ICELANDIC HORSE

This hardy gaited breed offers many fun ways for youth to get involved.

- SAMANTHA JOHNSON

The island country of Iceland is nestled where the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans meet, with Greenland to the west and Norway to the east. It’s a country of approximately 370,000 people, and is home to one of the world’s most beloved gaited breeds: the Icelandic horse.

Imagine a breathtaking icy landscape, inhabited by hardy, rugged horses that are well-suited to life in a cold northern climate. The horses have plenty of substance, abundant manes and tails, and five distinct gaits: the walk, trot, canter, tdlt, and flying pace. They’re endearingly beautiful and enduringly long-lived. There’s a lot to love about Icelandics!

Are They Ponies?

Sharp-eyed readers may point to the Icelandic’s height of 12 to 14 hands and say, Hey, that’s not a horse—that’s a pony!” And while it’s true that most horse/pony divisions hinge on the critical 14.2 hands asa reference point, there is no word for pony” in the Icelandic language. This might be because there was historically only one type of equine on the island, and thus no need for multiple words to differentiate between them. But there’s more to it than that—the Icelandic horse has a shape and characteristics that are more reminiscent of a horse’s build than a pony’s, similar to the way Miniature Horses retain horse proportions despite their tiny size.