Marlanoc Round Four!

I should have guessed! He's fabulous!!!

 

[Wings]

Thanks!

I also picked up a HUGE book on Iceys so that will keep me busy while I wait for my next visit. Seriously you could bludgeon someone to death with this thing!

 

[Eagle]

That should keep you out of trouble for a while then

 

[lexischase]

Love him! I have always wanted an icelandic, such a neat breed!

 

[Eagle]

Finally the sun has come out and it looks like Spring today so I thought I would change hats

 

[LittleRibbie]

Lovely hat Renee,

Bree hes wonderful. I love him....you sure don't like to sit still do you! He and the little ones are sure going to keep you busy...fun busy is always the best. how is the tolt to sit to....I wish we had more Iceys here, you just never see any but they are such a versatile breed>

 

[Wings]

Loving the new hat!

Of course I wouldn't want to sit still.... I'd get bored

And we all know a bored Bree is always trouble

He is an amazing little horse and I'd encourage anyone who has the opportunity to ride one to take it up! There numbers are climbing all over the world but it foten seems like you have Icey fans (and once they have one there's no going back!) and people who have never heard of them.

And Heidi is right about versatility! I'm looking forward to tackling a lot of things with Magni

The tolt is an amazing movement, very hard to describe but it's smooth and energetic. I even got a bit of a pace on one of the others I tried out.

This is some tolting
Magni's tolt is very unpolished so we're going to have a lot of fun learning together!

 

Your video is great.

I bred the Peruvian Pasos (NOT to be confused with Paso Finos) for several years -- and they are a naturally gaited horse which requires no training -- babies just come into their gait naturally playing in the fields. They have such a smooth gait -- like riding a rocking chair. To this day, I have my hand-made show saddle with all the trappings from Peru sitting in my office so I can just remember the wonderful times I had on these great horses. Just can't bear to part with it -- my kids say it is a very expensive decoration that I should sell -- but this old lady is NOT going to ever sell it! I did part with my Peruvian work saddle when I sold that last gelding -- but this one is here to stay!!

 

[cassie]

oooh can we see a piccy Miss Diane pretty please?

aww they look so cute, Bree I bet its so fun to hop on him

 

Sure. I'll "stage" it and take a picture of it for you. I'll try and get all the "trappings" in the right place, so you don't just see leather pieces laying around under the saddle.

 

[Wings]

Wish it was my video, but the woman who does them has some great ones of her Iceys

Gives a real good 'feel' for the breed!

I forgot you had the Peruvian Pasos! Isn't I amazing watching the babies gaiting naturally in the paddock? I watched two have their own tolt completion when I was in the foal paddock. Later when the geldings were pushed out of the hay feeding yard and back into the paddock a bunch of them took off at the tolt. Fantastic to watch! Really makes you laugh at all the people who call it "artificial" or "forced." Gaited breeders keep telling me you can't train it, only polish it. Makes sense to me!

Can't wait to see your saddle!

I'm madly saving for an Icelandic saddle but it won't be as fancy. But I badly want a Stubben which pretty much means I need to sell a kidney to get it

There's just such a sense of "fun" about the Iceys. I've really only had a taste of it all but I feel so thoroughly addicted. We've only got about 140 of them in Australia (90 of which belong to Magni's breeder) so they're in very short supply over here. Hopefully the numbers climb as more people discover how amazing they are!

 

[countrymini]

Oh the tolting looks so cute. Almost like a standardbreds trot but the back legs aren't in time with the front.

 

[Eagle]

wow thanks for sharing that video Bree

You are going to have so much fun

 

[Wings]

Oh the tolting looks so cute. Almost like a standardbreds trot but the back legs aren't in time with the front.

All these extra gaits come from the one gene, the pacing gene

Some Iceys have the full pace "the Flying Pace" and the tolt is the amble version of the pace. Across all gaited breeds it will boil down to pacing or ambling, they just have different names for them!

Iceys get called "four gaited" if they walk, trot, tolt and canter or "five gaited" if they walk, trot, tolt, canter and pace.

You can tell I'm having a blast researching new stuff

 

[Eagle]

Good for you for doing your homework

I love learning about the different breeds so feel free to share your knowledge

 

[AnnaC]

I think that you are going to have such fun with this fella once he's home and settled - looking forward to sharing that 'journey' with you too!

 

[Wings]

I think I'll have to make a secret page on the Marlanoc website with an Icey blog

 

[LittleRibbie]

Love the video...they come in so many colors...just like our chips. first breed I thought about was the Paso but I cant remember what their gates were called. Don't tell Diane but I really have to go back and look at the horse breeds....I just always thought the Peruvian Paso was the same as Paso Finos...thanks Diane for pointing out that they are 2 different breeds. Where I grew up in New England you would never see either of those breeds ( although Im sure they are an older breed ) It wasn't until I came to Fl. that I saw lots of people owning them. Your saddle must be stunning Diane.

Please Bree!! An Icey blog is just what we need, I would love to hear more.

A pacing gene...who would have thought!

 

No, the Paso Finos are trained to do that gaited stepping. Peruvian Pasos have a natural gait that is sooooooooo comfortable. It's like just rocking back and forth in a rocking chair. When you saddle them, you saddle further back than with a normal horse, so they can swing their front legs out in a half circle shape and then forward. You allow them full range of motion for their front legs which gives you that gorgeous rocking ride. No "posting" when you ride them -- every gait is just wonderfully comfortable.

I've been so busy trying to get ready for vacation, I haven't taken a picture of the saddle yet, and if tomorrow goes like today, you may just have to wait until I get back. Sorry. But it is the most comfortable saddle I've ever sat in. It comes in several layers and actually has a thick pad that sits over the saddle top -- to give you even more comfort. I love it! Goodness, what would my kids say if I bought another Paso for riding....hmmmmm. I could easily talk myself into it, I'm sure! LOL

Here's a couple of videos that show you how smooth the 4-beat gait is -- you just sit -- no bouncing, no work....just a relaxing ride. They can go all day long -- they are made for long riding work.

and you can see the leg action the horse makes. http://vimeo.com/29250165 This one explains it and shows several different things, including how it comes naturally to the youngsters.
I raised all Palominos, and just loved them!

 

[cassie]

wow looks amazing!! I'm sure you will have heaps of fun Bree!