Topic of Imported Icelandic Horses Addressed in Irish Parliament--1897

 

Hay Train in Iceland 1911
Iceland Photos of FWW Howell
Cornell Collection

Per the Icelandic Bureau of Statistics as reported by Bjőrnsson and Sveinsson in their 2006 The Icelandic Horse, 138,014 horses were exported from 1850 to 1925.¹ Some years as many as 10,000 to almost 20,000 horses were shipped, the majority intended for mines in Scotland and Britain.

In 1886, the invasion of imported Icelandic stock was addressed by The Commission on Horse Breeding in Ireland to both Houses of Parliament. J. F. Bomford, a witness, suggested banning the import of Iceland ponies to Ireland that were brought over as “ballast” to Dublin. He called them the “worst possible description of an animal” with “no action, no shoulders, no strength whatsoever.” If bred, they would spoil the ponies of Ireland. But then Bomford also believed all the American horses he had seen imported to Ireland were “so bad and so ill formed” they did not need a brand to distinguish them from the high quality Irish hunters. 

Note: In 1908, much to the consternation of the British, Rubio, an American-bred thoroughbred for the first time won the steeplechase at the Grand National in Aintree, England.

The testimony for the day broke down into a heated discussion on whether Ireland or England bred the better horses. On a later day, Mr. Wrench maintained harsh weather conditions, rough countryside, and ill-maintained roads would require a hardy horse. “If I had to give an opinion,” he said “I should not go to a Hackney…but I think a strong or rougher Shetland or Icelandic pony would suit the people.” (Commission on, 1886, pp. 260 – 261, 431)

Commission on Horse Breeding in Ireland. (1897). Minutes of evidence taken before the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the horse breeding industry in Ireland, Alexander Thom. And Co., Dublin.

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¹  Statistics on Icelandic horses in this article are from Bjőrnsson and Sveinsson’s The Icelandic Horse.

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/