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ENSKA 403

13.03.2014 Volume 1, Issue 1

Equine Life HREFNA, KATRÍN RUT OG ANNA GUÐRÚN

The icelandic horse has been assential companion for the people on Iceland for a thousand years, and even now this horse is still beloved by every one who comes in range of his magnificent. Icelandic horses are easy to tame and love exercise in every way. The horse is small yet it is not fall in the catagory of a pony. They are long-lived and they have to be hardy to make it through the hard winters of Iceland.

The Icelandic is a "five-gaited" breed, known for its sure-footedness and ability to cross rough terrain. As well as the typical gaits of walk, trot, and canter the breed is noted for its ability to perform two additional gaits. Although most horse experts consider the canter and gallop to be separate gaits, on the basis of a small variation in the footfall pattern, Icelandic breed registries consider the canter and gallop one gait, hence the term "five-gaited".

-Hrefna Leifsdóttir

TABLE OF CONTENTS: All you need to know ..........................2 The icelandic vets ...............................2 The healthy horse ...............................3 Personal article ...................................3 Sörli from Sauðárkróki .......................4 Interesting words ...............................4 Puplic impression ...............................4 Honorary prize ...................................5 Fun facts .............................................5 Persoonal article .................................6 Breeding .............................................6 Competition........................................7 Education ...........................................8 Aron from Strandarhöfða ...................9 Fun facts .............................................9 Aron From Strandarhöfða ..................10 Color breeding ....................................11 Copetition horse .................................12 Horse colic ..........................................13 Riding centrres ...................................14

THE BASICS OF VETERINARY Vets are primarily required to treat disease, disorder or injury in animals, which includes diagnosis, treatment and aftercare. Unlike in adult human medicine, vets must rely on clinical signs, as animals are unable to vocalize symptoms as a human would. Most vets work in clinical settings, treating animals directly. These vets may be involved in a general practice,

treating animals of all types; may be specialid in a specific group of animals such as companion animals, livestock, zoo animals or horses; or may specialize in a narrow medical discipline such as surgery, dermatology or internal medicine.

-Hrefna Leifsdóttir

Personally, I have always felt the best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can’t ask his patiaent what is the matter—he’s got to just know -Will Rogers

ICELANDIS VETS Mia Hellesten is veterian in the south of Iceland and is currently working in the animal hospital Stuðlar.

She has a college degree from Finland, where she is from, an agricultural degree from the school Hólar, and she is a horse trainer and has the membership into the Félag tamningamanna in 1996. She has also studied biology in Háskóli Íslands and graduated from the veterinary school Norger Veterinærhögskole in Osló in the year 2005. She has worked in training horses in Finland, Germany, United states of America and Iceland. She has recieved vocational from Guðrún M. Sigurðardóttur a veterian from Skagafjörður the summer 2004 Sveinn Ólason graduated with a college degree from Fjölbrautarskóli Suðurlands 1990. Finished the university in Den kongilige Veterinærö og Landbohöjskole in Cobenhagen 1998 and recieved the veterinary permission in Iceland 1998. He begun continuing education in horse diseases in mars 2008 at the Den Danske Dyrlegeforening. He begun his career in 1998 in the Animal Hospital Stuðlar but until then he worked as the meat inspector in the summers at the slaugtherhouse in Herning Denmark.

Helgi Sigurðsson is a veterian and a historian. He has worked at veterinary for 35 years, specally with horses and has given out books about horses and their diseases and injuries. For example Hestaheilsa nr. 1 & 2. He has also written the story of the horse association Hörður.

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-Hrefna Leifsdóttir

THE JOY OF VETERINARY I choce veterinry because I always like taking care of animals. Since I remember I have always been surrounded by animals. Dogs, cats, sheep, horses, birds and cattle have always benn there every where I go.

When I moved in the city it wasn’t long until we got a cat and a hamster, then a year later we got a dog. When five years past I found a kitten in the streets wounded and sick, and because I want to become a vet I took care of it until it wasn’t sick anymore and fed him well but to be sure I took him to a licence vet. It seems so upfilling to be a vet and worth the effort of shcool and low salary in Iceland.

THE CLEAR SIGNS OF A HEALTHY HORSE A healthy horse has bright clear eyes, which are not weeping or discharging down its nose. The ears should be alert, not

I hope I never have to be without an animal in my life.

-Hrefna Leifsdóttir

drooping or uninterested or held tightly back. The coat should be supple and shiny, not dull and staring. A healthy horse supports its weight on all four feet equally an shows no sign of swelling or heat in its feet or legs. It is very important to keep your horses legs in good condition, if not your horse may never be ridden again and will have to stand and walk in pain every day. If you cant imagine it, you can imagine your toes blackend and you would have to walk on your toenails for the remainder of your life.

