A unique horse breed

The Icelandic Horse is certainly a unique horse breed – bred exclusively and naturally, isolated in the far North Atlantic.

Bred in a country where the air is pure and landscape magnificent, raised in a wild herd in wide open paces, learning to be courageous, respectful and independent.
The horse is a favorite among Icelanders and can be seen in art and literature all through Iceland’s history. It has been purebred for a thousand years, treated with respect and dignity and raised to the highest level by systematic and ambitious breeding. It holds a special place in the mind of the nation.

The Icelandic Horse is intelligent, good-tempered, versatile and beautiful. It is the most colorful breed in the world, with over 40 different colors and over 100 variations. Unlike any other breed, it masters five gaits, among them the magical smooth tölt. It is strong and enthusiastic, forward-going and docile.
It is virtually unknown for a horse born in Iceland to bite or kick and such horses are never used for breeding. The Icelandic Horse is also self-assured; acts well in traffic and is a quick learner. It is truly a horse for everyone, with generations of people enjoying it together. It is suitable for leisure activities
and pleasure riding as well as top level competition.

A family horse

Thousands of people in Iceland own horses for the simple pleasure of riding out and enjoying the companionship of their horses. Travel on horseback is growing in popularity and Icelandic horsemen are respectful and considerate when it comes to nature, just as they are with their horse. All sorts of competitions are on offer and everyone can find a level that suits them, from novice fun classes up to top class national competitions. The Icelandic Horse can be used in all the traditional Icelandic disciplines as well as in classic equestrian sports such as dressage and jumping. Whatever your preference – you will always find an Icelandic Horse to fulfill your dream.

Registration of the Icelandic horses

Horses in line

Today, the Icelandic horses is represented by associations in 19 countries, with the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations (FEIF) serving as a governing international parent organization. The FEIF was founded on May 25, 1969, with six countries as original members: Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. France and Norway joined in 1971, and Belgium and Sweden in 1975. Later, Finland, Canada, Great Britain, USA, Faeroe Islands, Luxembourg, Italy, Slovenia and Ireland became members, but Ireland subsequently left because of a lack of members. New Zealand has been given the status of "associate member" as its membership base is small In 2000, 

WorldFengur was established as the official FEIF registry for Icelandic horses. The registry is a web database program that is used as a studbook to track the history and bloodlines of the Icelandic breed. The registry contains information on the pedigree, breeder, owner, offspring, photo, breeding evaluations and assessments, and unique identification of each horse registered. The database was established by the Icelandic government in cooperation with the FEIF. Since its inception, around 300,000 Icelandic horses, living and dead, have been registered worldwide. The Islandpferde-Reiter- und Züchterverband is an organization of German riders and breeders of Icelandic horses and the association of all Icelandic horse clubs in Germany. 

The Horse Breeders Association of Iceland and The Icelandic Equestrian Association

The Horse Breeders Association (Félag hrossabænda) is open to anyone who breeds horses or is interested in the breeding of the Icelandic horse. The association is comprised of nine divisions all over Iceland and members join the association through their local division.  
On their website you can register for news in English if you are interested.  


The Icelandic Equestrian Association (Landssamband hestamannafélaga – LH) is on the other hand an umbrella organization for all the riding clubs in Iceland. Founded in 1949, it is the oldest national association in the Icelandic horse industry.
The goal of LH is to attend to common matters and interests of horsemen, such as sport and gæðingakeppni competitions, public riding and riding trails, breeding, training, land management, education and environmental issues.


LH runs a national team that participates in the biannual World Championships for Icelandic horses as well as the biannual Nordic Championships. LH also owns a majority share in Landsmót Inc, the company that runs the Landsmót National Shows. The Landsmót is the biggest event in the world involving Icelandic horses and every other year these shows are held in Iceland where a selection of all of Iceland’s bests horses compete in various classes and breeding judgments.

Landsmot

The history Landsmót reaches back to 1950, when the first such show was held at Þingvellir. At that show 133 horses were presented: breeding stock, first-class riding horses (gæðingar) and racing horses. At that time, there was only one category for gæðingar to compete in - a single class of all-around quality riding horses - besides races and breeding shows.  Subsequently, National Horse Shows were held every four years until the Association of Riding Clubs in Iceland decided at its annual congress in 1995 to stage the national show every second year.  



