A trip to Iceland would not be complete without a blog on the Icelandic horse.
The Icelandic horse is a unique breed of smallish horses that came to Iceland with the first settlers from Norway 1100 years ago. When the first settlers sailed from Norway to Iceland in the 10th century, they could only bring about two horses per ship, so they selected the best and strongest horses. The horses were of Scandinavian origin, mostly from Norway.
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, most registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Icelandic horses are long-lived and hardy. In their native country they have few diseases; Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return.
The Icelandic horse displays two gaits in addition to the typical walk, trot, and canter/gallop commonly displayed by other breeds.
