Icelandic Horse

About the breed

The Icelandic horse is a small but powerful riding horse from Iceland, set apart from other breeds above all by the tölt – a smooth four-beat gait in which the rider feels almost no bounce. The breed lived in near-total isolation for more than a thousand years, which has given it its own heritage, its own breeding rules and its own health quirks.

The Viking horse, cut off for a thousand years

The Icelandic horse descends from the horses brought by the island's first settlers. The United States Icelandic Horse Congress (USIHC) says they arrived in the ninth century with Viking settlers from Norway and the British Isles, and the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen) names the Fjord horse, the Faroe Islands horse and the Shetland pony as its closest relatives. On an island without roads it carried goods for centuries, took the doctor and the postman on their rounds and ferried people across glacial rivers; from the nineteenth century it also worked in harness until tractors took over in the mid-twentieth. Today it is a popular riding and sport horse, and exporting riding horses has become an industry in its own right.

A one-way ticket: why a horse can never go back to Iceland

An Icelandic horse that leaves Iceland, according to Horses of Iceland, can never return. Icelanders banned horse imports in 1882, and Horses of Iceland, the Icelandic horse community's promotional platform, notes that very few horses, if any, reached the island after the thirteenth century. The current Act on the Importation of Animals (No. 54/1990) prohibits, in Article 2, the import of any animal and its genetic material, with exceptions allowed only by the competent authority under strict conditions. Thanks to this isolation, strangles, equine influenza and equine herpesvirus type 1 have never reached Iceland. The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) warns that horses there are not vaccinated and are therefore susceptible to infectious agents from abroad.

WorldFengur, FEIF and the breed in Slovenia

Every registered Icelandic horse is recorded in WorldFengur, the breed's original studbook, which gathers data from the member countries of the international federation FEIF. In 2024 more than 300,000 Icelandic horses were registered worldwide, around 40% of them in Iceland; according to the USIHC, the first exports went to Germany in the 1940s. FEIF was founded in 1969, and Slovenia has been a member since 1994. The Slovenian member is the Society of Icelandic Horse Breeders of Slovenia (DRIKS), which keeps a record of Icelandic horses in the country, while the Icelandic Horses Association of Slovenia in Mislinja also brings enthusiasts together. Croatia does not appear on FEIF's list of members.

Height at the withers, weight and why it is not a pony

The Icelandic horse usually stands from about 130 cm to a little over 150 cm at the withers. Horses of Iceland reports that horses presented at breeding evaluations now average 142 cm, considerably taller than thirty years ago, while DRIKS gives a range of 130 to 145 cm. The breeding goal does not state a weight; a peer-reviewed study in Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica (2025) gives 330–370 kg, the Nordic gene bank NordGen 350–400 kg and DRIKS 300 to 400 kg; all of these are approximate.

By height alone it would count as a pony in many places, yet Horses of Iceland and the Slovenian society DRIKS call it a horse. Purpose is what decides: the USIHC describes a family riding horse bred to carry adults over long distances, and NordGen names its great colour variation and versatile gaiting ability as the breed's most distinctive traits. The breeding goal asks for a healthy, durable, robust yet elegant horse with five excellent gaits. A thick mane that often falls on both sides of the neck and a long tail are typical.

More than 40 colours in one breed

Horses of Iceland counts over 40 colours and up to 100 variations; all are allowed in the studbook, and the official breeding goal is to preserve every colour that occurs naturally in the breed. Chestnut and black are the most common, with variations such as skewbald, dun, cream, grey, silver dapple and roan layered on top of the base colours. Silver dapple calls for care: in homozygous horses it has been linked to multiple congenital ocular anomalies (MCOA), so such horses need to be bred with caution.

Tölt and flying pace: the five gaits

Most Icelandic horses have tölt and flying pace in addition to walk, trot and canter. Tölt is a four-beat lateral gait in which the horse always has one or two hooves on the ground, so there is no moment of suspension and the ride is very smooth; it can be ridden anywhere from very slow to very fast. These gaits are not taught – newborn foals frequently show them from the start.

Flying pace is a two-beat lateral gait with a moment of suspension, ridden very fast over short distances and sometimes raced over 100 to 250 metres. A five-gaited horse has all five gaits; a four-gaited horse lacks the flying pace. The difference is partly genetic: according to Horses of Iceland, five-gaited horses always inherit a variant of the DMRT3 gene from both parents, whereas four-gaited horses can carry any of three genotypes.

