Icelandic horse

• 1. A Mare Named Skalm

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  Skalm, the first Icelandic horse known by name, appears in the Book of Settlements from the 12th century. A chieftain called Seal-Thorir founded his homestead at the spot where Skalm stopped, lay down with her pack, and refused to move. An entire community took root because of what one mare decided.

  Today, roughly 80,000 Icelandic horses live on the island against a human population of about 317,000. They are smaller than most breeds, often pony-sized, yet the word pony is never applied to them. The breed's spirited temperament and its weight-carrying abilities are among the theories given for this distinction. No horse that has left Iceland has been permitted to return since 982 AD. The animal that has lived under those conditions, through more than a thousand years of isolation and hardship, can move in five distinct ways. One of those gaits arrives with the foal at birth.

• 2. Horses of the Gods

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  Genetic analysis has linked the Icelandic horse to the Mongolian breed by an indirect route. Mongolian horses were introduced into northern Europe from Russia by Swedish traders. That stock contributed to the Fjord, Exmoor, Scottish Highland, Shetland, and Connemara lines. All of those breeds share measurable genetic ties with the Icelandic horse. A second wave of settlers arrived in Iceland from Norse colonies in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Western Isles of Scotland. They brought the ancestors of Highland and Connemara ponies, which crossed with the animals already on the island.

  Throughout the Viking Age, horses were slaughtered and eaten at religious ceremonies called blóts. Among the early Norse settlers who colonized Iceland, a horse was not simply property. Odin's horse in Norse mythology was Sleipnir, an eight-footed pacer who could carry his rider between realms. War horses were sometimes buried with their fallen riders. A horse was often considered the most prized possession a medieval Icelander could own.

  The three major Icelandic sagas, Hrafnkel's Saga, Njal's Saga, and Grettir's Saga, all feature horses at critical moments. Written in the 13th century, these sagas are set as far back as the 9th. During the Commonwealth period from 930 to 1262 AD, staged fights between stallions were common across Iceland. They served as entertainment and as a means of selecting the best breeding animals. The events also functioned as political theater; rivals used the occasions to improve their standing at each other's expense, and outcomes sometimes reshuffled alliances. Young men and women used the same gatherings for courting.

  Attempts to introduce eastern blood into the Icelandic line went badly and caused the stock to degenerate. Iceland's parliament, the Althing, passed laws banning all future imports of horses. From that point forward, the breed developed without outside influence.

  Between 874 and 1300 AD, during the medieval warm period, Icelandic breeders made deliberate selections for color and conformation. The Icelandic language developed more than 100 names to describe the range of colors and patterns that emerged. The harsher centuries that followed would demand something different from the breed entirely.

• 3. Lakagígar and After

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  Between 1783 and 1784, roughly 70% of all horses in Iceland died. The cause was the 1783 eruption of Lakagígar, which lasted eight months. It covered hundreds of square miles of land with lava and rerouted or dried up several rivers. The volcanic ash poisoned the pastures. Starvation did the rest.

  From 1300 to 1900, the Icelandic climate had already been severe, and many horses and people died across those six centuries. The Lakagígar disaster fell near the middle of that period and extended the toll to a new scale. Recovery was slow, taking nearly a century.

  The first Icelandic breed societies were established in 1904, marking a renewal of deliberate selection. The first breed registry opened in 1923. Both institutions created a formal framework for an animal Icelanders were already racing. The first official horse race had been held at Akureyri in 1874.

• 4. Tölt and Flying Pace

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  The tölt is a four-beat lateral ambling gait. It can be performed at any speed from a fast walk up to the pace of a canter, and it is known for explosive acceleration. The footfall pattern moves left hind, left front, right hind, right front, matching the sequence of the walk. Unlike the walk, the tölt can cover far more ground at far greater speed. Similar lateral ambling gaits exist in other breeds. The Saddlebred has the rack, the Paso Fino has the largo, and the Tennessee Walking Horse has the running walk. The tölt is present from birth. Training can improve a weak tölt but cannot create one that was not already there.