-Hrefna Leifsdóttir

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SÖRLI FROM SAUÐÁRKRÓKI Sörli frá Sauðárkróki is only a

least we can look back with a

INTERESTING WORDS

legend to breeders now days. He

smile upon our face,

Breeding – The improvement or development of breeds of livestock, as by selective mating and hybridization.

Offspring – Children or young of a particular parent or progenitor.

Stallion – An uncastrated adult male horse, especially one used for breeding.

Mare – A fully mature female horse or other equine animal.

Gelding – A castrated male animal, especially a horse.

Colt – A young male horse.

Filly – A young female horse.

Versatile – Capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor.

Mane – The longer hairs growing along the ridge of a horse's neck, from between the ears to the base of the withers.

Tail – The long hairs growing from the tail bone.

Star – A little white mark on the horse's forehead.

Snip – A little white mark on the horse's muzzle.

Blaze – A wide stripe of white down the front of the horse's face.

Stripe – A very thin stripe of white down the front of the horse's face.

Bay – Various shades of brown body color with black points.

Chestnut – Defined as a horse with no black hairs. Chestnut is a dark red horse.

Black – There is no other color on the horse except black; all points and hairs are black.

Grey – These horses may look white, but they are not. Their skin is dark and they have dark pigmentation around their eyes, ears and nose. They are born another color, and fade progressively with age.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

was surely underestimated in

remembering his abilities as a

breeding and breeders come

breeding prospect and talents as

down at the same point, that

a show horse.

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Sörli was a time-changing stallion in breeding and changed peoples look at all horses. Now people look back with desire, since Sörli is long dead. But at

PUPLIC IMPRESSION At the 1969 Fjórðungsmót at Einarsstaðir, the class of four- and five-year old stallions was won by Sörli 653 from Sauðárkróki. With the grade of 8,24. People were very impressed by Sörli, he was always so elegant, even though he did not really have that finely built conformation that is so desirable. He was exceptionally well raised and he always presented himself magnificently. This was interpreted in the worst possible way and you can still today hear people say that Sveinn, Sörli's breeder, had always experienced a lot of opposition against Sörli, the system had been unsympathetic to him. This is as far beside the truth as you can imagine. The truth is, that he did not slip through the needle of the judges eyes without criticism, rather than any other horse. The jury's comment about Sörli at that show was as follows: “A highly raised and elegant horse with great willingness. All gaits have wide movements which are also high and impressive.”That is how well Sörli always did. He was judged again as an individual at the 1970 Landsmót at Þingvellir. Þorsteinn Jónsson always trained and presented him. He did not do all that well at this show presenting Sörli's trot, the horse had a lot of willingness. It was not until later that people really got to see his trot, because in those years it was not considered all that important.

It must also be mentioned that Sörli, even though he was a horse with versatile gaits, that he was never a superb pacer. Þorsteinn did not know for certain how much the horse could do and he never asked him for more than just to complete a sprint. Later on, other riders did a lot worse. They intended to make Sörli present some magnificent sprint and he simply was not up to it, shortened himself and fell out of pace. In this respect, his sisters were a lot better, particularly Hrafnhetta 3791 frá Sauðárkróki.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

THE HORSE AFFECTION ON THE MAN’S PLEASURE The Icelandic horse and the ridership itself has been a big part of my life since I was born. I was born into a family with a strong attraction to horses, weather it was a hobby or a profession. My parents had breeding for a profession for several years in addition to the professional training they produced. And since horses and horsemanship are more of a lifestyle than just a profession or just a hobby, I walked straight in to this lifestyle of my family.

Every part of horsemanship fascinated me but breeding and competition is the part I'm going to be writing about in this article. These are two very related subjects but coming down to it all, breeding is probably the part that controls all parts of horsemanship.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

BREEDING In breeding of the Icelandic horse,

improvements on the breed. The

there are several perspectives on

Icelandic horse is becoming bigger,

what is proper and what is improper

stronger, faster and, most hopefully,

in a horse. But that is what contains

better. The horse has stepped away

variety in the breed and the challenge

from being this vital creature for the

of making the “perfect” horse.

human kind, to become a creature of

But horses are as different as

pleasure, satisfying enthusiastic

humans, and in fact no horses are

riders.

identical, similar to the humans.

And similar to all other acts of

Relating to that, there is impossible

pleasure, the man is ready to pay for

to find a suitable horse for every

it. And that is how the pleasure of

rider, since every riders are different,

horsemanship became a profession.

with different opinions and views.

