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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. 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. 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, work animal and food source 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. The horses are today sometimes used when collecting sheep, but mostly for horse-racing or riding trips. 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. and sometimes names from Norse mythology and Icelandic nature are used. Some examples includes Grána which means "grey mare"; Teitur, which means "the happy one" or Frostreykur which means "frost fog". |
