The Icelandic horse originated from Scandinavia and is thought to have been brought to Iceland by the Vikings around the mid 800’s.

Despite their small size, Icelandic horses are very strong and can easily carry the weight of a full grown adult. They are normally broken to ride at the age of four to five years old and are mostly used for pleasure riding and gaited competitions.

Icelandic horses are renowned for their spirited but willing natures. They are forward going but sensible to ride and easy to handle. Bad natures are not tolerated and even today horses with less than perfect characters are culled for meat which is exported to Europe and Japan.

Iceland is a country with many environmental extremes such as volcanic activity, quicksand, land slides and extremes of weather. Due to this the Icelandic horse has developed the ability to assess a situation rather than flee which is the normal reaction of a flight animal. They also have a higher pain threshold than most horses along with a strong will to survive.

Icelandic horses are fames for their gaits. In addition to walk, trot, canter and gallop, most Icelandic horses can also tölt and skeið.

The tölt is a comfortable gait where the horse moves its legs in the same sequence as the walk but it’s done at speeds ranging from five to twenty five miles per hour.

The skeið is where the horse moves both legs of one side at the same time. The skeið is used in racing and when ridden at full speed is called the flugskeið (flying pace).

Five gaited horses are highly prized and are the ultimate goal for Icelandic breeders whereas horses that don’t possess pace are considered undesirable.