And there is nothing bizarre of that,

Horses are no different, they have

why not making a living out of

different opinions and views on

something you love?

everything, including riders.

Breeders make professions out of

But breeders are challenged and

breeding horses, mating a mare and a

some wise man said that horsemen

stallion to achieve a prospect in form

are the most bewildered men of all

of a colt or a filly. The aims are

men, even worse than doctors and

different on every breeding farm,

astronauts. They keep on breeding,

some are breeding high-class

trying to make horses that impress

competition horses, others secure

the public and are dressed like a

family horses. The market is wide

glove to a riders hand.

and full of opportunities.

Breeding is always getting harder and harder, following the

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

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DID YOU KNOW? Approximately 80% of admitted students in veterinary schools are female.

The word veterinarian comes from the Latin word veterinae meaning “working animals” 61-68 % of veterinarians will suffer an animalrelated injury resulting in hospitalization or significant loss of work during their career.

The oldest horse on record is Old Billy, who died in November 1822 at the age of 62.

Starting salary for a veterinary specialist in US $ 150.000.

Horses hooves grow approximatley 0.25 in a month, and take nearly a year to grow from the coronet band to the ground.

A healthy adult horse should have a pulse of between 36 and 40 beats per minute at rest.

A horse typically sleeps two and half to three hours a day.

A horses heart weighs nine pounds.

A horse has approximatley 205 bones in his body.

Horses can not vomit.

Horses teeth never stop growing.

You can tell if a horse is dehydrated by pinching their skin, if it takes time for the skin to return from the pinch, they need water.

Mongolian tribes were the first to domesticate the horse, about 5000 years ago.

-Hrefna Leifsdóttir

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HONORARY PRIZE At the 1978 Landsmót at Þingvellir, the last Landsmót to take place at Skógarhólar, horses were awarded prizes for the first time according to the new rules about presentation of offspring.

Now, for the first time, there was a special honors awards class.

The first stallion on whom this honor was bestowed was Sörli 653 frá Sauðárkróki. Ever since Sörli had been presented first as a two-year-old at Hólar, in 1966, he had done better than any other horse before him or after him. The public loved him and he was used all over the country. He got to serve many of the very best mares. As an individual, he has won the classes he has been presented in, so the judges were no less fans of him than the public was.

Among Sörli's offspring, there are now horses that drew most attention at the show, each in his own field: Náttfari frá YtraDalsgerði and the superbly elegant tölter Hlynur frá Bringu. In time, Sörli produced 42 offspring with a 1st prize. That was a lot more than we had seen examples of until that time.

Sörli was a remarkable stallion, successful, widely spread and dominant in the Icelandic stock, which is the pride of the Icelanders, their cultural heritage ant the collective treasure of the breeders.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

COMPETITION Competition is strongly connected to breeding. Competition horses must be the very best of all others, highly trained with speed, strength and stamina of a professional athlete.

Riders seek competitions because they are proud of their training and the horse's abilities and talents. Competition demands a great control over all angles of the horse. The rider must be able to control every limp of the horse and in the mean time develop the very best of the horse on the track, in order to impress and fascinate both the public and the judges.

But there is a very fine line between controlling the horse and breaking it. It's important to use it's own will in good, gaining it's trust and getting him happy to work with you. It's dangerous to brake the horse's will with yours, without gaining it's trust, that can cause fear and even depression. No horse blossoms under those circumstances and that is not the way to gain success in competition.

In competition there are two kinds. First is athlete competition (íþróttakeppni), where the rider and his abilities are judged. His courtesy towards the horse and his abilities to control it with grace and determination. Second is the horse's competition (gæðingakeppni) where the horse and it's abilities are judged. His form, talents, action and gaits. It is important to contain those categories separate and different.

Competition is also a good way to represent both the horse and the rider. Breeders and owners hire professional riders to train and compete on their horses, in order to represent it to the market. Riders also seek up the horses, in order to be popular on the market as trainers and riders.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

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EDUCATION At the university in Hólar agriculture and many of it's subjects are taught. It is world known for it's horse academy which is highly respected and popular among horsemen. The subjects are many and every horse lover should be able to find something of his delight.

There is a special department of equine studies where the objective is to provide professional education in the fields of

Their logo

horse breeding, horse training, horsemanship, as well as in teaching and coaching riding. Furthermore, the department works towards development and innovation within the field of equine science, through research activities, as said on their homepage.

As said before horses, horsemanship and riding is something that has always fascinated me and been a big part of my lifestyle. It has many faults, like every other lifestyles, but the advantages are to good to give them up, on my opinion.

