Breeding the Icelandic Horse

Are you someone who is interested in the pursuit of horse breeding? Are you looking for an exotic breed that you just don't see every day to grace your stable? If so, you should seriously consider the Icelandic horse. This horse hails from Iceland where it has lived since approximately 850 A.D. The horse was introduced to the country by Vikings who brought the horse on their travels. This breed was created by breeding various types of horses together. You will sometimes find these horses referred to as ponies because of their size, although they are not.

While there are more than 70,000 of these horses in Iceland, there are few found anywhere else. The reason for this is because there is a regulation that says this breed of horse cannot be returned to Iceland if taken off the island. If you are lucky enough to obtain this breed, you will certainly appreciate its many fine qualities. As mentioned before, these horses are small. They range between 12 and 14 hands on average. Although they are small in size, they are very strong and well-muscled. They can carry approximately one-third of their body weight.

These horses were once used for farm and draft work, but have since been replaced by machines and motorized vehicles. Their main purpose in modern society is as a companion horse or show horse. The coat color of this horse can vary widely. There is no certain color that predominates. These horses are very intelligent and enjoy working with people. One of the distinguishing traits of this breed is its gait. They walk, trot canter and gallop. They also have special gaits called tolt and pace, which is a gait created for racing purposes. Not every horse has pace. The ones that do are called five-gaited. It all depends on the breeding and the training.

There are many associations devoted to this beautiful horse, including the United States Icelandic Horse Congress. Although the majority of these horses are found in Iceland breeders can be found in the United States and Canada as well. You will find riding clubs and international competitions that spotlight this horse. There is a World Championship for this breed that will be taking place in 2009 in Switzerland.

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