The 2012 Landsmót will be held at the showgrounds at Víðidalur, in the middle of Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland.


The programme at the Landsmót is full and varied, and everyone should be able to find something of interest. There are various classes of competition ranging from the children’s class, with riders 13 years old and younger, up to the A and B classes, where top riders and horses display all the different gaits of the Icelandic horse.


Top-level breeding horses (mares and stallions) are also shown, and groups from breeding farms and the best tölt competition horses in the country. Other entertainment is also available in the form of music, dancing, singing and mixing with an international crowd of horse enthusiasts.

The Icelandic horse is a small breed of horse

The Icelandic horse is a small breed of horse that has evolved in isolation in Iceland as said here. Archeological finds in Norway, where the Icelandic horse is descended from the vikings, have revealed that the Icelandic horse belongs to an ancient race that died out in other parts in Europe but survived in Iceland for 1100 years without crossbreeding. 

The Icelandic horse is small, weighing between 330 and 380 kilograms (730 and 840 lb) and standing an average of 132 to 142 cm (52 to 56 inches) high. It has a spirited temperament and a large personality. It comes in a wide variety of colors,  and the Icelandic language includes more than 100 names for various colors and color patterns of the Icelandic horse. 

The Icelandic horse is known for its sure-footedness and ability to cross rough terrain. It displays two gaits in addition to the typical walk, trot, and canter/gallop commonly displayed by other breeds. The first additional gait is a four-beat lateral ambling gait known as the tölt. This is known for its explosive acceleration and speed; it is also comfortable and ground-covering. The breed also performs a pace called a skeið, "flying pace". It is used in pacing races, and is fast and smooth, with some horses able to reach up to 50 km/h (30 mph). It is not a gait for long-distance travel. More about the icelandic horses gait here

The colours of the Icelandic horse

 Here is a list of all the colours and nuances of the Icelandic horse but the fantastic range of colours of the Icelandic horse is a unique treasure that horse breeders have maintained and fostered. This list is from Eiðfaxi (eidfaxi.is) Enjoy :-)

• Bay dun = Bleikálótt, Bleikálóttur
• Bay = Jarpur, Jörp, Jarpt, Jarp-
• Blue dun = Mósótt, Mósóttur, Móálóttur, Móálótt, Mósa-
• Blaze = Blesótt, Blesóttur, Blesa
• Black = Svart, Svartur, Svar-, Svört, Brúnt, Brún, Brúnn
• Buckskin = Moldótt, Moldóttur, Mold-
• Cremello = Albínó, Hvítingi
• Chestnut = Rauð, Rauður, Rautt
• Dun stripe = Með ál
• Dark = Dökk
• Dark buckskin = Draugmoldóttur
• Flaxen = Glófext, Glófextur
• Grey = Grár, Grá, Grátt, Apalgrár, Apalgrá, Apalgrátt, Steingrá, Steingrár, Steingrátt
• Glass-eyed = Hringeygur, Hringeyg, Hringeygt, Glaseygur, Glaseygt, Glaseyg, Vagl
• Light black = Móbrún, Móbrúnt, Móbrúnn, Mó-
• Liver = Sót-
• Leg stripes = Kengálótt, Kengálóttur
• Pinto = Skjótt, Skjóttur
• Palomino = Leirljós, Ljósa-
• Roan = Litförótt, Litföróttur
• Smoky black = Glóbrúnt, Glóbrúnn, Glóbrúnt, Móbrúnt, Móbrún, Móbrúnn
• Silver = Vindótt, Vindóttur, Vindfext, Vind-
• Splash white = Slettuskjótt, Slettuskjóttur
• Snip = Nösótt, Nösóttur
• Socks = Sokkótt, Sokkóttur
• Smutty = Kolóttur
• Star = Stjörnóttur, Stjörnótt
• Thin blaze = Breiðblesóttur, Breiðblesótt, Halastjörnóttur, Halastjörnótt
• White = Hvítur, Hvít, Hvítt
• With eel, stripe on it's back = Með ál
• Yellow dun = Bleik, Bleikur, Fífilbleik, Fífilbleikur

These descriptions can be combined to show the whole combination of colors in a horse.  For example, if a horse is described as rauðlit/förótt/glófext/skjóttur/hringeygur, it would be chestnut/roan/flaxen/tovero/with white sclera.