Icelandic Horse

The Icelandic Horse is a small, sturdy breed that developed in Iceland from stock brought over by Norse settlers more than a thousand years ago. Most individuals stand at pony height, yet the breed is always referred to as a horse, never a pony. It ranks among the purest horse breeds anywhere, having been kept genetically isolated for centuries.

The breed is best known for its gaits. Besides the walk, trot, and canter or gallop found in most horses, many Icelandic Horses perform two additional gaits: the tolt, a smooth four-beat running walk, and the flying pace, a fast two-beat lateral gait used over short racing distances. These extra gaits make the breed comfortable to ride over long distances and rough terrain.

Icelandic Horses are friendly, good natured, and inquisitive, with a confident and hardworking character. They mature slowly and are usually not started under saddle before four or five years of age, yet they remain sound and useful well into their twenties and thirties.

Who it suits

The Icelandic Horse suits riders after a sound, low-maintenance mount with smooth gaits. Its calm temperament and manageable size make it approachable for many riders, though its forward energy and strong will mean it does best with confident handling. The breed suits trail and endurance riding, recreational driving, and cold or damp climates where less hardy breeds would struggle. In India, owners in hill stations and cooler regions are best placed to keep this breed comfortable through the year.

The breed traces its origins to horses carried to Iceland by Norse and Celtic settlers during the settlement period, roughly 870 to 930 CE. These animals came mainly from Scandinavia and the British Isles and were the only horses on the island. Selection pressure from the harsh climate and scarce feed shaped a compact, hardy type over generations.

Around the year 982, the Icelandic parliament, the Althing, passed laws restricting the import of horses. Once a horse leaves Iceland it cannot return, and live horses from abroad are not permitted entry. As a result, the breed has stayed closed for close to a thousand years, one of the longest spells of genetic isolation recorded in any horse population.

For most of its history, the Icelandic Horse was central to daily life on the island. It carried people and goods across a country that had no roads or wheeled transport for centuries, worked on farms, and was the main way to cross rivers and rough terrain. The tolt gait was valued because it let a rider cover long distances in comfort.

From the nineteenth and twentieth centuries onward, the breed travelled abroad as a riding and sport horse. Icelandic Horses are now bred in Europe and North America as well as in Iceland, and breeding records and judging standards are coordinated internationally, though the Icelandic population remains the genetic source for the breed.

The Icelandic Horse is small but solidly built, with a deep body, short muscular legs, and a sturdy frame that carries adult riders with ease despite its modest height. The head is expressive, with a straight or slightly concave profile, and the neck is short and well set. The breed grows a thick, heavy coat in winter that sheds out to a shorter coat in summer. Mane and tail are full and coarse, and the forelock is often long.

Coat and colours

Few breeds show such a wide colour range. Icelandic breeders recognise a large number of coat colours and patterns, each with its own traditional name. Common base colours are chestnut, bay, and black, and these appear alongside dilution genes that produce dun, palomino, and silver shades, as well as grey, roan, and pinto patterning. The dense winter coat is a practical adaptation to Iceland's cold, wet, windy climate rather than a decorative feature, and it is one reason the breed needs careful management in a hot, humid climate such as India's.

The Icelandic Horse has a reputation for being friendly and good natured. The breed is curious about its surroundings and about people, and many individuals are confident rather than flighty, a trait shaped by centuries in an environment with few natural predators. This steadiness makes the breed easier to handle than its energy level alone might suggest.

With people, the breed is usually affectionate and willing. It is hardworking and forward under saddle, with plenty of stamina, but it is not highly strung. Around strangers, most Icelandic Horses are interested and approachable rather than wary. With other horses the breed is highly social and is traditionally kept in herds; horses raised in groups generally settle well with new companions.

The breed's confidence can shade into stubbornness, so consistent, fair handling matters. An Icelandic Horse that respects its handler is cooperative, but one that learns it can get away with ignoring commands may turn pushy. Their intelligence means they pick up both good and bad habits rather quickly.

The Icelandic Horse is among the easier breeds to keep. It is built for cold, wet conditions and generally does better with outdoor living and a run-in shelter than with constant stabling. The main care demands come from the thick coat, the heavy seasonal shed, and the breed's need for movement and company.