Temperament: friendly, brave and willing

Horses of Iceland describes the Icelandic horse as friendly, adventurous, smart and quick to learn; it is usually easy to handle and cooperative, yet powerful and with a great will to work. The breeding goal spans everything from sensitive, willing horses to calmer types, always with an emphasis on willingness to perform. Many grow up in a herd: in North Iceland large herds graze freely in mountain valleys for three months each summer, and horses are started fairly late, usually at three and a half years old.

For beginners and children – only with conditions

An Icelandic horse can suit a beginner, but only when the individual horse is reliable, well schooled and calm and the rider progresses under a qualified instructor. Horses of Iceland points out that longer riding and training demand a fair amount of feel and technique. The Slovenian society DRIKS is blunter still: by nature, it says, the Icelandic is not a horse for children and inexperienced riders, having been bred for a thousand years as a high-spirited travelling horse with an inborn urge to go forward. Even a small horse weighs several hundred kilograms, so children should always be supervised around it. Sources differ here: the Slovenian national breed register describes it as suitable for leisure riding by adults and children, so the individual horse is what matters.

Uses and weight-carrying ability

Most Icelandic horses are family riding horses for hacking out. Horses of Iceland calls the breed extremely versatile, successful in endurance riding, carriage driving and therapeutic riding, and many are trained in dressage as well. Competitions focus on the quality of the five gaits and on pace races, while show jumping is uncommon. A study in Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica (2025) notes that, compared with other breeds of similar size, the Icelandic is more often ridden by adults. In a test with 16 horses, they carried up to 35% of their body weight in tölt with a relatively low physiological response (the result is not a recommended maximum load), though the authors stress that further studies are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Feeding, turnout and the herd

The Icelandic horse is adapted to a frugal diet: it stores fat over the summer, and in Iceland a horse on good land with shelter may winter without any extra feed. On richer pasture, body condition therefore needs watching; the DEFRA Code of Practice for the welfare of horses says that horses prone to excessive weight gain may need their grazing restricted at certain times of the year. The same code recommends almost constant access to forage such as grass, hay or haylage, continuous access to fresh water, and concentrates only in line with the energy the horse actually uses. There are no universal quantities.

A horse needs daily movement and the company of other horses. The DEFRA code states that horses are herd animals that should be able to socialise with their own species and that isolation can have a negative psychological impact.

Grooming, hooves and vaccination

The thick mane and tail need regular combing, and the hooves should be checked every day. The DEFRA code says the farrier should usually trim or re-shoe every 4 to 8 weeks, and that a vet or qualified equine dental technician should inspect the teeth at least once a year. Vaccination and parasite control should be planned with a vet, using faecal worm egg counts for parasites. Vaccination matters especially for horses imported straight from Iceland; Horses of Iceland mentions a vaccination process and a check with a local vet when buying.

Summer eczema and lifespan

The best-known problem of exported Icelandic horses is summer eczema, an allergy to the bites of Culicoides midges, which do not occur in Iceland. In a study in Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica (2006), 114 of 330 horses (34.5%) exported to Germany, Denmark and Sweden showed signs of eczema, rising to 49.5% among horses exported more than two years earlier. The condition causes intense itching and sores, usually on the mane, tail and withers. The Merck Veterinary Manual says protection includes stabling from 4 pm to 7 am in the warmer months and rugs with hoods.

We found no scientific data on the lifespan of this breed specifically; for horses in general, the Merck Veterinary Manual gives 25 to 30 years. DRIKS states 35 to 40 years, but that is the society's claim rather than a research finding.

Who the Icelandic horse suits – and who it suits less

The Icelandic horse is a good choice for a leisure rider drawn to the smooth tölt and riding in open country, who is willing to learn to ride a gaited horse with an instructor. It suits less well someone expecting a quiet "children's pony" or anyone unable to provide turnout, equine company and summer protection from midges. When buying, check the WorldFengur registration, training and health; most buyers arrange an independent pre-purchase veterinary examination. It pays to keep records of vaccinations, worming, farrier visits and dental checks.

Pros & cons