home
Problems
Icelandic Horse
History
| The
ancestors of Icelandic horses were brought to Iceland around 850
A.D. by the
Vikings. Later on immigrants from the Scottish Islands, Ireland and the
Isle of Man brought more horses onto the island. However, from 993 A.D.
on no more horses were allowed to enter Iceland, making the Icelandic
horse the oldest purebred breed. For the first few centuries the horses were pretty much left to themselves, breeding by natural selection and adapting very well to the harsh climate. From about the 12th century on man took greater influence on the breeding. In the 18th century many Icelandics were exported to England to be used in the coal mines. Despite the arrival of cars and sealed roads on Iceland, the Icelandic horse has kept his place in the heart of the Icelandic people, and in recent years the little horses from the north have taken Europe and North America by storm. |
 Ride on the Beach (courtesy Vindholar Southern Icelandics) |
Characteristics
| The most
outstanding characteristic of Icelandic horses is their temperament. On
remote farms - and there are A LOT of those in Iceland - the horse was
the only means of transport and the only connection to the outside
world, and every farmer knew that one day his life might depend on his
horse. Therefore, Icelandic horses were bred to be level headed,
surefooted, and sturdy, with great stamina and strength - a real life
insurance! Despite their size of 13 to 15
hands (130 to 150cm) and pony-like appearance, they have no troubles
carrying a grown
man for hours and hours, outperforming many a larger horse, thanks to
their good bone and short back. In general, Icelandic
horses are well proportioned, with an expressive head, well set neck,
strong back, a well muscled croup and a thick mane and tail. They come
in a number of colour variations, both solid colours and paints, except
for leopards. On a lot of farms in Iceland horses were and are still kept 'the traditional way', in herds that roam vast areas. In autumn the weanlings are seperated from their mothers and branded. They then go out into a different 'paddock' until they are old enough to either be gelded or bred. During these first few years the horses hardly ever get to see a human. At around 5 years of age they are brought into the house paddock to be started under saddle, and despite (or because of?) little contact to humans in their early years, it doesn't take long for them to become reliable mounts. Since Icelandic horses (together with a handful of cows, probably) are the largest animals in Iceland and there are no large predators on the island, Icelandics have pretty much lost their flight instinct. When an Icelandic horse is startled, its natural reaction is to turn around and go check it out. |
Gaits
Icelandics
are either four or five gaited, showing the three 'base gaits' as well
as tölt
and, the five gaited ones, flying pace. While emphasis is put on the
lateral gaits, Icelandics are expected to perform in all gaits,
including
trot and canter. In addition to various classes of gait competitions,
dressage (with trot
as the intermediate gait) is a fixed part of Icelandic horse
competitions in
Europe.
| Tölt: Tölt,
when ridden at a normal speed, is
an even four-beat with short phases of one-leg support, as opposed to
for example running walk with its three-leg support. This
'diminished' ground contact
makes it possible for Icelandics to increase the tölt speed to
almost gallop speed. For a nice
animation check out Eiðfaxi's
homepage (click on tölt). Tölt
with three-leg support or any diversion from an even four-beat, be it
towards pace or trot, is not accepted. In competitions, the best
natural tölters
are shown in tölt
1.1, a class
where the horses have to tölt on
both hands on loose reins at a maximum possible speed without loosing
the correct four-beat. Truely spectacular! Flying Pace: The earliest pace races were run in Iceland! And the flying pace race is still the highlight of every Icelandic horse competition. The horses start in gallop and have to be taken into flying pace witin a certain distance. And then they are off! The distances raced are between 100m (speedpace P2) and 250m (pace race P1). The current FEIF recognised world record for the 250m race is 19.86 seconds. The flying pace is actually not a true pace (two beat), but a broken pace (four-beat). Due to the high speed, the hind leg sets down and takes off just before the fore of the same side (see the pace animation on Eiðfaxi's homepage and the photo on the right). This not only makes the pace faster, but also a lot more pleasant to ride. I've had the pleasure to ride both Icelandics and a Standardbred in pace and I have to say: no surprise that there are no pace races under saddle in Australia! |
 Dux in Tölt (courtesy Vindholar Southern Icelandics)  Dux in Flying Pace (courtesy Vindholar Southern Icelandics) |
Problems
In both Europe and the US sweet
itch (similar to Queensland itch) is quite a problem amongst
Icelandics. An allergic reaction to the bite of Culicoides species
(biting midge, sandfly) triggers severe itching and in response
scratching, loss of hair, skin lesions and general loss of
condition. A genetic predisposition in combination with nutritional
factors is thought to be responsible for this allergic reaction.
Rugging or stabling in combination with treatment of lesions and
nutritional management usually prevents outbreak or at least alleviates the worst symptoms.
The other problem I can see with Icelandics in Oz is the climate in parts of Australia. From my experience with Icelandics in European summer I didn't dare to keep one in Queensland. Someone else has given it a try recently and so far - so good, I was told!
The other problem I can see with Icelandics in Oz is the climate in parts of Australia. From my experience with Icelandics in European summer I didn't dare to keep one in Queensland. Someone else has given it a try recently and so far - so good, I was told!
Breeders
in Oz and NZ
Vindholar
Southern Icelandics: http://www.icelandichorses.co.nz
(NZ)
There are breeders of
Icelandic horses in Australia, but to my best knowledge, they
are not on the internet (yet)...
Links
FEIF -
International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations:
http://www.feif.org
Eiðfaxi - Icelandic Horse Magazine: http://www.eidfaxi.is
Tulle: http://www.angelfire.com/az/testryder/tulle.html
Eiðfaxi - Icelandic Horse Magazine: http://www.eidfaxi.is
Tulle: http://www.angelfire.com/az/testryder/tulle.html