What you can do with an Icelandic horse

Health issues

STONEHAVEN ICELANDICS

When people are first introduced to the Icelandic horse they are often taken by their friendly appearance, the abundant mane and tail, active movement and the hint of ice and fire in their eyes. In Iceland there is only one breed of horse so the whole equestrian scene there revolves around them. But we don't live in Iceland so what can you do with them?

To start with, the Icelandic horse is an excellent all-round generalist. They can participate successfully in most disciplines such as cross country jumping, Le Trec, dressage and endurance riding at a modest level. They are often favoured by their owners over other breeds because they allow them to participate in these activities and also enjoy the benefits of the generally easy keep, stay sound and long lived qualities of the Icelandic horse.

The Icelandic horse also has some unique qualities that make it not only a superb generalist but also a specialist in two areas where other breeds and types struggle to follow: (1) Trail/travel riding and (2) specialised gait riding.

As a result of one thousand years of pure breeding in the challenging Icelandic environment the breed has developed a number of finely honed abilities that make it uniquely superb as a travel and trail riding horse. It has the ability to get from "A" to "B" actively and quickly day after day. It is extremely sure footed and handles difficult terrain and situations with ease. It is easy to manage in a group of horses and even today riders often ride with one spare horse in hand to change on to over long distances. On overnight rides they settle quickly, preserving energy and resting before the day ahead. In this country and abroad, friends, families, groups and clubs get together to enjoy riding their Icelandic horses whether for an afternoon ride or a week of riding exploring wonderful country.

The Icelandic horse has also preserved the traditions of the gaited riding horse of Europe and these traits have been selected and improved to a very high standard today. See the Gaits page for technical details of the gaits. For many people the gaits are a source of pleasure and fascination adding a whole new dimension to their riding. They enjoy training their horse to perform the gaits to a high standard and this leads into specialised competitions for the Icelandic horse. There are various types of events but essentially there are oval track or straight track competitions. The oval track competitions are an opportunity for the rider and horse to demonstrate their performance of the gaits to a specified programme in front of the judges. The straight track competitions tend to focus on pace and is predominantly about speed, either against the clock or other competitiors. Competitions are held throughout Iceland and Europe including some in the United Kingdom.

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