Olivia Farm

Registered Norwegian Fjord Horses

Breeding Program

Methodology and Goals

Our entire breeding program focuses on breeding great Fjords, not any other breed or type of horse.  To be more specific: this means that we look to the mother country, to the origins of the Fjord breed, to the culture in which it developed and to a type of horse that has only been established through years of careful, selective breeding. To that end, we strive to breed horses that live up to the same ideals.  Pictured in the top right hand corner is the Norwegian stallion Rosendalsborken, who is held up as the unspoken ideal of Fjord Horse type.  The photographic plate is from 1880, when the stallion was exhibited in Germany.  At the time, he was 18 years young.  We look to this image every time we judge and evaluate stock.

 

The Norwegians (and other European countries) believe strongly in evaluating young-stock, mature horses, and in doing stallion station testing.  This kind of careful selection is what has kept the breed thriving for hundreds of years.  Selecting and breeding only quality animals ensures a higher percentage of quality offspring.   This is why we are strong supporters of the NFHR evaluation system and evaluate our horses in conformation and movement. 

 

Because we know no horse (or human) to be perfect, we use the evaluation system (and our own observations) to find the strengths and weaknesses of each individual.  We then breed accordingly, trying to improve upon each individual in the next generation.   We do not breed every mare we own to our stallion.  This method would be far and away the cheapest, but would not meet our high standards.  We have owned multiple stallions, have used several outside stallions, and will most certainly own and use multiple stallions in the future.   We breed towards perfection, knowing we will never attain it, but trying nonetheless.

 

Along with an individual’s conformation and movement, we feel that pedigree can have an important role in determining the quality (and qualities) of offspring.   To this end, we have made an extensive study of pedigrees as well as both current and archival photos in an attempt to recognize the traits that follow certain lines.  We know that pedigrees can be strong or weak for certain traits.  For example, some stallions seem to pattern the head on every foal they produce, while others’ offspring are exact copies of their dams in that area.   In knowing such traits and the relative strength or weakness with which they are passed, we feel we have a much better idea of how crosses will work.

 

By making good crosses generation after generation, we hope to breed horses capable of producing well and with strength throughout successive generations.  Of course, the converse is also true, so we are very careful to not breed horses with similar faults, making such faults that much harder to breed out in the future. 

 

After looking at conformation, disposition, Fjord type, movement, overall strength (or weakness) of pedigree, and the likelihood of inheriting particular traits, we take a final look at color.   We would never breed specifically for color, but we feel that as the Norwegians have placed importance in preserving the five colors of Fjords, it is something of which to be mindful.   In fact, we feel that it is perhaps our duty to insure that the quality of the more rare colored horses be maintained at the same level as those which are more common.  We have watched other breeds breeding for color (or any one trait for that matter) suffer in overall quality.  We do not want this to happen to the Fjord breed with its history of 5 beautiful colors!    We currently own one of each of the 5 colors of Fjords and will work to breed them on in a fashion that will not only preserve the color, but also improve the individual quality in each successive generation. 

 

If you have questions about our methodology, breeding goals, your own horses strengths and weaknesses, or about breeding selection in general please feel free to contact us.  We are always happy to help and talk about Fjords!

Contact Information

 

Olivia Farm, Inc.                                                                                                           (509) 258-7348

PO BOX 157                                                                                                                     (360) 631-3562

Ford, WA 99013                                                                                                info@oliviafarm.com