  Two forms of the tölt are considered faulty by breeders. One is called the Pig's Pace, an uneven two-beat movement closer to a pace than to a proper amble. The other is the Valhopp, a combination of tölt and canter most commonly seen in young or untrained horses. Both are uncomfortable to ride.

  The fifth gait is called the skeið, or flying pace. It is a two-beat lateral gait with a moment of full suspension between footfalls. Each side's feet land almost simultaneously before the other side takes over. Some horses can reach speeds of up to 30 mph. The flying pace is used in pacing races. In Iceland, those races are ridden rather than run in harness with sulkies, as they are held almost everywhere else. The gait is not suited to long-distance travel. Not every Icelandic horse can perform it. Those that perform both the flying pace and the tölt, alongside the three standard gaits, are considered the best representatives of the breed.

  Icelandic breed registries count the canter and gallop as a single gait. Most horse experts distinguish between them on the basis of a slight variation in the footfall pattern. The registry's counting decision is what makes the breed five-gaited rather than six.

• 5. Longevity and Character

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  An Icelandic mare living in Denmark reached the age of 56. Another, in Great Britain, reached 42. The most productive years for the breed fall between eight and eighteen, and the animals retain their strength and stamina well into their twenties. Both sexes remain fit for breeding until age 25, and mares have been recorded giving birth at 27.

  Icelandic horses are not ridden until they are four years old. Their physical development is not complete until age seven. The Icelandic horse is known for being friendly, docile, and easy to handle, while also being enthusiastic and self-assured. The breed also carries a double coat for extra insulation against the cold.

  Iceland has no natural predators, and the breed's tendency not to be easily spooked is attributed to that absence. A horse raised without natural threats develops differently from one that must remain alert.

  As a result of the breed's long isolation, Iceland-born horses carry almost no immunity to diseases common in other parts of the world. An infection reaching the island could be devastating to the entire population. All equine equipment brought into the country from abroad must be either brand-new and unused, or fully disinfected before entry. The standard applies to all livestock, not only horses. Within Iceland itself, diseases in the breed are virtually unknown, with the exception of certain internal parasites.

  The broader vulnerability of the breed to foreign disease only became apparent once the horses began crossing borders.

• 6. From Island to World

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  Before the 20th century, Icelandic horses were sent to Great Britain to work in the coal mines as pit ponies. Their small size and considerable strength suited them to the work. Those animals were never registered, and almost no evidence of their time there remains.

  The first formal exports went to Germany in the 1940s. Great Britain's first official imports came in 1956, when a Scottish farmer named Stuart McKintosh established a breeding program. Other breeders followed. The Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britain was established in 1986.

  On the 25th of May 1969, six nations formed the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations, known as FEIF. Those founding countries were Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. France and Norway joined in 1971; Belgium and Sweden followed in 1975. Finland, Canada, Great Britain, the United States, the Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Italy, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Australia, and Ireland later joined as well. Ireland subsequently left for lack of members. New Zealand holds associate status. The organization now coordinates breed associations in 22 countries.

  In 2000, FEIF launched WorldFengur, a web database serving as the official studbook for the breed worldwide. WorldFengur tracks pedigree, breeder, owner, offspring, photographs, and breeding evaluations for each registered animal. The Icelandic government established the database in cooperation with FEIF. Around 300,000 Icelandic horses, living and dead, have been registered since its inception.

  Today, roughly 100,000 Icelandic horses live outside Iceland. Nearly 50,000 of them are in Germany. Some are bred for meat, and much of that meat is exported to Japan. Farmers in Iceland still use the breed to drive sheep down from the highlands. Races are held throughout the country from April through June, covering both gallop and pace. Winter events also take place on frozen bodies of water. In 2009, one such event ended with both horses and riders falling through the ice and needing rescue.