Gréta Vilborg Guðmundsdóttir wrote her thesis "Product or Being?
Development of the Image of the Icelandic Horse" for her Masters of Design, The Department of Design and Architecture, Iceland Academy of the Arts. She examines the history of the image of the Icelandic horse and investigates how the breed is becoming almost synonymous with the image of a high-stepping tolting horse at the expense of the reliable, all terrain family horse.
Per Guðmundsdóttir, "Constructing this narrow image of the international competitive toelter horse creates the danger of losing the valuable abilities of the Icelandic horse that had developed over 1100 years. The main characteristics of the Icelandic horse that make it in demand are, among others, its frugality and friendliness, vigour and endurance. Considering its size it is unbelievably strong and compares well with other horse breeds."
She categorizes the photos of horses shown in 327 issues of Eiðfaxi
magazine between 1978-2012 to find that in 2003 to 2006, photos of
horses tolting comprised 70% of all horse photos. "At this time the
expansion of the economy was greatest and money streamed into the
field. There is a strong demand for stepping high and almost all the
stallions are shown in the symbolic toelt stance." She notes this trend
dropped during the following recession but re-occurred during 2011 to
2012.
Guðmundsdóttir also interviewed 10 professionals and people generally interested in the Icelandic horse breed in Iceland about their image of the Icelandic horse and how it has changed over the past 20 years. "But in the same way all share worries that great emphasis is placed on competitive characteristics and high-stepping. To get this high-stepping ability it is necessary that the horse has a certain character that the general rider cannot cope with. The high-stepping toelter horse therefore is not suitable for the average rider nor for the increasing number of foreign tourists who want to enjoy riding their own horse out in Iceland’s impressive natural environment. The interviews also revealed that with the present breeding objectives we are losing those traits that best characterise the Icelandic horse, traits that do not turn only on gait and appearance."
Not everybody is going to agree with Guðmundsdóttir's conclusions but her research does present some interesting topics for discussion. And it is not often one reads about the Icelandic horse from the perspective about societal norms about beauty and how the economy can drive marketing images. Besides her final project of a life sized, transparent sculpture of an Icelandic horse is beauty indeed.
Source:
https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/19227/1/Product_or_Being__ma-design-lhi.pdf
Guðmundsdóttir also interviewed 10 professionals and people generally interested in the Icelandic horse breed in Iceland about their image of the Icelandic horse and how it has changed over the past 20 years. "But in the same way all share worries that great emphasis is placed on competitive characteristics and high-stepping. To get this high-stepping ability it is necessary that the horse has a certain character that the general rider cannot cope with. The high-stepping toelter horse therefore is not suitable for the average rider nor for the increasing number of foreign tourists who want to enjoy riding their own horse out in Iceland’s impressive natural environment. The interviews also revealed that with the present breeding objectives we are losing those traits that best characterise the Icelandic horse, traits that do not turn only on gait and appearance."
Not everybody is going to agree with Guðmundsdóttir's conclusions but her research does present some interesting topics for discussion. And it is not often one reads about the Icelandic horse from the perspective about societal norms about beauty and how the economy can drive marketing images. Besides her final project of a life sized, transparent sculpture of an Icelandic horse is beauty indeed.
Source:
https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/19227/1/Product_or_Being__ma-design-lhi.pdf
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