Icelandic horse and Greta Thunberg on Vogue cover

 

Greta Thunberg and an Icelandic horse named Gandalf appear on the cover of the first edition of Vogue Scandinavia.  What a perfect pairing to illustrate concern for the environment.  

Here's a link to more information about the article and additional photographs featuring Gandalf.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/greta-thunberg-vogue-scandinavia-cover/index.html

Could there be wild Icelandics roaming the Appalachian Trail?

 A herd of 100 wild ponies (10 to 12 hands) rove about the Grayson Highlands State Park in the Appalachians of Virginia.  Local inhabitants say the ponies were released in the 1970s (some sources claim the 1940s)  to graze down the meadows.  The wild cattle who are pastured on the mountain sides are brought in during the winter, but these ponies do quite well foraging for themselves over the winter.

Certainly some of the herd look like they have some Icelandic breeding, although many look just a bit taller than a Shetland.  There is a silver dapple herd stallion that looks quite Icelandic.  And there were Icelandics in the US in the 70s, not so many in the 40s.

Use this link to check out the photos.  What do you think?  I was unable to find any genetic studies of the origins of this herd.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/more-than-100-ponies-roam-free-this-park-virginia-180959786/

Filming Icelandic Horses Swimming from Underwater

 Here's a great video of the leg action of Icelandic horses filmed by scuba divers.  It looks most of them are tolting.  I wonder if there is any efficiency to tolting while swimming or each horse has an individual preference?