What makes the Icelandic Horse so special?

• The Icelandic is the original horse of the Vikings, bred to be a powerful and exciting riding horse

• Although small, with his strong build he can carry an adult rider easily on all terrains

• As well as the ordinary walk, trot and canter, Icelandic horses tölt and pace. Tölt is a 4-beat running walk, while pace is a fast, exciting gait used for racing

• Icelandic horses usually have fantastic temperaments

• Icelandics come in all colours except spotted

• Icelandics are usually very long-lived, hardy and healthy

• They are one of the world´s most pure horse breeds

• Icelandics are usually between about 12.2hh and 14.2hh, though they are sometimes bigger or smaller than this

• Although the Icelandic is technically a pony, they are always known as horses as they are Iceland´s only equine breed and there is no Icelandic word for pony

• Once a horse leaves Iceland it can never return

• To find out more, visit the website of the Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britain

• To see a YouTube video of Icelandics on Ice in Europe, click here

How can you ride them on ICE? Won´t they fall and hurt themselves?

When ridden on ice, the horses wear special ice shoes with "nails" so they can grip the ice and be safe. Although this is a unique chance to see riding on ice in the UK, it´s quite common in Europe, not just in Icelandics - they even race Thoroughbreds on ice in Switzerland, for example. The horse is no more likely to fall than when ridden on any other surface.

Are the riders professionals? Do they do this for a living?

No, the riders are all ordinary horse riders, most of them from the UK, who happen to own and love Icelandic horses. It´s a well known fact that Icelandics are horribly addictive.... be warned!

What about the horses? Have they been specially trained for this?

No, they are mostly just well-trained normal riding horses you will see at IceHorses 2008. Some of them have competed on ice before in Europe, others will be trying the ice for the first time on the day of the show. All of them have competed before on normal tracks - some of them have competed at the World Championships for Icelandic Horses

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