Isolated for more than 900 years in a land that favors the strong, the Icelandic horse is a breed honed by natural selection and the needs of farmers on the edge of the Arctic. Isolation and adversity have preserved and perfected surefooted stamina, robust "easy keeping", longevity and gaits that have been variously described as "dancing sanctity", "a touch of nirvana", and "poetry on the wind".
Icelandic horses are typically four or five gaited. Tolt is a running walk -- a 4-beat natural gait of back left, front left, back right, front right. When tolting, the rider is comfortable and virtually motionless in the saddle without the toss of a trot. The horse moves freely forward with front legs snapping smoothly up from the ground and head held proudly high. The long mane and tail wave and flow as speed escalates on command from a brisk walk to wind-in-the-face" exhilaration. Photo by Vince Verrecchio, Gloria & Fonix
Pace is the faster 2-beat fifth gait with two feet on the same side of the horse moving in the same direction at the same time. For short distances, the speed is similar to the fast gallop of other breeds but with far less motion transferred to the rider. The other three gaits are walk, trot, and canter (gallop).
BREED FACTS:
Average height is 13.1 hands but reportedly growing with some Icelanders saying that the average horse is now 14.1 hands.
More than 100 colors and combinations.
Icelandic horses mature slowly and are untamed until 4-5 years old but have useful lives commonly well beyond 23 years.
Typically personable and affectionate.
Direct ancestry of today's Icelandic horse is traced to Norway, but Greek artists in fifth century BC depicted men on tolting horses.
To protect breed health and purity, horse importation has been illegal in Iceland since the 11th century and any horse that leaves the island can never return.
Interest in the Icelandic horse is growing rapidly worldwide with 19 FEIF member countries (including the United States and Canada), 280 clubs and membership of more than 45,000. www.icelandics.org
Icelandic horses compete in dressage, hunt seat, endurance, gaited horse shows, and racing. They can be trained to drive and are used in handicapped riding rograms.
Icelandic horses are typically four or five gaited. Tolt is a running walk -- a 4-beat natural gait of back left, front left, back right, front right. When tolting, the rider is comfortable and virtually motionless in the saddle without the toss of a trot. The horse moves freely forward with front legs snapping smoothly up from the ground and head held proudly high. The long mane and tail wave and flow as speed escalates on command from a brisk walk to wind-in-the-face" exhilaration. Photo by Vince Verrecchio, Gloria & Fonix