When I was a child of 6 or 7 my older sister, Mrs N, bought herself a gelding named Raudur. A few years later my parents, Mr and Mrs G, bought a mare from Iceland named Birta. I was tought the basics of riding on these two horses and I spent all my time with them, caring for them, riding, playing etc.
When I was 12, on the night of the mid-summer festival, Birta had a foal by the stallion Sirkil of Stora Hofi. We named him Birk of Knutsgården an I was the first one to get to go close to him and he was mine. I would spend hours upon hours with him in the pastures. I would sit in the grass with him, race with him, brush him, wash him and spent all my free time with him. I even sang to him and taught him tricks. When he was 1 year old I taught him to be led and took him for walks. I would lay in the field during summer with my head on his neck or belly while we both slumbered in the sun. During winter I would spend my evenings in the stable tending him.
