Icelandic Horse

The ancestors of the Icelandic horse were small, sturdy and well adapted to the harsh Icelandic climate. They were brought to Iceland in the 9th century by settlers from the north of Britain and western Norway. Crossbreeding with some eastern blood proved damaging to the breed and in 930 the parliament passed a law forbidding all imports of other breeds, which had the added advantage that the breed remained virtually disease free. For over 800 years the Icelandic had no influence from outside blood lines and turned into a tough, extremely well adapted horse capable to swim across the rivers as there were no bridges in the country until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1879 Iceland started a selective breeding program in Skagafjordur, the country's famous horse breeding region, primarily based on the quality of the horse's gaits . The people of Iceland refer to the breed as horses and not ponies. They are tremendously tough little horses able to carry an adult rider at speed safely over mountainous terrain like during the annual autumn sheep round-ups. While the sheep are sorted into flocks the horses are usually set loose and will set off to their homes. The Icelandic has a strong homing sense and many have returned to their original owners after being sold to other areas of the country. In the olden days horse fights were a popular form of entertainment in Iceland. Two specially trained stallions would be set against one another, urged on by goads. This proved to be a very dangerous activity often injuring the handlers or even killing them. Many thousands of Icelandic horses can be found in Europe, the United States and Canada with the largest number found in Germany. Breeding and exporting of the horse has become an important business.