Thokki is ready for his first real lesson.
Knútur Berndsen, an Icelandic trainer, made a barn visit to check Thokki out and start him off in the training that is appropriate for a horse of his age. But hold on! Before we actually meet Knútur, how about learning how to pronounce his name! It is k'NOOtur. The accent over the "u" changes the pronounciation to OO as in "through". Otherwise the "u" would be pronounced as the "u" in "butter".
We wanted to be able to load Thokki into the trailer in case of an emergency such as taking him to the vet, etc. We tried and although he did not seem afraid of the trailer, he balked at getting in. So we decided to impose on Knútur to teach him how to load.
But first things first. Knútur wanted to see where Thokki was in his learning. So Sarah went off to the pasture and put a halter on Thokki and led him off. No problem.
Click to Play Video
About that knot...
I didn't really get it the first time around, so on another day I asked Knútur to tie it again so I could shoot a close-up and memorize it. After all, how many people have Internet in the paddock?
So now Knútur will see how he handles in hand.
This flies in the face of much that I have heard about the Icelandic method of raising the horse. In Iceland I have visited with farmers and trainers who prefer that the horse be raised away from much human contact in a large herd in nature.
Are we fussing with him too much? Will we mellow him out so much that he will be a dull horse later on, too used to people, not willing to work?
It was on my mind. So I asked...
That was a good answer and it resonated with our needs and abilities to care for the horse. Perhaps, at some point, we will send him off to play with other Icelandics his age in a large herd. But not yet!
Certainly, one of his tasks will have to be to let his feet be picked up when the farrier comes. Knútur showed us some tricks that also apply to larger and older horses.
Thokki does not need to be "trained" to be sprayed. That is not Icelandic!
Enough for today! Knútur will come back and start working on trailer loading.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEXT LESSON, TRAILER LOADING.
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