Icelandic

Iceland is a place of timeless beauty and unforgiving elements and home to one of the world’s hardiest horse breeds. Horses arrived in Iceland with Viking explorers and were vital to survival, earning them a lasting reverence in Icelandic culture. The unforgiving climate ensured only the strongest survived, and in 982 a law was created forbidding horse imports, and any horse that left could never return. The result is a pure breed with no outside influences for over one thousand years.

The millennium of isolation, forces of nature, and breeding turned the Icelandic horse into a remarkably healthy breed, strong and clever, with a calmness that only comes from centuries without predators. Though pony sized they carry adults and pull heavy loads with ease and are considered horses. The Icelandic language doesn’t even have a word for pony! Icelandics are a gaited breed with two naturally appearing special gaits. The tölt is smooth and easy, ideal for travelling long distances without tiring the horse or rider whereas the flying pace is fast but exhausting, suited for short races. They are an exceptionally colorful breed with nearly every color and marking, including a color that only exists in one horse family! Ellert frá Baldurshaga was the first horse anywhere with the dominant white gene W21, which creates Ýruskjóttur, meaning "Speckle". Luckily, bringing the rare coat to Jorvik’s Icelandics was successful!

Icelandics fit their owners, ideal for work, pleasure, or competitive riding, and perfect for beginners as well as the most experienced equestrians. Breeding associations around the world give everyone the chance to ride an Icelandic, and Jorvik’s breeding program has flourished in recent years!
To have an Icelandic horse is to have a loyal and true friend for life, who will brave blizzards to keep you warm and carry you home when you are hopelessly lost.