1dr Acres Farm

Gerd was my first Fjord mare, who we committed to purchasing in spring 1991, but left at the breeder’s to be bred before she came home in late 1991. Her pedigree is here.

I was 14 and had spent many prior years begging for a horse. I wanted a big draft horse, but was told to find something that was smaller and ate less. I found Fjords at the Midwest Horse Fair in Wisconsin and was hooked.

I lived in Stoughton, WI, a town settled by Norwegian immigrants to the USA. I had immersed myself in the culture before getting Fjords, and I made the Bunad I’m wearing in these photos. It won Best of Show at the Wisconsin State Fair for 4-H Clothing Construction, and in the Style Show.

This was another outfit I made for myself, with the key being the ripstop nylon, which didn’t accumulate the profuse hair of my new fuzzy golden horse.

Gerd was green-broke to ride, but was not considered breeding quality by her seller. The breeding quality mare had a horribly rough trot and canter, so I opted for the lower quality mare. She was an outstanding horse for me to train more through 4-H, for my sisters to have a safe horse to ride/show, and she produced 3 foals for me.

Gerd had nice leg bars and had functional structure for all the things I did with her. She was never lame and remained very healthy without interventions. She also reproduced easily.

I could have never had a Fjord if it wasn’t for my grandmother paying for her purchase price and stud fees. We kept her in the back yard of our 5 acre farmette, way out in the country, because we couldn’t afford to board her at the local barns. We didn’t have a trailer or truck, so I rode her a few miles down the highway to take riding lessons, and back home afterwards.

This was the fattest Gerd became in my ownership and management. I learned SO much managing her and her offspring on the clay soils, with a pond and trees, at this farmette and the neighboring 10 acres that I managed from 2001-2006. My learning was from experience and experimentation, since the 4-H manuals did not teach about managing horses on pasture.

I made all kinds of mistakes in those early years of learning, but that foundation is what allowed me to view all of my subsequent formal education about pasture management, parasite management, horse health, forage quality, soil health, water quality, equine reproduction, genetics, epigenetics, etc. through a lens of experience that I wouldn’t have been able to do without the early mistakes.

When I encountered teachings that countered my experience, I went looking for the reason. I’ve found so many things that are known/practiced, but not in the textbooks or scientific literature. I’ve also adapted guidance for cattle to work for grazing horses, and couldn’t have done that if I had the classic education alone; without the discernment of experience.

This basin was a tiny ephemeral pond, surrounded by oak, cherry, boxelder and other woodlot trees. Gerd had most of her foals in this woodlot, and I did all of their training out there, in the herd, without guidance or training on how to raise foals. I had trained and showed dogs in 4-H, and basically applied the same approach to the foals. This is Gerd in September 1992, with her first foal, PPF Reitar. He was my first stallion.

Gerd’s line didn’t produce a bunch of offspring, but it taught me a huge amount about equine reproduction and I attended many evaluations to learn what was desirable in the breed standard, so I could produce better Fjords in the future.