Blessi ngs--Life with an Icelandic Horse

As a little girl, I always wanted a pony for Christmas. Santa never brought me a pony. So in my late 40s, I started taking horseback riding lessons. When I turned 50, I got my first horse, an Icelandic named Blessi (Veigar frá Búðardal). Little did I know how much fun life with an Icelandic was going to be. Blessi has a unique perspective on life. I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoy Blessi. And you will probably read about my cats from time to time.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

More Mounted Archery on Icelandic Horse

Ever wonder what mounted archery would be like on an Icelandic horse? Here is Sabrina riding Glöd at competition in Rättvik, Sweden. There are some advantages to having more of a 4-beat canter since it seems to be smoother.

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Riding Icelandic Horses in Slovania

Slovania is a beautiful country. What a better way to explore its landscape than on the back of an Icelandic horses. In July 2018, I looked up Icelandic horse populations on FEIF (which is when this video was published). Slovania has 363 registered Icelandics, which is more than Italy (317), Faroe Island (307), and Australia (280).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI_o-2bhVSE

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Cretan Horse and his Fast Rack

The Messara or Cretan horse breed comes from the island of Crete near Greece. The breed has been on the island since at least 1000 AD. In the 1600s when the island was ruled by the Ottoman empire, Arabian stock was crossed with the native ponies. Today, there are around 100 registered individuals. (source: Wikipedia)

These horses do gait. Here's a video of the stallion Aetos showing off his slow and fast rack or tolt.

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