Breed Spotlight: Norwegian Fjord Horse

One breed you’ll probably recognize instantly is the Norwegian Fjord Horse. If you’ve seen the  popular movie Frozen—and who hasn’t?—you’re familiar with the animated rendition of the breed. Anna’s pleasantly plump mount and Hans’ majestic equine companion are both Norwegian Fjord Horses. A highly appropriate choice for a film set in Norway!

Uniquely Beautiful

Norwegian Fjord Horses (pronounced fe-ord) have several distinctive characteristics. Probably the most obvious is their color. All Fjords are essentially one color—dun. But even though you will never see a bay, black, or chestnut Fjord, you can find them in several different shades of dun.    At first glance, they might seem hard to tell apart, but each shade has a slightly different coat color and the color of the points also varies.

There’s something special about their manes and tails, too. The mane of a Fjord is white on either side with a stripe of darker hair down the middle. The hair is coarse, so it stands straight up if it’s cut to only a few inches long. Their manes are usually kept short so this interesting color pattern can be seen and appreciated. The dark stripe in the mane is called a midtstol. Fjords have dark stripes in the middle of their tails, too—these are called halefjaers.

The most common Fjord color is called brunblakk, which is brown dun. Brunblakk looks very similar to rodblakk (red dun), but brunblakk horses have dark points and black or dark brown midtstols and halefjaers, while rodblakk horses have reddish-brown ones. Hans’ horse in Frozen is undoubtedly a brunblakk!

The three other colors of Fjords are grablakk (gray dun), ulsblakk (white dun), and the very rare gulblakk (yellow dun). Anna’s horse is an ulsblakk!

Brown dun, or brunblakk, is the most common Fjord color.

A Drive Through History

We all know that color isn’t the most important factor to consider when you’re looking to buy a horse, but for people who are interested in the sport of driving and dream of owning a matched team (a pair of horses that are similar in color, type and size), Fjords fit the bill! 

Driving enthusiasts are drawn to much more than just the consistent coloring of the Fjords. They also love their versatility, their strength, and excellent dispositions. Fjords usually stand between 13.2 and 14.2 hands, and they can be enjoyed in many other disciplines aside from driving, including dressage, eventing and gymkhana.

Norwegian Fjord Horses were domesticated thousands of years ago and used as war horses and then farm horses by the Vikings. But even though the breed has been around for centuries, Fjords didn’t arrive in the United States until the late 1800s, and they weren’t common in this country until the 1950s. There are approximately 6,500 Norwegian Fjord Horses in the U.S. today.