Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Icelandic Horses and a giveaway!

I can't believe she made these herself -- adorable!

Pamela of Blessi-ngs: Life with an Icelandic Horse is a woman of many talents. She was kind enough to send me two handmade Icelandic horse stuffed animals -- one for me, one for a giveaway! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with your contact info and the first word that comes to mind when you think of Icelandic horses (BTW "cold" is not allowed!).

Do you know much about Icelandics?
Pam kindly wrote up a summary of the breed's history.
When the Norse began to permanently settle in Iceland in 874 AD, they brought only their finest stock, including horses, in their ships. There has been no known introduction of additional horses to Iceland for over 1000 years. The original horses had to learn to survive in a land of glaciers, snow, and volcanic activity; historically they had to forage for themselves over winter. Natural selection ensured that only the hardy survived.

Today, the goal of Icelandic breeding standards is for a horse that is “willing, brave, happy, cheerful, confident and offers its best with very little encouragement. The horse tries to please the rider, is sensible, easy to ride and handle.” Icelandic horses come in many colors from chestnut, bay, buckskin, silver dapple, roan, gray, black, cream, blue dun, yellow dun, and many shades of pinto. Most Icelandics can perform four gaits: walk, trot, canter, and tölt (or rack or amble). Some Icelandics also have a fifth gait: flying pace, which can be very smooth and over 25 miles per hour at international racing speeds. Ranging from height from 12.2 to 14.1 hands, the Icelandic horses are huge amount of fun in a compact package.



27 comments:

  1. I think thick necks with short, spikey manes.

    Susannicolehagan@hot mail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Depends on the breeding line. All of the Icelandics I have seen, own, or are ridden in our club (FIRC) have strong, elegant necks with long and thick manes and tails.

      Delete
  2. Hearty is the first word that comes to mind. My email is annoria@hotmail.com, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think sturdy little horses who I want to go to Iceland to ride so I can cross off another bucket list item!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I met some Icelandic horses at a demonstration and I could not forget that pace! They move so effortlessly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forgot to add my email address: heartofhope10@gmail.com

      Delete
  5. And opps, my email is heartofhope10@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Tolte." I follow a blog on the Shetland Isles; the lady raises Shetland ponies and Icelandics. I've learned a lot and gained appreciation from her blog!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fuzzy! The ones around here are furry teddy bears in winter. shadowsrider6749@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. There is a fantastic documentary called "Herd in Iceland" - funded by kickstarter - I bought it, and its about 30-45 minutes of a wonderful story of the Icelandic horse and its people. Go youtube the trailer. is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "Elvis". When I was in Iceland a few years ago I rode two different icelandic horses named Elvis. They both had great hair!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Tölt is the first word that comes to mind when I think of them!

    mbalch921@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think hairy teddy bear. They have such lovely manes and tails, not to mention how fluffy they get in the winter.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Locomotives- they get a motion in tolt that reminds me of the old trains

    ReplyDelete
  13. A pony without the "ponytude" My email is shadypondfarm@verizon.net

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tolt! Tolt!! Tolt!!! (something I would love to try someday ;)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beauty. My mare Rothadis is an amazing and beautiful Icelandic Horse.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh dear...forgot my contact info
    iceponygoddess AT gmail DOT com

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Smooth...know someone in Scotland that rides one..says she does the best sitting trot on the little fella! wileyaa@auburn.edu

    ReplyDelete
  18. friendly. Because it is what they are. In addition to tallented, strong and very special. Among many other wonderful things. One word could never describe them

    ReplyDelete
  19. Tolt is the first word I think of. Icelandics were included in one of our Morgan shows a few years ago and were really fun to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hardy - those little horses not only endure the cold, but pack around grown men with simple ease that is as graceful as it is cute. ; )

    bonita of A Riding Habit
    bonita.vear(at)gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hearty and hardy. Just wonderful animals.

    ReplyDelete
  22. History-They have been around forever, taught so many things to so many generations, they have the blood of Iceland, and their hearts are as big as the place of their origin, and then some.
    spotted_racker@yahoo.com is my email. :)

    ReplyDelete

Hi Guys, Your comments are valued and appreciated -- until recently I never rejected a post. Please note that I reserve the right to reject an anonymous post.