Icelandic horses

[Tootsie4U]

Goodness, I am just so intrigued by these little guys after seeing them perform this past weekend here in the states. They are a rare sight, and definately a rare treat! Needless to say, I have really fallen in love with them in every way.

I went window shopping on equine.com and found quite a few available here in the US. Most look nothing like what I remember seeing here on NR or from this weekend. Also, they are quite expensive! $$$

To the point, does anyone know of any literature, webiste or the like, that I can peek at to get some more info. on the breed? Any personal testimony to their ride, personality, hardiness, etc.?

Thanks,
Toots

[Tootsie4U]

Just look at this baby Icelandic: :p

[Showjumper]

He looks more Fjord-y than Icey...but I've never seen a baby Icey - he's gorgeous though :D

[ponytude]

Ahhh indeed the icelandic horses are very intruging. There was a thing on them on Anamal Planet which quite captivated me.*Why I am talking like this I have not a single clue* *See there I go agan!!!* I was interested when I first read this and went to a search engine and typed it in and heres some sites I found and stuff:
Heres a ranch:http://www.ice-horse.com/?source=sitesolutions
Heres another ranch :http://www.icefarm.com/
Ditto:http://www.icelandichorse.ca/
Canadian Icelandic Horse Federation site: http://www.cihf.ca/


Hope this helps!!!


PONYTUDE

[ponytude]

And if you wish to see more pics I suggust you go to google.ca for some.

[Wally]

Well there's ours www.thordale.co.uk

If you type Pentland Hills Icelandics into a search engine or Highland Icelandic Trekking, or British Icelandic Horse Society, or Edda Hestar you should find lots of links. Edda Hestar sell all over the world.
Ís-Hestar too might have a few links.

By the way, Dun Fjord babies and Dun Icelandic babies do good impressions of each other. Winnie is a dun Icelandic baby and Esse is a pure Fjord, when they were small you'd not tell the difference. 'cept Winnie started of pale cream dun and is now a dark buckskin and Esse is staying pale cream Fjord.

[Tootsie4U]

I like Flippi - he's darling with all that hair.

Wally, I've been noticing that Icelandic's are described as being four or five gaited. I understand their two extra gaits are tolt and flying pace.. Some are even said to dislike trot...

Im not well educated on gaited horses. But, how can a horse find a natural movement like trot unsatisfactory? Since some can be either four or five gaited, does that mean they dont pick up on the fifth gait? Do these gaits have to be taught?

Sorry for sounding so ignorant, I really haven't a clue. But, Im so interested now that I just have to know!

[Wally]

Hákon cannot trot, he never has, neither does he show any ability to learn to trot, his brain is just not wired that way. Fákur can trot, but you really have to balance for him and then he's like Thomas the tank Engine, he trots along going "I think I can, I think I can, ....No I can't" and loses his balance and splutters to a tölt again.

They don't seem to have to commit themsleves to any order of footfall, In an emergency it gets you out of trouble as an extra foot can come from nowhere and they can put thier feet dowwn in any order they need to.

SOme horses need to be taught when you want tölt the same way you'd teach canter. SOme need to learn balance and collection before tölt starts to show up strongly. Pace should be left for better schooled horses. Lots of demend are put upon a horse in flying pace.

This should be a picture of Fjord baby

[Wally]

This should be an Icelandic Baby, similar aint they?

[katieB]

I love fjords, they are such a fantastic breed. Their colouring is amazing, especially their manes. I was obsessed with them when I was little, I wrote a book about owning one called Jasper when I was about 12, still got it now :o
Wally, do you have any pics of Esse on your website?

[Wally]

This should be Fjord on the left (Kina) and Winnie, the foal with the black mare on the right, see how much darker she has become.

[Wally]

There's pics of Esse on the website and Troy and Kina. All Fjords.

[Tootsie4U]

Gee Wally, there's not a tree in sight.

Three colors to fjord's, right?

[Jodie & Ru]

So what escatly is a 'Tolt'? - sorry to intrude.

[Tootsie4U]

Animated Icelandic gaits here (http://www.icelandics.org/gaits.html)

[Jodie & Ru]

Wow! How i would love to ride a horse at 'tolt'

[Wally]

The official colours of the fjord are :-

red dun, white dun, brown dun, silver or grey dun and yellow dun.

Give me a few moments and I'll try to get on to my son's computer and post you some variations of Fjord colours, you'll just LOVE the white dun, it is stunning!

[Wally]

White dun.