Grooming

• Brush several times a week to manage the dense coat and clear away mud and loose hair.
• Step up grooming during the spring and autumn coat change, when shedding is heaviest.
• Comb out the thick mane, forelock, and tail to prevent tangling.
• Pick out hooves regularly and check for thrush, particularly on wet or muddy ground.
• Avoid clipping too closely in winter unless the horse is in hard work and stabled, since its natural coat is the main protection against the weather.

Exercise

• Provide daily turnout; the breed is built to move about and graze over long stretches.
• Offer regular ridden or driven work to use up its stamina and keep it settled in the mind.
• Make use of trail and long-distance riding, which suits the gaits and stamina of the breed.
• Keep idle horses occupied, as a bored Icelandic Horse can turn pushy.

Environment

The breed copes with harsh weather better than most and prefers an open set-up with shelter and herd companions rather than a closed stable. It is prone to putting on weight on rich pasture, so grazing often has to be restricted. Secure fencing matters, since the breed is athletic and inquisitive. Owners keeping this breed in hot, humid parts of India should pay close attention to shade, ventilation, and fresh water through the summer and monsoon months.

The Icelandic Horse evolved on sparse grazing and is a thrifty feeder, meaning it holds condition on less feed than many other breeds. Good-quality forage, whether grass or hay, should form the base of the diet. Many Icelandic Horses kept in mild climates need no grain at all, and rich pasture often has to be restricted to prevent obesity and the health problems that come with it.

Treats and supplements

Most Icelandic Horses on good forage need only a salt or mineral source and constant access to clean water. Where the local pasture or hay is short on key minerals, a balanced supplement matched to the forage can fill the gap. Treats should be small and given sparingly given the breed's tendency to gain weight; small amounts of carrot or apple are safe choices.

The Icelandic Horse is generally healthy and remarkably long-lived, with many horses staying active into their late twenties and some reaching 40 years. Centuries of natural selection in a harsh climate produced a sound, durable animal. The breed's main health concerns stem from its thrifty metabolism, which makes it prone to obesity, and from its long isolation, which leaves it without exposure to some diseases and parasites found elsewhere.

Preventive care

• Keep body condition lean and limit access to rich grass.
• Use fly control and protective rugs to reduce the risk of summer eczema, especially in damp, midge-heavy areas.
• Keep to a routine deworming and dental programme under veterinary guidance.
• Schedule regular hoof care and farrier visits.
• Keep vaccinations up to date as per local requirements, since horses bred outside Iceland lack the natural exposure of those raised there.

The Icelandic Horse is intelligent, willing, and quick to learn, which makes training rewarding but also means it picks up bad habits just as fast as good ones. The breed matures slowly and is traditionally not started under saddle before four or five years of age, which gives the body time to develop fully. Its confident nature responds well to clear, consistent handling and can turn pushy under inconsistent or harsh methods.

Gait training is a distinctive part of working with this breed. Most Icelandic Horses tolt naturally, but developing a clean, balanced tolt, and in some horses the flying pace, takes time and skilled riding. A horse pushed too fast or ridden out of balance can lose the quality of its gaits.

Basics

1. Begin with calm groundwork to build trust and respect before backing the horse.
2. Introduce the saddle and rider gradually, once the horse is mature enough.
3. Establish the walk, trot, and canter under saddle before refining the tolt.
4. Develop the tolt through balanced, forward work rather than speed.
5. Reserve pace training for horses that show an aptitude for it, once they are fit and balanced.

The Icelandic Horse matures slowly, and breeding is generally held back until mares and stallions are around four years old or more, in keeping with the breed's late physical development. As with other horses, the mare carries a single foal, with twins being rare and usually not desired. Gestation runs to about eleven months, so a mare bred in early summer foals the following spring.

Mares often foal outdoors in herd conditions, which suits the breed's hardy, social nature. Foals are typically robust and grow up within the herd, picking up social behaviour from the other horses. They are weaned at several months of age and are not started under saddle until they are several years old.

Because the breed is closed and isolated, breeders place strong emphasis on pedigree, conformation, and gait quality. International judging standards assess both riding ability and conformation, and breeding stock is often formally evaluated before being used. Riders and breeders in India who import or work with the breed generally follow these same international standards, in consultation with bodies such as the Equestrian Federation of India where relevant.