Possibly the ‘coolest’ horse breed on the planet!

TheIcelandic Horse:

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Icelandic horses are thought to be genetically related to the Shetland horse, as well as such breeds as the Mongolian horses and the Norwegian Nordland or Lyng horse. About 900 years ago there were attempts to bring some other breeds of horses into Iceland but this was not to be. A law was passed to prevent any other horses from being imported into Iceland. Which means the Icelandic Horse is not only the native horse of Iceland, but also the ONLY horse breed in Iceland! It also means this very special horse breed has been bred ‘pure’ in Iceland for more than 1,000 years…

Cool colours!The Icelandic Horse tends to be quite small in size and despite being referred to as a horse, their average height

is just 13 to 14 hands high. The breed can be found in 42 different coat colours, including chestnut, bay, dun, palomino, grey, black, pinto and roan and with over 100 different variations. Icelandic horses are known for their easy-going nature and calm attitude. In Europe, the Icelandic horse is actually one of the more popular breeds of riding horses. The Icelandic breed is also sought after for its hardy temperament and longevity. Believe it or not, an Icelandic Horse in Denmark reached a record age of 56 years old – ‘cool’ huh?

Cool paces!The Icelandic Horse is also the only horse in the world with five gaits. A gait, also known as a pace, is the name given to all of the different speeds a horse has. While many of our common Australian horse breeds have just three gaits (walk, trot and canter), the Icelandic horse has five different gaits; the walk, trot, tolt, flying pace and canter/gallop.The walk and trot of an Icelandic horse is the same as those paces in any other horse. But the ‘tolt’ is the first gait where we see the unique abilities of these incredible horses. The ‘tolt’ is a pace where the horse’s footfalls follow the same pattern as a walk. This means that all four feet hit the ground individually and one after the other. The Icelandic ‘difference’ between this and the walk is that the ‘tolt’ can be performed at many different speeds, from that of a fast walk to the speed of a canter.The second gait exclusive to the Icelandic Horse is the flying pace. This is a racing pace and is much the same as that of the Australian harness racing horse, the Standard bred. However, while the Standard bred is raced in a harness, the Icelandic horse is raced while being ridden. In fact, some Icelandic’s have been clocked travelling at 48 km/h!

Cool future!The earliest importation of the breed into Australia was recorded back in 1863, when four horses were advertised in the Argus newspaper Melbourne in 1863 as follows:

The horses sold for an average of £21 each. More recently, there has been a count of almost 100 purebred Icelandic horses in Australia and that number continues to grow each year. Today, thanks to the dedication of Haldane Icelandic Horses, who established their Australian based breeding program in the late 1990s, Australia is now home to some of Iceland’s finest horse bloodlines.Haldane Icelandic Horses is located in Victoria and is home to the largest herd of purebred Icelandic horses in Australia; with over 70 icelandic horses currently on farm! Icelandic horses can also be found from Kalgoorlie & Perth in the West, through to Canberra, Tasmania, Sydney and Queensland! Amy Haldane is the Stud Manager and it was Amy’s Uncle Clyde who established the Haldane stud back in 1996. Clyde originally imported nine Icelandic horses from Denmark, but after Clyde passed away in 2005, Amy (with help from her sister Thea) took over the care of the stud’s 35 horses.Of course it’s not all easy work as there is a lot to be done every day! Stud duties for Amy and Thea consist of feeding, working, training and breeding these beautiful horses. So

what is it about the Icelandic breed of horse that has kept Amy so inspired and passionate in her work?“Everything! Icelandic horses have five gaits – most breeds only have three. They have the most amazing temperaments, are very people orientated, easy to handle, very hardy and are fun and rewarding to ride and own. It’s so hard to describe why they are so special but those who have met, ridden or ever owned an Icelandic horse know what we are talking about!“We’ve also found them really easy to care for. They usually have great feet, good health and do well without much extra feeding. They come fully rugged in their winter fluff so most of them don’t need any other rugging in the cold. In summer we provide them with shelter but we usually find them sunbathing instead!”Amy’s long-term goal is to make the Icelandic horse a much more well known breed here in Australia but this is proving to be a slow process. Because the young horses can’t be broken in until they are three and a half years old, and the majority of the Haldane herd is young stock, these spunky and eye catching horses are only just beginning to get ‘out and about’ at events and shows around Australia. In fact, Haldane Icelandic Horses will be visiting EQUITANA Sydney this November (visit www.equitana.com.au to buy your tickets today!) as part of the popular Breeders Village exhibition!

Want to know more? Check out Haldane Icelandic Horses at:

www.icelandichorses.com.au

The Icelandic horse is believed to have arrived in Iceland with the Viking Age

Scandinavians sometime between 860 and 935 AD. Today, thanks to the hard

work and dedication of Victorian based breeder Amy Haldane, this hardy and

reliable breed of riding horse is fast finding fans among Australian horse lovers!

Sophie-Lea Upson filed this ‘super cool’ report for HorseWyse…

IcelandicKirk’s Horse Bazaar. WC. YUILLE and Co. are Instructed to SELL by AUCTION, on the above date, Four beautiful Iceland ponies, admirably suited for juveniles, being perfectly docile and quiet. ‘‘ ‘‘