[Wally]

Yellow dun

[Wally]

Red dun

[Tootsie4U]

well, I was half way there... I said three :p

You're right, all fjords just have *that* look, but that white is REALLY nice.

[Wally]

Silver dun

[Wally]

Brown dun, I think that's the lot.

[Tootsie4U]

Is red or brown the most common then?

[Wally]

The most common I have seen is like the brown dun. Pale but with a distinct black stripe down the mane rather than the red stripe and black points on the legs rather than the red points. They have zebra stripes as often as not too.

Icelandics come in any shade of dun that you can imagine, also ANY colour 'cept spotted.

[Wally]

This Icelandic thread seems to have gone a bit Norweeg!

[Tootsie4U]

'Tis ok Wally, you're the mod and Im the original thread starter :p

Really am fascinated by the little guys though. Is all that hair a breed trait? Are they bred for it?

[loppy ears]

There is a link to the British Icelandic Horse Society :D

I have recently become an Icey owner mine does trot very well but I find tolt more difficult having spent years riding 4 gaited horses - I'm sure we'll get there :cool:

http://www.ihsgb.freeserve.co.uk/

[Wally]

Until you have had a real taste of the weather here in the Northern Isles and Iceland and Faroe you really cannot appreciate just how bad the weather can be. The wind is enough to take your lugs off at times. You'll see not Dutch barns or open sided sheds north of the Scottish coastline.

They have all that hair for a good reason, survival and that's it. Ugla is an Iceland bred horse, she is as far north in the UK as it's possible to get, it's as far to Iceland as it is to Aberdeen here, we are half way between the two. She loses her winter coat in about July, she spends 2 weeks looking sleek and beautiful then back to furry person again. They are adapted with small nostrils and long air passages to warm up the air to thier lungs, they have tiny stomachs and very, very long guts to make the most of the grub they get. Icelandics do well on straw so long as they have ample land to roam and pick at. They even get fat in winter on straw. Hay is really throwing your money away, what they don't need just turns to fat. They were fed salt herring in iceland in the winter, not a natural food but they did okay on it.

Tölt is the main reason folk have them as it is SO wonderful to ride, personally I couldn't really care whether they tölted or not, thier temperament is ALL, tölt is the icing on the cake, the guilding on the lilly. I have never been bitten or kicked by an Icelandic even in moments of stress, cast or stuck horses or injured just let you do what you need to do, and calmly. They respect your space, they love you and want to be with you, but they won't start a fight to get a Polo, they will wait their turn.

We could send Frances' youngest child of 7 into the field with a bucket of food and she'd be safe, she'd not be knocked over or mugged, they would stand in a circle and wait their turn to be fed a handful of food. Now in all my years with nags I would never allow that to happen with a field of ponies and a child, but you can get away with it with the Icelandics we have for some reason.

[Tootsie4U]

I had better be careful talking with you Wally! Before I know it, I might just have one of my very own. They sound wonderful.

[Wally]

....errr, they don't come in one's, they are a terrible disease, bit like chicken pox, you get one spot and before you know it you are covered in a rash of them.

I started off with one, got 11 now! and love them all to bits. They make you laugh, Hákon today in the school was in a particularly good mood and Frances was able to get him to spin like a Western horse, she was nearly sick he went so fast and well. I got on for a quick spin (literally) and he is a FAST competition horse so not for the nervy rider. The folk watching him said they'd be too scared to ride him, so I showed them what would happen if they lost their balance oe stirrups. The SECOND I dropped my reins and took my feet out he stopped almost dead, 90mph to a halt because he thought I needed him to.

Kvikur won't walk on if he feels his rider slipping. In RDA classes the leader is trying to get him to go, he won't, I ask them to see if the kid is sitting straight, the child is busy sliding off, the horse is telling them but he's the only one who has noticed. Nobody in the world has enough money to buy Kvikur.

Even Ljóssie who is as highly strung as they come wouldn't harm a fly.

They are a very special breed, very different from any other breed I have worked with. Arabs have their place, Haflingers too, I cannot fault my old Haflinger, but he could drop a shoulder and snigger at the resulting heap of human! Any of our Icelandics would be horrified if you fell off them. My friend has a sensetive mare whome she fell off a few months ago. Other horse owner/riders would not beleive her when she said how upset the horse was at her fall. Some Icelandics really do get upset if you fall off them. Hákon does, he won't look you in the eye for a day or so after, Iacs certainly does get upset, Ugla and Ljóssie would fall on his own sword if he had one.