Jul 30, 2006 8:46 am US/Central
CBS 2 At Brookfield Zoo: Norwegian Fjord Horse
by Susan Carlson
BROOKFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―
At Brookfield Zoo this week, CBS 2's Susan Carlson met a Norwegian Fjord Horse named Terry.
SC: "Good morning. Andre Copeland and I from Brookfield Zoo are in the Children's Zoo this morning because we are with a very special horse. Andre, he almost looks like a pony."
AC: "That's right, this is a Norwegian Fjord Horse. And in the equine world, you do have people that debate as to whether or not this is a pony or a horse. First of all, we should let everyone know that when you measure the height of horses, you usually do it in hands. So the cutoff point for a pony is 14.2 hands. Now the Fjord Horse can avreage between 13.5 hands and 14.5 hands. So some people consider it a horse and you've got a few people who still consider it a pony."
SC: "Now, you told me to groom her this morning. Describe what I'm doing or if I'm doing it correctly."
AC: "Well, you are and I'd have to defer to the trainers to make sure you're doing an excellent job here. We wanted to give them a break and put you to work here. Now what you're doing here is the initial grooming. You're actually getting out the dead hair and dirt. And then after you do that, then you'll do the final grooming, which will actually put the hair nicely into place."
SC: "Well, so that's why I'm just kind of getting out the dandruff. You see all the hair coming off here, all the loose hair. Now are these horses, are they good for riding?"
AC: "They're said to be one of the gentlest horses around. And the vikings used these horses not only as war-horses, but as work-horses as well. Now, believe it or not, the vikings were one of the first to use a horse-drawn plow. In any area the vikings invaded, they brought that system of using the horse-drawn plow with them until it finally spread throughout the entire areas of Europe as well as North America."
SC: "That's really interesting and before I go, I have to smooth her down as well, like that right?"
AC: "There you go, he's starting to look really nice. You're doing a great job."
SC: "He looks beautiful. Now I guess I've got to go do the other side. You can meet Terry the beauiful horse here in the Children's Zoo"
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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