Removal

Today I start with a lansscape-picture because I have not managed to blog it before. Sometimes it's great to be awake so early in the morning:

Like I told you we lost the paddock with the small stable on where my horses lived the whole summer. Normally we should go back to the ranch of Peter now but I could not live with the fact that there is no light to ride on the riding-circle and there is also no light to do the work around horses whenever I like. You know that I am working from 8 - 17 o'clock every day but nevertheless I want to ride Baga about three times a week!
Luckily we have a regulars' table in Sehnde which is for owners of icelandic horses and there I met people who advised the new stable to me. Long story short: I checked the stable and made a deal with the owner and decided to come with the horses on 15.11.
SSSól was picked up with a horse-trailer and she was the same kind of cool like in Belgium as I picked her up after the flight. She walked on the trailer and drove to her new home without any problems! Baga and me used the chance to ride to the new stable and after about two hours we arrived there.

Now the girls need some time to like their new neighbours and to know their new home. The first days they will live beside the other horses. Short time later we will let them run together. So far so good. I'll keep you posted ;o) More pictures follow.

Another horse also find a new home these days: Sóley arrived fine in her new home Fläsch in Switzerland! I wish all the best to Corinna and her family and hope to meet them all soon again!

Askur also moved to his new home in Germany these days. It's only 70 kilometers away from my home so I will visit him as soon as possible! All the best to his owner Kirsten + family ;o)

Next Saturday...

...my horses will move to another place. I will tell you everything after it is done ;o)

Cutting is so isi ;o)

Baga and me were at a riding-course last weekend. We learned a lot and I also had the chance to ride a non-icelandic horse which is often used for competitions to feel the difference between "my" riding-style and "how to do it better". It was very interesting that everything worked with the right signals, but nothing with the wrong signals. And suddenly Baga also listened to me as I used the "right" signals! On Friday we had the first cow-contact and I was very excited if she will be frightened but NOTHING!!! This horse is unbelievable cool and confident. I could ride through the cow-herd without any problem. I was incredible happy and thought it can not get better this weekend but I was wrong! On Saturday we started with a "dry run" without cows: going backwards and turning the horse for 180° as soon as possible. Of course we could not do this twist immediately and I learned that it needs 12.000 retries to make it perfect but now we have something to exercise for the whole winter :o) Unfortunately I can not repeat one thing more than five times because Baga is getting angry about too many retries but I will build more practices around it to make it more interesting.
After the dry run every rider went into the round-pen with one single cow to sniff at each other. The experienced riders started to work with the cows and the beginners learned the first steps. I had no anticipation that Baga would work with the cow. I only wanted to walk through the round-pen and look what happen. It happened a lot! After few times going in walk beside the cow and cutting her way, the cow began to run faster - and Baga too! Suddenly I was following the cow in full gallop and cutting her way during the cowboys outside of the roundpen started to cheer us :o) Nobody would have believed that and I was smiling over my whole face and thinking "I KNEW IT!"

The rest of the weekend we were always waving the icelandic flag with the charme of Baga and all people around were deeply impressed about this kind of isi-power . Funnily enough I met many people who also own(ed) icelandic horses (before). Maybe now more owners of icelandic horses will try to cut cows with their horses now. I can tell you all: it's a great fun and I can not await to take part at the next course on the Seven Gate Ranch! But now we have to work out many things for being more practised the next time. You can find all the pictures of the course by clicking here but I have to tell you that the most have been taken by others than me because I was mostly in the saddle during the weekend! Some more pictures of Baga and me in the riding-course are here: http://skinfaxa.net/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=877&g2_page=15

Red devil is back

Few weeks ago my electricity broke down and SSSól was respectful to the fence the most time but now the time is gone and she is surprising me every morning again with a new broken fence . Luckily I could switch on the electricity again but if there is one centimeter without power, she is breaking it! But it doesn't matter so much because soon the horses have to move to the ranch again - like last winter. I am only very sad because I have been informed that next summer I will not get this pasture again. I spent so much time with taking care about the land, killing bad plants and now we have to go because "it is not ok to use the stable as a stable". The owner of the land is not willing to have the stable in use. Nobody knows why . No idea where to have all my clothes which was in the stable. There is not enough space on the ranch, further there is not enough security against stealing and external use.
Such a shame that Baga will have more ekzem again next summer if she has no stable to flee in because of the insects. I will discuss this with Peter and hopefully we'll find a solution. This weekend I'm off for a short holiday and the weekend after we will move back to the ranch.

