wild equine or Przewalski equine, they are actually more carefully associated with the ecu wild equine, the Tarpan, because the Przewalski equine has 66 chromosomes while both Fjord and also the Tarpan have 64.

It's thought the original Fjord equine migrated to Norwegian and it was domesticated over 4000 years back. Ancient evidence indicates the Fjord equine continues to be carefully bred for more than 2000 years, first through the Vikings around 1200 BC. Rune stone designs and carvings in Norwegian, a lot of fighting stallions, show pictures of horses identifiable as Fjords. The Vikings required their Fjords, that they utilized as war mounts, within their travels to Scotland, Iceland, and elsewhere. During these lands the Fjord affected the Highland Pony and also the Icelandic Equine.

Photo thanks to Carol Rivoire

The parable that Fjords are just plodding draft horses couldn't be further away from the reality! Maggie Sullivan competes with Riena, a mare from Beaver Dam Farm Fjords of Quebec.

In the Vikings’ horses of war, the Fjord developed right into a working farm equine for Norwegian maqui berry farmers within the mountainous western district of Vestlandet. Focusing on the hillside farms, the Fjord grew to become surefooted, agile, thrifty, and difficult working — characteristics they maintain even today.

Father Fjord
The late 1800s nearly typed the finish for that Fjord equine once the Fjord breed was crossbred with another of Norway’s three breeds, the Dole. A Dole stallion, Rimfakse, was introduced towards the national stud to result in the Fjord bigger, more durable, and for farming. Despite argument by individuals in western Norwegian, since many maqui berry farmers used the state’s stud, the Dole stallion was utilized and crossbreeding prospered.