Icelandic Horses and a giveaway!

I can't believe she made these herself -- adorable!

Pamela of Blessi-ngs: Life with an Icelandic Horse is a woman of many talents. She was kind enough to send me two handmade Icelandic horse stuffed animals -- one for me, one for a giveaway! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with your contact info and the first word that comes to mind when you think of Icelandic horses (BTW "cold" is not allowed!).

Do you know much about Icelandics?
Pam kindly wrote up a summary of the breed's history.

When the Norse began to permanently settle in Iceland in 874 AD, they brought only their finest stock, including horses, in their ships. There has been no known introduction of additional horses to Iceland for over 1000 years. The original horses had to learn to survive in a land of glaciers, snow, and volcanic activity; historically they had to forage for themselves over winter. Natural selection ensured that only the hardy survived.

Today, the goal of Icelandic breeding standards is for a horse that is “willing, brave, happy, cheerful, confident and offers its best with very little encouragement. The horse tries to please the rider, is sensible, easy to ride and handle.” Icelandic horses come in many colors from chestnut, bay, buckskin, silver dapple, roan, gray, black, cream, blue dun, yellow dun, and many shades of pinto. Most Icelandics can perform four gaits: walk, trot, canter, and tölt (or rack or amble). Some Icelandics also have a fifth gait: flying pace, which can be very smooth and over 25 miles per hour at international racing speeds. Ranging from height from 12.2 to 14.1 hands, the Icelandic horses are huge amount of fun in a compact package.