A grazing Fjord horse |
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| Distinguishing features | Strongly built, dun coat with primitive markings, mane usually roached to stand erect |
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| Alternative names | Norwegian Fjord Horse, Fjording, Fjordhest |
| Country of origin | Norway |
| Breed standards | |
| Fjord Horse International Association (English) | Breed standards |
| Norwegian Fjord Horse Association (Norwegian) | Breed standards |
| Norsk Hestesenter (Norwegian) | Breed standards |
| Horse (Equus ferus caballus) | |
The Fjord horse or Norwegian Fjord Horse is a relatively small but very strong horse breed from the mountainous regions of Western Norway. It is an agile breed of light draft horse build. All Fjord horses are dun in color, with five variations in shade recognized by their breed registries. One of the world's oldest breeds, it has been used for hundreds of years as a farm horse in Norway, and in modern times is popular for its generally good temperament. It is used both as a harness horse and under saddle.
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The Fjord horse has a distinct appearance. The breed's conformation differs from many other breeds in that it is a blend of draft horse muscling and bone, with smaller size and greater agility. It has a strong, arched neck, sturdy legs and good feet, and a compact, muscular body. The head is medium sized and well defined with a broad, flat forehead and a straight or slightly dished face, with small ears and large eyes.[1] Despite its small size, the breed is fully capable of carrying an adult human and pulling heavy loads. The hair coat becomes particularly heavy and thick in the winter.
The natural mane is long, thick, and heavy, but is usually clipped in a distinctive crescent shape to between five to ten centimeters (two to four inches) so that it stands straight up and emphasizes the shape of the neck.[1] This roached mane is thought to make for easier grooming. It also accentuates the horse's strong neck and full-length dorsal stripe. There is some feathering on the lower legs; however, the breed standard discourages profuse feathering.[2]
The breed usually ranges in height from 13.1 to 14.3 hands (53 to 59 inches, 135 to 150 cm), but there is no upper or lower limit for the height set for the breed.[1][3] The weight normally ranges from 400 to 500 kilograms (880 to 1,100 lb).[1] Though some individuals may fall under the traditional cutoff between horses and ponies, the Fjord horse is considered a horse, regardless of height.
Fjord horses have a reputation for a generally good temperament.
All Fjord horses are dun,[1][4] Dun is a body color that is a tan, gold or related shade with darker (usually black or dark brown) points and primitive markings.The breed standard recognises five shade variations.[2] These shades have been officially recognized in Norway since 1922.[5] White markings are discouraged, though a small star is acceptable.[2] The hooves are most often dark, but can be a lighter brown color on lighter-colored horses.[2]
The dun color itself is a dominant dilution gene. All Fjord horses are dun; therefore they are homozygous or nearly so for dun coloration.[6] No equine coat color genetics studies have been done specifically on Fjord horses. But, if Fjord horses were not homozygous for the dun gene then the dark, nondun individual could occasionally occur in the breed. However, this is very rare or nonexistent today; dark cropouts existed in the past, but breed standardization has favored duns and the color is now produced consistently.[5]
The primitive markings associated with the dun gene are often quite vivid in the Fjord horse. These include the dorsal stripe, darker mane and tail, horizontal stripes on the back of the forearms, and, in rare cases, transverse striping across the withers.[5] Some Fjord horses have small brown spots on the body or the head.[2] These spots are called "Njal marks" after one of the foundation sires of the contemporary Fjord horse, who had such markings.[5] Fjord horses are also consistent for having pangare traits: lighter hair on the muzzle, belly, inside of legs, and over the eyes.[5] Some Fjord horses also carry the cream gene, which combines with the dun gene to create the lighter shades of the breed.[6]
Fjord horses have a significant amount of lighter hairs on the outside edges of the mane and edges of the tail, and when teamed with the darker-colored center of the mane common to most color shades gives a two-toned look that is more dramatic than seen in dun horses of other breeds.[7] Amongst Fjord horse aficionados, the dark section of hair in the middle of the mane are described by the Norwegian terms midtstol, and darker hair in the middle of the tail is called the halefjær.[4]
White markings on Fjord horses are rare,[5][8] they have been noted as long as written records have been kept of the breed.[5] A small star is acceptable,[2] but any other white or pink markings are considered undesirable.[5] The Norges Fjordhestlag (The Norwegian Fjord Horse Association) decided in 1982 that stallions of any age with any other white markings than a small white star cannot be accepted for breeding.[5]
The Fjord horse breed standard recognizes five colors. 90% of all Fjord horses are "brown dun" (the color called called "bay dun" in other breeds).[1] The remaining 10% are either "red dun", "grey" (less often "grey dun", the color known as grulla in other breeds) two colors reflecting the influence of the cream gene, "white dun" (or "uls dun") and "yellow dun".[4] The breed registries for Fjord horses encourage preservation of all of them.[2] The dun color variations can be subtle and hard to distinguish unless horses of different shades are standing side by side. The color terms are also non-standard when compared to English terminology more commonly used to describe horse coat colors in other breeds. This difference appears to be based in part from being derived from Norwegian language terms, which were set in 1922, and their English translations, which were made official in 1980.[5] While these terms were set before equine coat color genetics were fully understood, the variations do match up to modern genetic studies as variations of dun color with the addition of other genetic factors.
Along with the recognized five shades of dun, two cream dilution alleles (CCr) on any other color results in a horse with a light cream coat color and blue eyes. This color is called "kvit" ("white") in Norwegian, and is known as cremello, perlino or smoky cream in other breeds. A dun with double cream dilution will have faint or indistinguishable primitive markings.[8] In the Fjord horse, Kvit was traditionally considered undesirable, and thus is a very rare color in the breed due to intentional selection against it.[8] Nonetheless, the nature of cream genetics statistically will result in the occasional kvit horse any time two horses that both carry a single copy of the cream dilution are mated, such as an ulsblakk and/or a gulblakk.[6]
The Fjord horse is one of the world's oldest and purest breeds. Horse were known to exist in Norway at the end of the last ice age. It is believed that the ancestors of the modern Fjord horse migrated to Norway and were domesticated over 4,000 years ago. Archaeological excavations at Viking burial sites indicate that the Fjord horse type has been selectively bred for at least 2,000 years.[1][3] The Fjord horse and its ancestors have been used for hundreds of years as farm animals in western Norway. Even as late as World War II, they were useful for work in mountainous terrain. The Fjord horse also has a long recorded history of pure breeding without crossbreeding from other sources.[3]
The Fjord horse is featured as a charge on the coat of arms of the Nordfjord municipalities of Gloppen and Eid.
The Fjord horse is strong enough for heavy work, such as plowing fields or pulling timber, yet light and agile enough to be a good riding and driving horse. They are also surefooted in the mountains. Today, the Fjord horse is a favorite at Norwegian riding and therapeutic schools, as its generally mild temperament and small size make it suitable for children and disabled individuals. They are considered very good driving horses, and are commonly used in everything from competitions to tourist transport in Norway. They are also used as a sport horse, particularly in combined driving.
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