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Icelandic Horse
The Icelandic Horse is small, but it has Viking-sized abilities.
This breed has many cold-weather adaptations to help it cope with Arctic conditions. And it comes in every possible color and pattern!
Height: 12-14 hh (horse hands)
Color: Many Colors and Patterns
Body Type: Pony
This breed comes from...
Iceland
Explore the traits of this breed!
SIDE VIEW
See its short head, neck, and legs? These traits help it retain body heat because less surface area is exposed to the cold weather!
At the withers, this horse is 13.3 hands (4 ft 7 in, 140 cm) high.
The Icelandic Horse is small so it requires less food. This breed is able to survive in an environment with very few plants.
A shaggy winter coat keeps the Icelandic horse warm in subzero temperatures.
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FRONT and BACK VIEW
This breed is nimble on Iceland's rough terrain. It can move easily across jagged lava fields, rivers, and ice!
See the thin white marking on its face? In Icelandic, it is called a halastjarna (pronounced HAH-lah-STYAR-nah). It means "comet."
This horse has a chestnut coat with flaxen mane and tail. This combination is called rauðglófext (pronounced ROYDTH-glow-FEKST) in Icelandic.
The Icelandic horse has five gaits: walk, trot, gallop, pace—and a unique, high-stepping gait called the tölt (pronounced TUDLT). It is a "running walk" in which it places each hoof separately on the ground in a 4-beat pattern.
Look at its broad, strong back and stocky, well-muscled body. An 800-pound Icelandic horse can carry a 250-pound rider!
With short cannons, the Icelandic horse is surprisingly fast. It can gallop at 35 mph!
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The Icelandic Horse Story
Viking settlers first brought horses to Iceland between 874 and 930 AD. Before their arrival, the largest land mammals on the island were Arctic foxes. After the Vikings settled, it is believed that Icelandic horses were not crossbred with horses from outside the island of hundreds of years.
This breed is well-adapted to Iceland's harsh weather and landscape. There, Icelandic horses are typically kept in herds outdoors. Even in winter, they are often left to forage outside—though barrels of salted fish are traditionally provided for them to eat.
Although the Icelandic horse is small enough to be considered a pony, Icelanders always refer to it as a horse.
Appaloosa | Arabian | Belgian Draft | Connemara | Dutch Warmblood | Friesian | Haflinger | Hanoverian | Icelandic Horse | Lusitano | Miniature Horse | Morgan | Oldenburg | Paint | Percheron | Quarter Horse | Selle Français | Thoroughbred
Credits:
All images, © AMNH