Icelandic Horse - History

History

The ancestors of the Icelandic horse were probably taken to Iceland by Viking Age Scandinavians between 860 and 935 AD. The Norse settlers were followed by immigrants from Norse colonies in Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Western Isles of Scotland. These later settlers arrived with the ancestors of what would elsewhere become Shetland, Highland, and Connemara ponies, which were crossed with the previously imported animals. There may also have been a connection with the Yakut pony, and the breed has physical similarities to the Nordlandshest of Norway. Other breeds with similar characteristics include the Faroe pony of the Faeroe Islands and the Norwegian Fjord horse. About 900 years ago, attempts were made to introduce eastern blood into the Icelandic, resulting in a degeneration of the stock. In 982 AD the Icelandic Althing (parliament) passed laws prohibiting the importation of horses into Iceland, thus ending crossbreeding. The breed has now been bred pure in Iceland for more than 1,000 years.

The earliest Norse people venerated the horse as a symbol of fertility, and white horses were slaughtered at sacrificial feasts and ceremonies. When these settlers arrived in Iceland, they brought their beliefs, and their horses, with them. Horses played a significant part in Norse mythology, and several horses played major roles in the Norse myths, among them the eight-footed pacer named Sleipnir, owned by Odin, chief of the Norse gods. Skalm, a mare who is the first Icelandic horse known by name, appeared in the Book of Settlements from the 12th century. According to the book, a chieftain named Seal-Thorir founded a settlement at the place where Skalm stopped and lay down with her pack. Horses also play key roles in the Icelandic sagas Hrafnkel's Saga, Njal's Saga and Grettir's Saga. Although written in the 13th century, these three sagas are set as far back as the 9th century. This early literature has an influence today, with many riding clubs and horse herds in modern Iceland still bearing the names of horses from Norse mythology.

Horses were often considered the most prized possession of a medieval Icelander. Indispensable to warriors, war horses were sometimes buried alongside their fallen riders, and stories were told of their deeds. Icelanders also arranged for bloody fights between stallions; these were used for entertainment and to pick the best animals for breeding, and they were described in both literature and official records from the Commonwealth period of 930 to 1262 AD. Stallion fights were an important part of Icelandic culture, and brawls, both physical and verbal, among the spectators were common. The conflicts at the horse fights gave rivals a chance to improve their political and social standing at the expense of their enemies and had wide social and political repercussions, sometimes leading to the restructuring of political alliances. However, not all human fights were serious, and the events provided a stage for friends and even enemies to battle without the possibility of major consequences. Courting between young men and women was also common at horse fights.

Natural selection played a major role in the development of the breed, as large numbers of horses died from lack of food and exposure to the elements. Between 874 and 1300 AD, during the more favorable climatic conditions of the medieval warm period, Icelandic breeders selectively bred horses according to special rules of color and conformation. From 1300 to 1900, selective breeding became less of a priority; the climate was often severe and many horses and people died. Between 1783 and 1784, around 70% of the horses in Iceland were killed by volcanic ash poisoning and starvation after the 1783 eruption of Lakagígar. The eruption lasted eight months, covered hundreds of square miles of land with lava, and rerouted or dried up several rivers. The population slowly recovered during the next hundred years, and from the beginning of the 20th century selective breeding again became important. The first Icelandic breed societies were established in 1904, and the first breed registry in Iceland was established in 1923.

Icelandics were exported to Great Britain before the 20th century to work as pit ponies in the coal mines, because of their strength and small size. However, those horses were never registered and little evidence of their existence remains. The first formal exports of Icelandic horses were to Germany in the 1940s. Great Britain's first official imports were in 1956, when a Scottish farmer, Stuart McKintosh, began a breeding program. Other breeders in Great Britain followed McKintosh's lead, and the Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britain was formed in 1986. The number of Icelandic horses exported to other nations has steadily increased since the first exports of the mid-19th century. Since 1969, multiple societies have worked together to preserve, improve and market these horses under the auspices of the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations. Today, the Icelandic remains a breed known for its purity of bloodline, and is the only horse breed present in Iceland.

The Icelandic is especially popular in western Europe, Scandinavia, and North America. There are about 80,000 Icelandic horses in Iceland (compared to a human population of 317,000), and around 100,000 abroad. Almost 50,000 are in Germany, which has many active riding clubs and breed societies.