Viking Horses

When the Vikings settled in Iceland in the late 9th century, they brought with them their best horses from various origins, though mostly of Germanic descent. Although the origin was mixed, today it is one of the most purebred horsebreed in the world due to its isolation.

Pure as Ice

All horses in Iceland and in countries which Icelandic Horse breeding Associations are a member of the FEIF, are registered. The FEIF is the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations, founded in 1969. The breeding is carefully managed. Only purebred Icelandic Horses are eligible to be registered. A horse is purebred when it can be ensured it is a directly decendant from the Viking Horse. Only then the horse will be registered on the World Fengur (WF), the world wide database for purebred Icelandic Horses. In WF you can find information on its pedigree, assesments, breeders, offspring, (former) owners etc. It is an unique database. No other breed is as well registered as the Icelandic Horse.

Tölt and Flying Pace

The Icelandic Horse is the only breed in the world which can naturally master five gaits: walk, trot, tölt, canter/gallop and pace. It is best known for its smooth four-beat gait; the tölt. In the tölt or running walk, the horses hindlegs move well under the body thus enabling the back to yield and the front part to rise. Since there are always one or two hooves on the ground at any time, it is a supremely comfortable gait for the rider.  The tölt can be ridden at any speed, from a gracious collected slow tölt up to a very fast tölt were the horse can keep up with gallopping or even pacing horses. The pace is the fifth gait and not found in all horses. It is a two-beat lateral gait in which the horse moves both legs on the same side together. The pace is only saved for special occasions like competitions, pace racing, and only ridden at top speed: the flying pace

Icelandics in New Zealand

In the late 1990's the first Icelandic Horses were imported to New Zealand and today there are about 60 Icelandic Horses in New Zealand. Its population is slowly but steadily increasing. In 2003 we imported Biskup and Þótti frá Wetsinghe to New Zealand, followed by Hugför frá Kopavógi in 2007. In 2008 we bred our first foal and the end of 2009 our second foal will be born. All horses bred at Skógarrönd are DNA tested, chipped, registered with the World Fengur and will have a certificate of origin from Iceland.

Cool as Ice

Icelandic Horses become increasingly popular around the world. Today the FEIF has 19 member countries. Many people have now discovered this charming easy to handle breed; they are really Cool as Ice!

If you would like to read more about the Icelandic Horse, the attached file contains a small booklet "The Icelandic Horse" published by The Horse Breeders Association of Iceland, 2006.