Sick

At the moment I am with a cold or any virus and have to stay at home until Wednesday. Unfortunately I feel so bad that I can not use the time to do all the things which have to be done urgently. I think my body decided to be on strike because I did too much the last weeks. I am only quickly writing this during my tea-water is boiling.
I also can not take care about the horses so on Thursday I will have so many shit to carry away that it will take two hours or more. You can not know that I have a visitor on my pasture at the moment. Harmony is the 30 years old "grandma" of Peter, she will stay with SSSól if Baga and me will drive to a trainer in two weeks. I am sometimes a little bit sorry because Harmony is often kicking and biting SSSól but I find it important to show her that more horses than Baga are existing. Further she is learning to have respect ;o)
Saturday was a wonderful day because I visited a friend on her farm and took a lot of photos there. It was a fine variety to take photos of farm-animals and not always in competitions. Here you can find the pictures I took. Further I had the chance to make some experience with a not icelandic horse :o)
On Sunday I was taking photos on a Hestadagur but I haven't yet found any time to check the pictures.

Now I am off to bed...

Still busy

To show you that I am still alive I have a picture for you. My colleague Nadine came for a visit on Friday with her son (we had a national holiday) and we all were riding Baga. Of course I need to exploit that somebody is with me so I asked Nadine to take photos during I am riding Baga and leading SSSól at the same time. It looks fine in my opinion but it was very stressful because SSSól had too much power and I forgot to use the snúrumúll on her. She is much more listening to me with snúrumúll. You live and learn .

Yesterday I was taking photos on a Hestadagur again. It was fine and luckily not raining during I was there. They had funny competitions like riding in costumes. Have you ever seen a farmer riding his tölting cow?

Today a trainer comes to our ranch and I will also take a riding-lesson at him. Baga is still tricking me if I want to ride lope/gallop and maybe he can help me. Either she is running at a snail's pace that I have to push every step out of her or she is runnung like hell and bucking at the same time. Now I am bored/fearful enough not to ride gallop longer. And that's not ok! I think that Baga is only too lazy to go canter on the riding ring and she noticed that I am in fear if she starts to bolt, so she noticed "I only have to bolt and she is not asking for canter again!"

I have a clever horse which is working very good with me. I am not angry with her that she sometimes tries not to work so much. I only hope that I can make her interested in working WITH me soon again .

PS: Now you can see my both horses together on a riding-picture. Is there anybody outthere who still believe that SSSól is small?

No time

Sorry for not answering your emails at the moment, my friends, but I really don't know what to do first. I am still working on the pictures from two weeks ago, today there is a new competition but for carriages and next week there is the next icelandic horse competition. The weekend after I will take photos on a farm on Saturday and on Sunday is the next competition. So you see: I am not really bored . But I know that you all are also very busy so you will forgive me. The winter is always dark and long and I want to use the last light for many photos now.
My girls are ok - both are fat and fine. Only SSSól is coughing and I am in contact with my verterinary about what we can do for her.

Fálki frá Sauðárkróki

Wanted: Riding-horses for sale

A lot of people asked me for riding-horses (or horses in riding-age) from Iceland for 150.000 - 180.000 isk. Great would be horses which are calm and can be used as pleasure-horses or maybe for riding-school. I KNOW that it's not easy because horses like this are supposed to cost more BUT please offer everything to me what you have ;o) Send an email to [e-mail]

OK, now I have 5 - 6 new horses on my sales-list which will be published on www.gaedingur.com anytime the next days.

FIZO Basselthof

The first pictures from FIZO Basselthof are online. You can find the same pictures in Worldfengur. The link to my gallery is http://skinfaxa.net/gallery.
Here you can see Tónn frá Auðsholtshjáleigu:

More pictures will follow soon. I also like the following stallion a lot, his name is Sambó frá Skarði.