The Icelandic Horse

 History
 Not much is known about the famous Icelandic horse, except that it has been in the area for centuries. Many believe that the vikings, traveling across the sea to discover new lands in the tenth century, took horses with them. Due to their isolation from the influence of other horse breeds, the Icelandic horses have not changed much since the tenth century.

 Over the centuries, only the strongest horses have survived in the harsh climate of Iceland, causing only the best traits to be passed down to the future generations. This natural selection created a strong, robust breed with desirable traits, such as stamina and strength.

 Settlers of Iceland used the sturdy horse for work, such as herding sheep, and transportation. In the late 1700s, a local volcano erupted, killing hundreds of horses. After that disaster, locals spent time recovering the breed, and in 1904, they created the first breed society for the Icelandic horse. Nine years later, the Icelandic breed registry opened.

 Throughout the 20th century, hundreds of Icelandics were shipped across Europe, particularly to Britian and Scandinanvia. In 1986, Great Britian created a breed society. Other countries did the same, and before long the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations was created to help multiple countries work together to preserve the breed.

 Today, the Icelandic is popular throughout western Europe, particularly Scandinavia and Great Britian, and North American. Approxiamately 80,000 Icelandics live in Iceland, and 100,000 live abroad.

Icelandic doing the tölt. credit

Breed Description and Uses
Although the Icelandic horse is small, standing only 12 to 14 hands high, it is strong, able to carry an adult. It has developed a special gait, the tölt, in addition the standard equine gaits. The tölt is a a smooth, highstepping, four-beat gait, which can be performed at any speed. Some Icelandics do the pace, a gait in which legs on the same side move in unision.

 Today, the robust Icelandics are used for endurance, jumping, and dressage by both kids and adults. People living in Icelnad often use them the traditional way---for herding sheep and transporting them across town.

The Norwegian Fjord

 Norway is a mountainous country with fjords---narrow inlets of see surrounded by steep mountains---stretching inwards for miles. During the time when Vikings travelled the seas, conquering many parts of Scandinavia, there were no roads in Norway. The only form of transportation was by sailing on boats through the fjords. As the farmers settled the hills, they domesticated the small dun horses native to the area, using them as draft horses to perform farm work.

 The breed, named after the fjords in the area's landscape, is thought have existed in wild herds after the after the last ice age, up until it was domesticated by Vikings 4,000 years ago. Archeological excavations have shown that the breed had been selectively bred by Vikings for approximately 2,000 years after they had been domesticated.

  Fjords have developed powerful hindquarters, strength enough to transport a 200 pound man, or even  a cart, up steep, sinuous mountains, and sure-footedness from spending several millennia wandering about steep, precarious mountains. They have smooth gaits high knee action.

Some Fjords, mainly the heavier ones, are used to pull carts.
credit

Others make better eventing horses. credit

 One unique characteristic is that 90% of Fjords are brown dun, while the other 10% are either a red dun, whitish dun, grey dun(grulla), or yellow dun, a rare variation.  Some Fjords even have primitive markings, which may include zebra stripes on the legs or a dorsal strip down the spine.

 However, the breeds's most distinctive feature is their mane---black in the center, white on the outside. Fjord aficionados cut the breed's coarse manes into to crescent shapes, trimming the outer white part half an inch shorter than the inner part, clearly emphasizing the black hairs.

 Other characteristics include small, alert ears; large, intelligent eyes; a broad forehead and slightly dished profile; strong, crested neck; short-coupled body; and well-developed muscles. The legs are powerful with a good bone and hardy black hooves. Although they are not considered ponies, the can range any between 13.2 and 14.2 hands heigh, weighing 900 to 1,200 pounds once matured.

 Fjords are calm and curious, with charming, gentle natures. Males display strong, masculine traits and females soft, feminine traits.

 Fjords are very diverse, coming in different body types due to the fact that the usage of the breed changed with the times. Consequently, they can be doing a variety of activities and disciplines, with heavier types being more suited for cart-pulling and lighter types excelling at jumping, eventing, dressage, reining, and many other disciplines.