Meet the Icelandic Horse

 
The island country of Iceland is nestled where the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans meet with Greenland to the west and Norway to the east. Its a country of approximately 370000 people and is home to one of the worlds most beloved gaited breeds the Icelandic horse.
Photo by TonyAdobe Stock
Imagine a breathtaking icy landscape inhabited by hardy rugged horses that are wellsuited to life in a cold northern climate. The horses have plenty of substance abundant manes and tails and five distinct gaits the walk trot canter tölt and flying pace. Theyre endearingly beautiful and enduringly longlived. Theres a lot to love about Icelandics!

Are Icelandic Horses Actually Ponies?
The tölt is the smooth signature gait of the Icelandic. Shown Emmy Stewart riding Vindur. Photo by Five Gait Farm
Sharpeyed readers may point to the Icelandics height of 12 to 14 hands and say Hey thats not a horsethats a pony! And while its true that most horsepony divisions hinge on the critical 14 2 hands as a reference point there is no word for pony in the Icelandic language.
This might be because there was historically only one type of equine on the island and thus no need for multiple words to differentiate between them. But theres more to it than thatthe Icelandic horse has a shape and characteristics that are more reminiscent of a horses build than a ponys similar to the way Miniature Horses retain horse proportions despite their tiny size.
No Equine Imports
So why is there only one type of equine in Iceland? For almost 1000 years thats about four times longer than the U S. has been a country! the people of Iceland have carefully bred and maintained the horses which are probably the descendants of Viking horses brought by ships.
During that time Icelandic horse breeders have been very careful not to allow outside horses onto the island so the Icelandic horse gene pool has remained pure for all these centuries. Even today this strict policy remains in effect and no horses are allowed to be imported onto the island ensuring that the original genetic lines of the Icelandic horse remain undiluted by other breeds. And once an Icelandic horse is exported off the island Icelandic law prevents it from ever reentering. Pretty amazing!
As mentioned the Icelandic horse has two additional special gaits beyond the typical walktrotcanter. The Icelandics famous tölt is a fourbeat gait with a lack of suspension allowing the rider to enjoy a quick speed in a very smooth ride. The flugskeið gait is also called the flying pace a lateral gait where each pair of legs on a horses side move together like a Standardbreds pace.
Icelandic Horse