The lifestyle is diverse and various and everybody can find something of their delight on the subject.

-After all, we all seek for pleasure.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

8

ARON FROM STRANDARHÖFÐA The variety of Icelandic stallions is definite and can be looked at as overwhelming. The variety can put breeders in struggles to decide which stallion suits their mare best and which of them doesn't. Because every horse is different from another, breeders want to breed the finest abilities from their horse off to their offsprings and in case of doing that, they need to select their mate carefully. But where to start?

The managers of Landsmót, Iceland's biggest ridership gathering, have put on a special honorary prize for stallions and mares. The stallions must fulfill several conditions, understandingly, giving up to the major selection range in the buiseness.

Aron frá Strandarhöfði is a stallion that has not only gained popularity in breeding, but also for success.

Aron is born in June 1998. His breeder is Bragi Sverrisson but he makes a deal with the professional trainer, Albert Jónsson. In exchange of training him he will be co-owner of the horse. Albert trained him but the rider Daníel Jónsson rode him through jury, the stallion was only 4 years old and, among other grate results, he claimed 9,5 for tölt.

With further training in Daníel Jónsson's hands he was prepared for Landsmót 2004. And the success was definite, he went from 8,22 in main rating, to 8,54, and 8,74 for talent. After the breeding judge the owners decided to put on a partnership to the horse. Now the owners are 35, and they own all from 0,5% - 18%.

Aron's offsprings have been noted as light and soft, with exclusive gaits. 61% of his offsprings have been ridden through a jury and 51% of them have claimed 8,5 or higher for tölt, which is a very satisfying

DID YOU KNOW? There are about 75 million horses in the world.

Horses lie down only about 44 minutes a day.

Horses younger than 4 years can concentrate for a maximum of 10-15 minutes.

Horses sleep longer in the summer than in the winter..

No two horses are identical.

The left side of a horse is called the "near side" and the right side is the "off side" A horse's teeth can be used to estimate its age.

Horses generally dislike the smell of pigs.

When a domesticated horse is released in the wild they shed all traces of domestication rapidly.

Stallions will fight over females but generally not over territories.

Horses have better memories than elephants.

Horses have the largest eyes of any land animals.

Horses are not color-blind A horse's teeth take up more space in their head then their brain.

Adult male horses generally have 40 teeth and females 36.

The horse has binocular vision, but can also see different things in each eye.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðrdóttir

example of the talent he's bringing over to his legacies.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

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ARON FROM STRANDARHÖFÐA When you look at Aron's ancestors you don't see the “good-old” stallions that have been overused and have caused worries for breeders weather they are kinship breeding the Icelandic horse kind. Nevertheless, Aron's breeding line contains some fine horses, for example Náttfari frá Ytra Dalsgerði and Óður frá Brún.

On Landsmót 2008 Aron was honored with honorary prize for offsprings. He was given the grade 120 in BLUP, which is a rating given for genetics and talents crossed on to it's offsprings.

When the prize was given he got the remark of giving high and long legged offsprings with a thin and long neck, talented on every gait, but tölt being the finest gait.

Aron as a breeding horse is a good choice to breed beautiful and talented horses for everyone's use.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir

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COLOR BREEDING CATCHES UP The variety of colors is one of the Icelandic horse's unique symptoms. The most common colors of the horse is black and chestnut, followed by the bay and gray. Therefor the horses we see mostly on the tracks all carry similar colors.

The reason is only a simple matter of genetics. When a black horse is mated with a silver dapple one, for an example, the offspring will become black, because the black genes are stronger then the silver dapple ones.

But some breeders have destined to keep the color variety going and bred horses with a goal of a colorful herd. But they've had to start at the very beginning on breeding and it has been hard for them to catch up with other breeders, because quality will always be picked before pretty looks.

For example the silver colored horse has not been put on a bar

Glymur from Inni-Skeljabekku

with quality, and even referred to as wild minded and even evil.

But the color breeders are stepping up and the silver colored horses among with them. They get more common and common on the track with much admiration, because people do think the silver striped manes are beautiful among with their dark bodies.

The offsprings of Glymur from Innri-Skeljabrekku are the most popular among those colorful creatures. But Glymur was exported to Belgium and sadly, he died there shortly after from infections. But he left a good amount of offspring, and to be mentioned Þyrla from Eyri is there a beautiful tribute.

-Anna Guðrún Þórðardóttir Þyrla from Eyri

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ARE THE DEMANDS OF COMPETION HORSE DESTROYING IT’S NATURE?

