When considering an Icelandic Horse, you will find that there are different types within the breed, a large range of temperments / character, and differences in training methods. There's everything from the pleasure, trail riding horse to the competition, race horse. Now, to find one that suits you!
In general, most of the American people attracted to Icelandic Horses are older women who are either novices to horses or who have not ridden in many years. Apparently we like the small stature of the horse, and the gaitedness, not to mention the "teddy-bear" appearance. :-)
For centuries, the Icelandic Horse has been used as a work horse and for transportation in Iceland. More recently the horses are used in "competitions" which is popular in Iceland. These competitions can be shows, evaluations, or races. One thing for us to remember: the speed of the horse is valued, no matter what type of activity. Even trail riding (trekking) is done with speed in Iceland.
The manner of training and the requirement of the gait all leads to speed. It is virtually a requirement of the gait (tolt). See the article on Balance and Speed for further information on this aspect.
The combination of training and breeding for speed is probably something to take into consideration by someone who is looking for a pleasure horse. That would be akin to buying a TB off the track and expecting it to mosey along the trail :-). If you get a horse that has been retired from the track or competitions, re-training will surely be a consideration.
This is something that novices and newcomers to the breed need to think about. The horse has been bred for speed--some having downhill conformation which is good for race horses (the same as with TB's, QH's, and STB's) and trained for speed.
For us "mature" folks, within the breed there is a creature that is called the "grandma's horse". This is the slower, quieter horse that gaits--might not be a clean tolt, maybe a foxtrot or a saddle rack (neither of which require a lot of speed).
Maybe this is the type of horse you are looking for?
American breeders are just now starting to realize what their market wants and some of them are aiming their breeding objectives to those goals. They are using the calmer bred horses in their breeding programs, and the training methods that lead to a calmer horse. Not to change the breed, but to have a few more of the grandma horses around!
Some American breeders will continue to breed and train by the goals in Iceland, oriented toward competition.
When picking out a horse, you will want to take into consideration, body type, body balance, training, what the individual horse was bred for before deciding on a horse. More information on this will be on the "What to Look For" page.
"There's no good quality a horse might have that show
people
can't ruin."
"When a man's ego is involved, the horse always loses."
"Personally, I think we should take that rider (and anyone
who praises him), strap his belt real tight around the
middle of his ribs, put on some heavy boots, a
closepin on his nose, wire his teeth closed, tie his
elbows together behind his back, maybe make him stick
out his tummy (hollowing his back), and make him run
up and down the Grand Canyon. Maybe then he'll feel what his horse feels."
