Although not a “scenic” attraction, Icelandic horses were definitely an attraction for me, really a highlight of our visit. They were friendly, inquisitive, gentle and beautiful, and I just adored them, so I decided to make a sub-gallery devoted to them. If you stopped by the side of the road, these horses would just come over to visit, without even trying to eat my camera, unlike camels (or the royal stallions in Copenhagen, for that matter, who were pretty “aristocratic” and not so friendly).

I’ll be adding pictures to it periodically; I took a lot, but I just couldn’t help myself ;-).

To recap some previously given information:

The Icelandic horse was brought to Iceland by the Vikings, who are said to have taken their best animals with them well over 1,000 years ago. No other breed of horse is allowed into Iceland, so Icelandics are thought to be a pure breed. Despite their small size, they are classified as horses due to their bone structure and ability to carry heavy loads. In addition to the three traditional horse gaits, Icelandics have two special gaits; a Dane I met at the airport said it was like riding on air when on one of these horses.

Icelandic horses are everywhere on the island; they’re used as work animals as well as being rented out for riding and used for long treks into the interior.