Hunter Hollow

I saw an add for two 4 month old Fjords imported from Canada.  I had only one horse and had just completed a new 5 stall barn so I had space.  I had always admired the Fjord breed but they were priced beyond my budget.  I made a call and went to see them.  When I arrived I saw that there was only one little Fjord.  Her sister, I was told was sold.  The woman selling this Fjord was, unknown to me, a notorious dealer at the time.  Seeing that the fillys halter was practically embedded in her face, and even for a young filly she appeared thin, I wasn't sure of what her future held.  As I handled her, she became attached to me and I was quite taken by her.   The woman was anxious to find a home for her and I bought her.  Her name was Polly and she imported from Canada with her half sister Penny.

A friend of mine came over to see my new filly Polly.   A few days later my friend called me to say that she had seen the half sister at a riding stable in Massachusetts.  I told her that the sister was sold.  Well the sister wasn't exactly sold.  The sister was being sold by another horse dealer who kept some of his sale horses at this riding stable.   Since my friend was going down that weekend to look at a riding horse at the stable, she asked me if I wanted to go and see the Fjord that was there.  I went.

This was perhaps the worst situation this baby could have been put into.  The Horse Dealer had his horses in a muddy area with a run-in located away from the riding stable.  I walked down to see the filly when we arrived.  What I saw there was heartbreaking.  There were a number of horses.  Various ages, types, sizes and all in poor condition.  They were up to their knees in muck.  Muck isn't just mud, it's manure, hay, dirt, water, urine, etc.  Not the kind of environment any animal should have to endure, let alone a baby. 

I saw Penny immediately and was shocked.  Although Polly was with a dealer and her weight was low and the halter was almost embedded in her face, she was a "10" compared to Penny.  Polly had spark when I first saw her ..... Penny was depressed and filthy.  She was extremely thin, her halter was also embedded in her face, and her coat was pale compared to the bright dun of Pollys.  Penny also had diarreha, which can be life threatening to a young horse.  Some of the horses around her were much bigger and pushed her around.  The only hay was mixed in the muck and she was eating it.  There was little water in the slimmey green bucket.  One horse was confined to what might have been considered a stall in the run in.  Boards just nailed up, broken, split, nails sticking out, not really a stall.  That horse had some real damage to it's face, which was oozing blood and pus.  All the horses were foraging through the muck for the bits of hay they could find.  Penny had no interest in anything except those small bits of hay she could find.  Her eyes were dull and her demeanor was not typical of a baby.

I waited around for the Dealer after being told that he would be arriving soon.  I met him and listened to his story .... the Fjord was worth $2,000 and that's what he wanted for her.  If he didn't sell her he knew he'd get at least $1,800 at auction.  I looked him in the eye and told him she wouldn't live that long and no one would pay near that considering the condition she was in.  I walked away.  He came after me and asked what I thought was fair for her, after all she was registered and micro chipped.  I told him I had her sister and I'd pay what I paid for her.  He said he'd take it and how soon could I get her.  I told him I'd be back the next day.

I came back the next day and Penny was not doing any better.  I met the Dealer and paid him, withholding $100 for the vet, which I knew would be called when I got her home.  He took it and gave me her papers and a bill of sale.  Once I had that in hand and put her on the trailer, I gave him a piece of my mind.  I told him it was one thing for a Dealer to take a full grown horse and put it into this environment, but quite another to do it to a baby.  I told him he should be ashamed of himself and that if I was a man I'd punch him in the face.  He didn't care, he had his money.  I didn't care because I said what I felt and figured I'd never see him again ...... I would see him again.  And again and again .... at the auction.

I brought Penny home.  I took her off the trailer and her depression worried me.  As I led her into the barn I heard Polly call out.  Penny picked up her head and returned the call.  From this point forward Penny was a different horse from the sad little creature I took off the trailer.  I really wanted to put them together, but I had to call the vet first to see what Penny needed and if they could be together.

The vet came out the next day to examine Penny and update her shots.  He said she would be fine with food and care, and worming.  He gave me probiotics to give her after the worming to stop the diarreha.  He told me that I could put her with Polly if the probiotics worked in a few days.

The probiotics worked and when I put Polly and Penny together, they were inseperable.  I watched them play together and as time went on they grew to be two little mischevious critters.  But still retained that Fjord kindness, even after what they had been through.

As time passed, Penny would still get diarreha and I would start the probiotics and clean her up.  Her coat was still pale compared to Polly's.  The vet said that she could have suffered permanent damage depending on how badly the tapeworms had damaged her and considering how long she had been in the Dealer's care (or lack thereof).

Penny would never be free from the damage that was caused by the Dealer's neglect and needed constant care for her recurring diarreha.  Polly would grow to be a fine healthy Fjord.

Polly and Penny were with me for two years after I brought them home.  Then they were ready to start some real training.  Although I would have liked to keep them and work with them, it was better for them to find a new home. 

 Polly went off to a young girl who was anxious to work with her and they were an excellent match.  Penny, on the other hand was not an easy horse to place.  She required constant attention due to her physical issues.  The perfect home was thought to have been found with a Vet Tech.  She was confident that she was fully capable of providing Penny with an excellent home and her Vet experience would guarantee Penny's issues would be addressed correctly.  I am sure that this woman meant well, but Penny's needs were more then she  expected.  Penny was finally placed with a woman who, although not a Vet Tech, is able to control the physical issues and provide a wonderful home for Penny.  Penny now lives in Colorado.

INFORMATION ON NORWEGIAN FJORD HORSES CAN BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING LINKS 

Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry (NFHR):               http://www.nfhr.org/

Horse-genetics.com:                                                    http://www.horse-genetics.com/Norwegian-Fjord-horse.html

Beaver Dam Farm Fjords:                http://www.beaverdamfarm.com/

Bluebird Lane Fjords:                           http://www.bluebirdlane.com/

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