This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Information Architecture)
Hi,
I would like to add my knowledge/experience to the comments on the Icelandic
horse.
We have and breed mainly Fjords but also have had up to four Icelandics. I
grew up with working Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, and grade horses. Our
experiences with the Icelandics has been: they have the best feet we have
seen (small, hard, and tough hooves), they have the best footing of any of
our horses (when carrying a rider and saddle doing trail type riding in
slick, rocky, or steep terrain), they make as good a "pet" horse as any (I
am not sure horses should be pets, but that is my opinion), they have all
been "easy keepers", many are capable of four or five gaits (walk, running
walk (tolt), trot, canter, and pace), they are fairly versatile (we have a
12.2 hand mare that jumps 4 feet, tolts very nicely, is an excellent trail
horse and is now in dressage training; another 3 year old we are training
for driving and hope to pair with a Fjord (I really dream of using the
Icelandic with Fjords in a four-in-hand)). All-in-all the Icelandic have
been a nice breed, but they are different than Fjords.
To my eye, Fjords and Icelandics are distinctly diferent in appearance. As
to conformation, Fjords have a heavier, more "draft" form than Icelandics.
Also, there are substantial differences between Icelandics and Fjords in the
preferred conformation. The Icelandic hair coat consists of an inner coat
of very soft, fine, wool-like hair that extends into the mane (I have not
noticed this on the Fjords). We have grown the manes out (to collect the
hair for reins) on our Fjords and neither the manes nor the horses looked
like the Icelandics.
I think there is a temperamnet difference. The Icelandics seem a little
hotter blooded than the Fjords. Both tend toward pony stubborness, though
Fjords may have the edge there. In Iceland the preference (what they mean
by a good temperament) is for a horse that has a lot of energy and is very
"go-ey"; the temperament of a sporthorse. Most of what I hear referred to
as a good temperament in Fjord horses means calm, tractable, willing, and
well-behaved.
I guess having both breeds, the minor differences between them become
apparent and become significant in my choice of breeds. Our choice between
the two is Fjords but we would never say the one breed is superior to the
other. There is no reason not to use Icelandics as driving or draft horses,
in dressage and jumping, in trail riding and endurance, and as family pets.
The major differences I see in horses (not breeds) is due to their
individual dispositions, whether they are worked with regularly, how much
training they have had, and how they have been treated and what they have
been exposed to.
Points and Opinions:
The tolt, or running walk, of the Icelandic is similar to the gait of the
Tennesee Walker, the Pasos, and other gaited horses. A running walk gait is
occasionally exhibited in many breeds. Individual horses regardless of
breed can be trained to develop a "running walk" gait. In the case of
Icelandics, the tolt is considered a natural (untrained) gait that is
generally most apparent in young horses in their first year. We have seen
both our Icelandic and Fjord foals tolting around the pasture (monkey see,
monkey do?).
The tolt is a four beat lateral gait. As with any lateral gait, the
stability of the horse is lessened (thereby increasing the liklihood of the
horse falling over). This is even more true in the pace.
The tolt can be a fast gait (similar to a good working trot on a Fjord) and
is often meant to cover a lot of ground over a long period of time. The
tolt is a comfortable gait, but the trots of the Icelandics we have ridden
have been very comfortable as well. If a gait of this breed is weak, it is
the canter, which tends more towards a gallop (four beats instead of three
and often not very balanced).
There have been strictures against the importation of horses to Iceland
since around the 11th century. How strictly this was adhered to is a matter
of conjecture, but it is unique in the history of the horse. That Iceland
was geographically isolated, was insignificant as far as a trade center goes
and did actively discourage the importation of horses argues strongly that
the Icelandic horse is one of the purest (in terms of gene pool and breed
specificity) of all modern horse breeds. On the other hand, the history of
man's migration and the history of the horse argues stongly against there
being any modern breed of horse that can trace its history back,
uninterrupted, for thousands of years.
Bob Thilsted
