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.

What is it that makes the icelandic horse so special?

Flying pace

The icelandic horse is the only naturally five-gated horse in the world! Not all of them are five-gaited, some of them are four-gaited. They have the three basic gaits: walk, trot, and, canter. They have two more gaits, tölt and flying pace. A four-gaited horse does not do the flying pace. 

Tölt

Tölt is a regular four-beat movement which resembles a rack. It can be performed at different speeds, varying from a slow tölt, a bit faster than a walk, medium tölt, which compares in speed to a medium trot, and fast tölt, as fast a medium canter. Flying pace is ridden at very high speeds and only over short distances, with both the legs on the same side of the horse touching down at the same time.

The tölt, the most pleasurable gait, is free flowing and effortless, allowing the horse to cover rough terrain swiftly. Many Icelandic Horses also pace, an exhilarating racing gait which can be performed at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. 

The Icelandic horse - the original horse of the Vikings

Horses were brought to Iceland by the first Viking settlers. Their boats were small and only a few horses, the very best, were brought along.
What makes Icelandic horses different from other types of horses is their calmness and kindness when being handled and their willing temperament when being ridden. Their height varies from 12.2 h.h. to 14.2h.h. but in spite of their size these horses are ridden by grown-ups without any problem.
The purity of the Icelandic Horse is unique. No horse has been imported to Iceland for more than a thousand years. This situation has not changed, even though a lot of horses have been exported to different countries.