->    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
Well it is a long story but I will relate the Readers Digest version.
Niki & Renee went to the Walnut Hill driving competition here back the year
before we had Malla for the first time.  There was several Fjords at the 
how.
One of them was a mare with a new foal with it.  It probably wasn't much over 
a
month old.  Niki was about 13 or 14 at the time and had a TB mare that was
really not much and was giving her real problems at the time.
Niki decided that day (she never did tell me this) that she was going to have
one of them cute little ponies.  SHe got home that night and wrote letters to
every address she could find asking for more info on Fjords.  She got a few
responses from different registries and associations and a few from different
breeders.  Then she sent out more letters...
She was getting sales lists from breeders all over the country and Canada.
Finally one of the breeders called on the phone and asked for Niki.  She was 
on
a trip to Washington DC at the time with the National Honor Soc.  I talked to
the breeder and he asked if we had gotten his sales list.  I said we had and
that they were way out of my price range ( they were all $6500 or higher)  I
was used to $1000 TB's or Quarters.
Anyway to make a long story short, he offered a free lease of one of his 
horses
to Niki if she showed it for him and just paid the normal board and normal 
et
bills.  He would even deliver it and help her learn to drive etc.  So when 
Niki
got back from the trip she could barely wait to call and talk to this guy.  
e
did end up taking a trip to see his horses (he had 40 - 50 of them at the 
ime
and was only about 3 hours away from us.  He let Niki pick out one of 10 or 
2
4 year old mares and then rode them.  Malla had never been saddled before 
this.
 Niki was the first one on her back.  He brought her in the barn, put a 
addle
on her and took her out in this ring made of bailing twine (he had just moved
into this new farm).  He led Niki & Malla around the ring twice and then 
walked
next to them twice more.  After that they were on their own.  Before we left
they were trotting around the ring.
He talked us into letting Niki come the next couple of weeks and spend some
time getting used to her nad all.  It was Easter vacation so we let her.  At
the end of it he brought Niki & Malla home and they have been living happily
ever after since then.
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