Icelandic horse

Icelandic horse

File:Sdapple1.jpg Top competition icelandic
Other names	Íslenski hesturinn
Country of origin	Iceland
Traits
Distinguishing features	All colors allowed, height from 1.20 to 1.45m. Has two unique gaits; tölt and pace.
Breed standards
Fagráð í hrossarækt
Equus ferus caballus

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 75,000 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 1.20 to 1.45m, roughly 800 pounds) but very strong for their size. They can carry roughly one-third of their weight, but have to be about four-years-old before they can carry a full-sized adult male human.

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. Being less skittish may have nothing to do with predators, but more to do with their ability and tendency to conserve energy. This does not mean that all Icelandic ponies are the same; some are quite skittish and more nervous and sensitive.

Distribution to Europe

Icelandic horse from Jutland (Denmark), 2004

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.

A concern is the riding style and how it came about: the use of narrow saddles, tight nosebands, and such heavy contact to get the gait from the horse.

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). Not all horses possess pace. Those that do are called "five-gaited" horses. Those that do not "four-gaited" horses. Although the breeding goal is for the perfect five-gaited horse in reality four-gaited horses are no less prized.

Tölt is a gait possessed by most Icelandic horses. 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 high quality into these gaits.

The style in which the Icelandic ponies are ridden is more indicative of forcing gait from the horse. If the horse was naturally gaited, there would be no need for tight nosebands and heavy contact.

It is thought that Icelandic horses have become about 10 cm higher during the second half of the 20th century, but that it probably has less to do with selective breeding and more to do with 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. Breeding horses are also evaluated for thier conformation and ridden talents in official breeding evaluations. The next World Championships for Icelandic Horses are in the Netherlands in August 2007.

External links

• Icelandic Horse Connection
• The Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britain
• Studbook of origin of the Icelandic horse
• United States Icelandic Horse Congress
• Icelandic-Horses.com A free database
• Stormhestar.de A free german database
• International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations
• The Icelandic Horse
• Some Icelandic horse articles
• Animations of the gaits of the Icelandic Horse
• http://www.icelandicdrillteam.com The Icelandic Mounted Drill Team of Buffalo, Minnesota, USA