The Icelandic horse is a breed of pony that has lived in Iceland since the mid-800s, having been brought to the island by Viking settlers.

The Icelandic Horse is basically a man-made breed as it is a mixture of breeds and cross-breeds which were taken from Scandinavian and European countries to Iceland during the original and subsequent settlements.

There are roughly 75,000 Icelandic horses in Iceland, and relatively few abroad, owing in large part to centuries-old Icelandic legislation that prevents any Icelandic horse from returning to the island once it has been taken to another land.

They are considered small (average 13 horse hands high, or 4'4", or about 1.20 to 1.45m, roughly 800 pounds) but very strong for their size.

They can carry roughly one-third of their weight, but have to be about four-years-old before they can carry a full-sized adult male human..

For more information about the topic Icelandic horse, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

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