icelandichorse.no

It would not be an exaggeration to maintain that without the horse the Icelanders would in all probability not have survived in their barren, mountainous, and remote island. Not only was the horse man’s “most useful servant” (his title of distinction in Iceland), but also his best and most loyal friend, taking part in his festivities and celebrations, standing by his side in times of need, despair, and natural catastrophes.

In a sense, the horse may have been the subconscious symbol of man’s survival on the verge of the habitable world, standing for the freedom and intoxication of the brief and invigorating summer months amid mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, green valleys and grey wastelands – and he could endure the long and bitter winters, often with very little help from his owner. The horse became as much a part of nature in Iceland as a mountain or a lake, and was loved by the Icelanders with the same kind of fervour they loved their barren land.
The size of the Iceland Horse is on average about 134 centimeters (14,1 hands) and his weight 380-400 kilogrammes. The horse matures slowly and should preferably not be broken in until he is 4-5 years old. On the other hand, he has a long life-span, often 23-24 years.
He is uncommonly robust, healthy, enduring and weather-resistant. He is highly versatile and has an interesting and highly individual character. He has been described as a first-class family horse, equally suitable for all age groups of both sexes (but anyway, adults should not have weight more than 100 kg). He is intelligent, good=natured, patient and easy-going, but does possess a fiery temperament when the occasion calls for it. To those concerned about appearance he may be a little too shaggy two-thirds of the year, when wearing his “winter-coat”, but he still looks attractive. For all his individuality, he is a social animal, preferring to be housed with other animals and to graze in a heard. And he is exceedingly popular with children and youngsters.
Riding during the bright Icelandic summer night out into the countryside, following old paths, climbing hills, fording rivers, or traversing pathless wastelands, has about it an air of unreality, or rather an air of higher reality: you may be quite alone, but you feel a strong and very personal attachment to the horse, and through the horse to nature itself. You are somehow immersed in the elements, become one with the country and all those thousands of forebears, who, for thirty generations, braved all the obstacles of a harsh landscape with the aid of the spirited and indomitable companion of man, always ready to serve, always strong and enduring. It has been said that none of God’s creatures has a higher claim to Iceland than the horse, which may be quite true, but a more realistic view would be that, in collaboration with man, the horse created the conditions which brought about Icelandic culture – no man achievement.
An indication of the esteem in which the Icelanders held their horse are the numerous appellations they have given him. English has very few nouns for a horse, but in Icelandic there are over 40 for a male horse (almost half of them derogatory) and some 10 for mare.