Hey, Mike, I was just wondering - you said something about joining the 
echo shortly after you got Malla, and it got me to wondering...
     Why did you decide on a Norwegian Fjord horse?  Did you know people who 
had them did you do homework on the various breeds when you decided to get 
your daughter one?  I mean, I often end up with Appies but it is by 
coincidence or accident.  I would have bought Dub if he were ANY breed, and I 
loved Spot's coloring the moment I first saw her which was about three years 
before I bought her.  (Her owner, with whom I worked, was disgruntled when 
after breeding Spot twice to a CPO Appy she threw BOTH solid foals!  She 
called me up at 11:00 one Sunday night and said she couldn't afford to keep a 
mare who couldn't throw color, would I like to buy her CHEAP since she was 
five years old and unbroke.)
     And while we are at it, would anyone else be interested in relating 
stories about why they ended up with the horses that they own, or why you 
love the breeds that you love?  I know that probably at one time or another 
you all have related the stories here, but it would be interesting to see 
them.  My first horse was an Appaloosa; my dad picked him out.  I was a 
teenager and I said I wanted a MUSTANG!  ;)  I meant the kind with a 
convertible top; my dad misunderstood and I have always been so GRATEFUL that 
he did.
     Incidentally, you would never know it to see photos of the horses that I 
have owned, but my absolute MOST FAVORITE HORSE COLOR is a GRULLA DUN.  A 
REAL BLUE GRULLA, no buckskin yellow - I believe I have seen TWO of them in 
my lifetime.  Since grulla (pronounced GREW-ya) seems to be a regional word, 
I am told it is Spanish for grey, I'd be interested in what you all call a 
grey or mousey-grey colored dun.  It is a TRUE grey; the hairs are grey, not 
mixtures of white and black.  And it seems to be a color you see in Quarter 
Horses and, I believe you mentioned that there existed a few grey buckskin 
Norwegian Fjord horses.  I would give my eyeteeth to own one with nice color! 
 Five years ago I came within a hairsbreadth of trading Dub for one.  (Even 
though I am glad that I didn't now.)
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