Icelandic horse

The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse that has lived in Iceland since the mid-800s, having been brought to the island by Viking settlers.

Introduction

There are roughly 100,000 Icelandic horses in Iceland, and relatively few abroad, owing in large part to centuries-old Icelandic legislation that prevents any Icelandic horse from returning to the island once it has been taken to another land.

They are considered small (average 13 horse hands high, or 4'4", or about 1.32m, roughly 800 pounds) but very strong for their size. They can carry roughly one-third of their weight, but have to be about five-years-old before they can carry a full-sized adult male human; they are tried by any man over 200 pounds.

It is thought that the horses the Vikings brought with them had a broad variation of looks and many colors, and as such there is today a large variation in color in the Icelandic horses, they can have more than 40 different colors. The horse has been very important as a means of transport and a work animal throughout Iceland's history. Since around 1920 the horses have been recorded in pedigrees. Jeeps and tractors have largely replaced the horse as a work animal after World War II. These days the only work related tasks horses are used for is rounding up sheep from the highlands and herding livestock (sheep, cattle and horses) on farms. Most horses are mainly used for leisure riding, gaited competition, and for an Icelandic brand of horse-racing.

Icelandic horses are bred in closed pedigrees because they must be traceable back to Icelandic ancestors. Icelandic horses have been bred only with horses from Iceland since the Middle Ages. Icelandic words are used as names for Icelandic horses, words which describe their color etc Sometimes names from Norse mythology and Icelandic nature are used. Some examples include Grána which means "grey mare"; Teitur, which means "the happy one" or Hrímfaxi which means "the one with frost in his mane".

Behavior

The Iceland horse is less skittish than other breeds of horse. Considering that they have had no natural predators for 1200 years (save for man — the Icelanders eat horsemeat on occasion), many generations have selected for an animal that looks before it bolts, a curious animal willing to check out something new.

Distribution to Europe

Icelandic horses were earlier used as work horses around Europe, as they were persevering and low cost maintenance. The Icelanders exported many horses at the end of the 19th century, especially to England and Poland where they were used in mines. In Sweden and Denmark farmers used them as work horses, and women and children rode them. In Europe at the time there was widespread ignorance about how to handle the horses. For instance, many purchasers didn't know that the horses were gaited, and mistook the additional gaits as signs of lameness. As Europe became more industrialized, the need for work horses declined.

The Icelandic horse of today

Since there was no longer a use for so many horses, in the 1950s many horses were slaughtered. In 1954, there was an increased interest in Icelandic horses in Germany and many horses were sold there to avoid slaughter. These horses turned out to be good, fun riding horses, and so breeding was started, and horses were sold to Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In the early 1960s, a few horses were sold to Denmark. There they were at first met with scepticism, but before long they were accepted as a breed of good riding horses.

Gaits

Icelandic horses are known for their special gaits. Apart from walk, trot and canter, Icelandic horses are usually able to do tölt and skeið (pace). Skeið is a gait where the horse moves both legs of one side at the same time; it is solely considered a gait for racing, and ridden at the proper speed is called flugskeið, loosely translated as "flying pace". A slow pace, like that used in riding certain Peruvian horse races, is considered useless in Icelandic horses, and is called lull (piggypace).

Tölt is a gait possessed by most Icelandic horses. Not all Icelandic Horses are gaited. Tölt is the same gait as the rack; the horse moves its legs in the same sequence as while walking, with alternating one foot / two foot support, which is done at speed from 5 to 25 mph. The tolt is very smooth and is a pleasure to ride. It is a different gait than the running walk of the Tennessee Walking Horse. Many horse breeders work to breed these gaits. In a number of individuals it takes an experienced trainer to adjust the horse to be ridden in tölt, but a number of horses do tölt readily.

Breeders have also bred the horses to get larger; it is thought that they have become about 10 cm higher during the second half of the 20th century, but that may also be in part due to increased quality of fodder.

Competition and Breed Evaluations

Many things have happened in Icelandic horsesport during the last thirty years. Riding clubs and associations now exist in so many countries that, in addition to the national championships, championship competitions are held at the world level every two years. In championship competitions, the horses' gaits (among other qualities) are judged.

External links

Horse breeds | Animals of Iceland