Icelandic Horses | Kentucky Life | KET

Icelandic horses may be the purest horse breed in the world. The horses of the Vikings; they have been isolated in this ancient Nordic country for a thousand years. Known for their thick manes and long tails, they come in an extraordinary number of colors and have five natural gaits, a rarity among horses. And now this beautiful breed is being introduced to Kentucky by Gudmar Petursson.
Petursson breeds, trains, shows and sells Icelandic horses at his farms in Iceland and in Oldham County near Louisville, Ky. His goal is to increase awareness of them here in America and show off their versatility.
Icelandic horses can walk, trot, and canter, but also have two additional gaits: the tölt (a four-beat gait) and the flying pace (hooves on the same side touch the ground together at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour). The flying pace is used in Iceland for racing.
Petursson's Knights of Iceland can be seen in performances at equine events like the World Equestrian Games and Equine Affaire. If you're up for traveling, you can learn more first hand through America 2 Iceland, which provides educational equine-related trips to Iceland from America and Europe.
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