The Icelandic horse may be small but don’t let its size fool you. These horses are known for their incredible strength, endurance, and versatility in difficult situations.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into the world of the Icelandic horse, exploring its unique characteristics. What he has to deal with in his environment when it comes to the weather. And how he has survived it through the ages.
First time in Iceland
The horses came first to Iceland in the Age of settlement after the year of 870 with the first men who came to Iceland at that time. The people who came chose small and strong horses. That would also withstand transport and would take up less space on ships across the sea and for travel.
The horses who traveled here first were most likely Norwegian horses and some other horse breeds from Europe.
These horse breeds are then also told to be related to Mongolian horses further back, who are small, strong, fast. They can also withstand cold temperatures like the Icelandic horse well. European horse breeds have probably mixed with mongoose horses when the Mongols raided East Europe in ancient times.
A hard life
The horses have been allowed to roam freely in pastures for 1000 years and it is still done today. It was for example due to the housing shortage over the years Iceland in the old days. So the horses had to be exposed to all kinds of weather and the horse was probably slightly larger in the beginning when he came to the country. But reduced due to weather and other conditions such as food, which was often not much. So the horses got smaller over the years and the fittest horses survived.
Thus horses have evolved to withstand weather conditions. And have shaped him as he is today over time. Today the horses are given hay as needed.
The evolution of the horse
The evolution of the horse breed has been that he accumulates reserves in the summer and autumn to become fatter when the winter comes. Thus receives more energy and heat from the fat and to be warmer and to survive the cold.
The horse also gets winter hair to keep warm. The winter hairs are long and dense to shelter from snow, rain and wind and designed to keep them warm. That’s how well-equipped the horses are to withstand the harsh weather conditions of their native land.
The winter hair then falls off in the summer and the horses get summer hairs instead.The Summer hairs are designed so that the horse does not get too hot and are very short.
And this is how the Icelandic horse has developed to withstand conditions in Iceland through the ages.
Therefore, it is better for the Icelandic horses that are not in training to stand outside in the winter time. Where they get enough food and water and some shelter to shelter from the weather. Because of their biology. So the Icelandic horse is very much a winter horse.
A little extra at the end
Because the Icelandic horse is on an island, it also disappears that way that he has become one of the purest horse breeds in the world. He has not come into contact with other horse species for over 1000 years. And according to Icelandic law, no other breed of horse may come to Iceland to preserve the purity of the Icelandic horse. If an Icelandic horse is sold out of the country, he cannot come back ever so he doesn’t bring diseases back with him.
