The White Falcon - 03.07.1965, Blaðsíða 4

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WHITE FALCON
Saturday, July 3, 1965 Saturday, July 3, 1965
WHITE FALCON
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Iceland On Horseback ... An Adventure
PAST,PRESENT AND FUTURE—Grandfather and grandson observe busy horse roundup activity from
astride their horses. Even family dog was on hand for the occasion. (Photo by Karin Hart/.)
PASSING IN REVIEW—Horsemen and horsewomen pass in review prior to the actual running in a
horse show. The horses run at a tiilt, not for speed, but for their style. In the background rises the out-
skirts of Reykjavik. (Photo by Tom Streeter, J03)
STATESIDE AUCTION—A Colorado cowboy swings an Icelandic horse with foal round to show off to
prospective buyers. Occasion was the auctioning of 30 of the horses, most with foals, at the Arapaho
County Fair in Denver several years ago. (Photo by T/Sgt. R. M. Wilson, USAF)
If you haven’t become addicted to glacier-gazing and geyser-gawking, try exploring Iceland on horseback.
The hardy Icelandic horse will take you into the most rugged parts of the wild interior and bring you back.
Alert-eyed and well-proportioned, this remarkable animal is regarded by some horsemen as the most indefatigable and sure-
footed horse in the world.
The horse is particularly sure-footed in the swift, rock-bottomed mountain streams. Often he must swim the biggest rivers.
Brought to this country by the Vikings over a thousand years ago, the horse has remained pure of stock through the centuries.
No horse has been imported to*
Iceland for more than 800 years.
Until World War II, the horse
was practically the only means of
transportation in Iceland. All
goods had to be transported by
horse and, until the 20th century,
the only roads were narrow paths
hammered out of the hard earth
by horse hooves.
With the introduction of auto-
mobiles, aircraft and farm machi-
nery, the need for the horse as a
working animal has diminished.
Nevertheless, its numbers are in-
creasing and continue to fill the
country’s grass bowls.
With the first sign of spring,
farmers swing open their gates.
Sheep scatter for the mountains
and horses race for the valleys to
forage on new tender grasses. Be-
fore summer’s end, the animals
cover endless miles.
In early fall, when the grasses
have paled and winds begin to
kick up across the land, farmers
join forces for the annual sheep
and horse roundups. It’s a big
moment in Iceland with everybody,
old and young, contributing his
part.
Many Icelanders own their own
horses and spend most of their
weekends and holidays on horse-
back. They also are members of
various riding clubs in the coun-
try. The clubs organize riding
trips, arrange annual horse meet-
ings, and hold a country-wide
meeting every four years.
In Reykjavik, horse shows and
races are held annually in June.
At this time, some of the finest
sporting horses are displayed. The
sporting horse must be healthy,
lively and be able to use as many
gaits as possible.
The Icelandic horse has five di-
stinct gaits. They are the walk,
trot, gallop, pace and tolt. The
most popular gait is tolt, or runn-
ing walk, used for taking it easy
over smooth ground. In this gait
the horse is so steady that the
rider hardly moves in his saddle.
If European horsemanship is
one thing, Icelandic horsemanship
is quite another. Whereas the
military aspect is dominant in Eu-
ropean training, in Iceland emp-
hasis is placed on developing the
agility and sure-footedness of the
horse. For this reason, it’s impor-
tant that non-Icelandics master
Icelandic horsemanship before they
import the horses to their fcountry.
In recent years, Icelandic horses
have been exported in consider-
able numbers to Europe—mainly
Germany—Canada and the Uni-
ted States. The horses are usually
shipped to the Rocky Mountain
states in the U.S.
Icelandic horsemen say it is not
really correct to call the Icelandic
horse a “pony.” He is of medium
size and his uses are much more
varied than those of the pony.
It is thought that the Icelandic
horse originated in central Asia,
CORRALED—After horses are rounded up in early fall they are herded to back-
country sorting pens or corrals. Here farmers lead the first group of arriving
horses into a weathered corral, reenforc ed by earthen banks. (Photo by K. Hartz)
eventually reaching northern Ger-
many and the Viking kingdoms in
Denmark and Norway. Shaggy
types resembling the Icelandic
horse are to be found in Asia to-
day.
As wild animals, horses are
now limited to the open plains of
Asia and Africa. And despite tales
to the contrary, there are no
true wild horses in the Western
Hemisphere.
The mustangs of the western
plains in the United States are
descendents of horses brought to
Florida and Texas from Europe
by early Spanish explorers. Inter-
mixed is the blood of stray “Span-
ish” horses that entered the U.S.
from Mexico.
Horses usually live from 15 to
20 years, although some have been
known to live for 40 years. While
horses are often raced as two-year
-olds, they are not considered
mature until their fifth year. The
period of gestation is about 11
months.
The breeding male is called a
stallion, a mature female a mare.
Mares are often bred when they
are three years old; stallions are
used until they are four or five.
A young male is called a colt,
a young female a filly. Most colts
are castrated by the time they
are two years old and thereafter
called geldings. All horses under
one year of age are known as foals.
RIVER-CROSSING—Icelandic horses pour across a river while farmers on horseback spur them on. (Photo by Eric Wirth, PH3)
Diverse Blessings Of Sure-Footedness, Stamina
Make Icelandic Horses Ideal For Rocky Terrain
by Gene Taylor, JOC
ICELANDIC PANORAMA—The camera catches a sweeping view of the Iceland countryside as farmers
on horseback shepherd a herd of horses across a river-fed valley. (Photo by Karin Hartz)
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LEAGUES FROM ICELAND — Technical Sgt. Richard M. Wilson,
USAF, and his wife, the former Gudridur Sigurdardottir of Reykjavik,
stopped for this photo astride Icelandic horses in Boulder, Colorado
on Icelandic Independence Day 1962. When photo was taken, the
sergeant was stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver. He’s now assigned
to Hq. Sqd. of Air Forces Iceland. (Photo by George Williams)
SHAGGY AND SURE-FOOTED—Wrapped in his long winter coat,
and Icelandic horse stands like a sentry on a field of snow.
(Photo by Karin Hartz)
WINTER LANDSCAPE—Silhouettted against a stretch of wintertime Iceland, Icelandic horses nose
their way past snow to feed on grasses underneath. (Photo by Karin Hartz)