Facts about Icelandic Horses

Here are some Wikipedia facts about Icelandic Horses.

The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. Although small, at times pony-sized, most registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are late-developers, but are also long-lived and hardy. In their native country, they have few diseases, and Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return. The Icelandic displays two additional gaits beyond the typical walk, trot, and canter/gallop commonly displayed by most other breeds. The only breed of horse in Iceland, they are also popular internationally, and sizable populations exist in Europe and North America.

Developed from ponies taken to Iceland by Viking settlers in the 9th and 10th centuries, the breed is mentioned in literature and historical records throughout Icelandic history; the first reference to an individual horse appears in the 12th century. Horses were worshipped in Norse mythology, a custom brought to Iceland by the country's earliest settlers. Selective breeding over the centuries has developed the breed into its current form. Natural selection has also played a role, as the harsh Icelandic climate eliminated many horses through cold and starvation. In the 1780s, much of the breed was wiped out in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.

Icelandic horses stand an average of 13 and 14 hands (52 to 56 inches, 132 to 142 cm) high, which is often considered pony size, but breeders and breed registries always refer to Icelandics as a horse. Several theories have been put forward as to why Icelandics are always called horses. Some say it is because of their spirited temperament and large personality. Another theory claims that no comparable word exists in the Icelandic language for the word "pony", and so "horse" is used instead, and a third suggests that the breed's weight, bone structure and weight-carrying abilities classify it as a horse, rather than a pony.

The earliest Norse settlers worshipped the horse as a symbol of fertility and a deity, and white horses were slaughtered at sacrificial feasts and ceremonies. When these settlers arrived in Iceland, they brought their beliefs, and their horses, with them. Horses played a significant part in Norse mythology, and several Norse gods owned horses that played major roles in their stories. The most famous mythological horse was an eight-footed pacer named Sleipnir, owned by Odin, chief of the Norse gods and god of battle. Skalm, a mare who is the first Icelandic horse known by name, appeared in the Book of Settlements from the 12th century. According to the book, a chieftain named Seal-Thorir formed a settlement at the place where the mare stopped and lay down with her pack. Horses also play key roles in the Icelandic sagas of Hrafnkel's Saga, Njal's Saga and Grettir's Saga. Although written in the 13th century, these three sagas are set as far back as the 9th century. This early literature has an influence today, with many riding clubs and horse herds in modern Iceland still bearing the names of horses from Norse mythology.