07/20/2025
To those who have followed me at my personal FB for a long time, you will be very surprised to note that I am *not* starting my PFI Fjords album by introducing Tink. Instead, I am starting with Curious George. Every horse has a story, and George’s story is very good.
George is Melissa’s fox hunter. He will go in any flight and he is completely unflappable with one exception. He does NOT like Black Angus cows, and while he will ride through a herd of them, he approaches with extreme caution. There is probably good reason for this. I’m sure that George has a LOT of experience with bears, both black and brown! George was born in Willow, Alaska. His mom is Prairie Home Fjords Gina, and his dad was Alaska Range Jonah….without a doubt the most aptly named stallion ever. (The Alaska Range contains North America’s highest and most prominent peak at just more than 20,000 feet tall, and it has HUGE presence). His human mom was Mickie Proulx; the photos of George as a foal came from her; she shared them with Melissa when we purchased George. Unfortunately Mickie died a year and a half after we purchased George. Thanks to Dan Watanabe and Denise Vogel, we have several mares from Mickie’s estate, including George’s half sister Paske.
George acquired his name due to a fairly severe underbite. As the story goes, his vet said, “This horse has a monkey mouth!”, and thus he became Curious George. I’m sure his underbite did not add to his allure as a sales prospect; additionally he had a huge gap between his teeth and a monstrous head which wore an expression of curiosity (aptly captured in his name) combined with stunned surprise. After Tink, it’ll be no surprise to anyone that George had the least expensive purchase price of any Fjord on this farm. Many of his looks related quirks have improved as he matured and grew into his features…he was enough of a specimen when he got off the trailer that I asked Melissa just what the f**k she was thinking when she bought him.
George’s first ride wasn’t in a trailer or on a truck. It was on an Inuit komatik (an example is pictured below) pulled by a snowmobile. He rode in a box with sides roughly 1m high and otherwise open to the world. While the photo I shared isn’t of George, it IS of one of Mickie’s Fjord Horses.
George travelled 6500km to come to us with zero experience on a trailer. After I got past his looks (OMG) it quickly became apparent that George has a brain to die for. He walked on and off the trailer that brought him like an old pro, and he settled in immediately. I genuinely don’t think he was ever unsettled.
George’s mom and dad are also pictured below, just prior to Gina foaling George.
Needless to say, George is NOT for sale. 🙂 BUT George is the template for the sort of brain we look for and try to breed. In our opinion a good brain and a willing heart comes before natural athletic ability. That can be taught.
