>>>which parts of the article may not be exactly correct? > > Icelandic horse a rare breed
Icelandic Horses are not a rare breed. A rare breed numbers less than 10,000 globally. > The ride is so smooth there are events where riders race around a track > while holding a mug of beer. "And they don't spill a drop," In this video, champagne glasses are used, not filled fully with liquid, and the liquid in the glasses sure bounces around alot. http://www.hestafrettir.is/veftv/default.asp?MovieID=292&CategoryID=30 Is there a video somewhere of beer mugs being used with nothing spilled? > The Icelandic horse's tölt, which is very fast at 20 kilometres per hour, > is > a running walk where one foot is always on the ground. No, the tolt is not a running walk. A breeder should know this. > Many traits make Icelandic horses special. They are more like dogs than > horses in the way they bond with owners if treated right. Interesting comment and phrasing! How should we treat them right to get them to bond like dogs with their owners? >>>They tend to have very even temperaments and don't spook. Is that true, or should we say "some of them don't spook very much". >>>And they are not indifferent about going riding like some horses. They >>>love it. And some of them, like Raudi, Rodi, Landi, Baersi, etc., do not like it; don't care for people, and will never be reliable mounts. > They are small and technically a pony, but very powerful. True! They are a pony! > They have perhaps the most gorgeous mane of any horse. They look like they > just left the beauty parlour or used too much mousse because their hair is > so lusciously thick. Gorgeous manes are... gorgeous! > The horse was brought to Iceland 1,200 years ago by Viking settlers. Several breeds were brought to Iceland, being cross-bred, and the resultant horse became the Icelandic. > "They can extract a lot of energy from just a tiny bit of hay. They will > eat > fish if there's nothing else to eat." Some of the horses are easy keepers and some are not. Each horse should receive good nutritrion, and enough food to keep him healthy. > Icelandic horses are also one of the most purebred horse in the world. No > other horses are allowed into Iceland. They have only been purebred for a 1,000 years. Arabians and other breeds have been purebred much longer. Genetic purity is a little different and we can say that the Icelandics have a certain amount of genetic purity because of the isolation on the island. > They are hungry to learn from people and work with them, which trainers > often don't recognize. That's why they often have special trainers. Does that make sense? I think most of the Icelandics are hungry to learn from people and very interested in people. But why would they need a special trainer? > Ohm, 23, is the fifth specialized trainer Arnason has brought over from > Iceland.... into Ohm attending Holar University in Iceland to become a > specialized > trainer. She will return to Holar in three months to complete her third > and final year of training. While this is a wonderful experience, going from country to country and learning new languages. Holar is not producing *horsemanship* in their students. I think they like to use the word, but it's not the same definition that we have come to understand its meaning. Horsemanship has an implied meaning of "good" in learning to work positively with the horse's naturalness. Horse riders, horse owners, horse trainers, horse controllers (those who use mechanical aids, adding nosebands on top of bits, boots on top of shoes, force from the hands and arms on the reins, etc.) are not horsemen. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