Competition is one of the most popular subject of ridership and the popularity has only increased through out the years. And why shouldn't it? Riders train their horses for a period of time and they become proud of the results, willing to show it to other horse lovers and compare their decent horse to another one.

But the claims have changed with the breeding demands and it has started to worry an amount of people, especially veterinarians. In an interview taken by the magazine of Eiðfaxi, the Icelandic head veterinarian, Sigurborg Daðadóttir, clarifies her considerations about competition horses. “I find it hard to see when a crowd applauds a horse which is forced to a fixed form, just if it can kick up it's legs high enough. Often the horses are “torn apart”, the back doesn't follow the front, horses are prevented to walk through out their body.

This is what Dr. Gert Heuschman called “cockroaches”, that is when the legs move fast and purely, but the back line is stiff like a husk, the horse moves like a cockroach. I find it uncommon to see a satisfied horse, with ears and mind front and a beautifully carried tail, moving decently with a flexible body in competition.”

As said we, as riders, train our horses for a period of time, and we become proud of our results. But we can't say that we can be proud, when our horses are compared to cockroaches, or can we?

Surely we are all fascinated by the sight of fast and graceful leg movement, but is this the right development of our beloved horse breed?

-Anna Guðrún Þórðrdóttir

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HORSE DISEASES DISEASES Horse colic or hrossas贸tt

Infectious diseases are those diseases

Colic in horses is defined as abdominal pain, but it is a clinical sign

that horses can get from each other, or

rather than a diagnosis. The term colic can encompass all forms

via a vector, such as a mosquito, which

ofgastrointestinal conditions which cause pain as well as other causes

may transmit the disease from horse to

of abdominal pain not involving the gastrointestinal tract. The most

horse. Horse owners can vaccinate their

common forms of colic are gastrointestinal in nature and are most often

horses against many of these diseases, or

related to colonic disturbance. There are a variety of different causes of

their veterinarian may administer the

colic, some of which can prove fatal without surgical intervention.

vaccinations.

Colic surgery is usually an expensive procedure as it is major abdominal surgery, often with intensive aftercare.

SIGNS OF COLIC

The incidence of colic can be reduced by restricted access to simple carbohydrates including sugars from feeds with excessive

Pawing and/or scraping

molasses, providing clean feed and drinking water, preventing the

Stretching

ingestion of dirt or sand by using an elevated feeding surface, a

Frequent attempts to urinate

regularfeeding schedule, regular deworming, regular dental care, a

Flank watching: turning of the head to watch the stomach and/or hind quarters

regular diet that does not change substantially in content or proportion and prevention of heatstroke. Horses that bolt their feed are at risk of colic, and several management techniques may be used to slow down the rate of feed consumption. If you come to a horse lying down and has the symptoms of colic you try to make that horse stand up again and move around. Signs of improvement is when air and dung begin to move out of the horse.

-Hrefna Leifsd贸ttir

Biting/nipping the stomach Pacing Repeated flehmen response Repeated lying down and rising Rolling Groaning Bruxism Excess salivation Loss of appetite Decreased fecal output Increased pulse rate Dark mucous membranes -Hrefna Leifsd贸ttir

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ÍSHESTAR OR ICEHORSES? Íshestar has been a leading tour operator since 1982 and focuses on quality service and safety. Íshestar offers quality tours in the beautiful nature of Iceland. Íshestar offers various programs for every taste. Some tours require good riding skills and knowledge of horses while others are well suited for people with little or none riding skills. Íshestar's riding tours are devided into three categories; day tours, countryside tours and highland tours.

On the website www.ishestar.is you can find all information about the tours, departures, durations, prices and required riding skills.

-Katrín Rut Sigurgeirsdóttir

FRIÐHEIMAR During the summer months, from 1st of May to 30th of September, Friðheimar offers its own horse show: A meeting with the Icelandic horse. It's available in 14 different languages. The show provides an insight into the story of the Icelandic horse, as well, all 5 gates of the breed are shown and explained.

The display is followed by a visit to the stable where visitors can enjoy a hot beverage, meet the riders and their horses and take photographs.

You can book on tel: (+354) 897-1915 or by email: fridheimar@fridheimar.is -Katrín Rut Sigurgeirsdóttir

ELDHESTAR ARE VOLCANO HORSES Eldhestar takes special pleasure in showing tourists from all over the world the nature of Iceland like they have never seen it before. A ll the natural beauty that Iceland has to offer like endless meadows, hidden valleys, glaciers, volcanoes and high mountains.

They offer trips from one or two hours up to several days.

All tours begin at the Farm Vellir, just 30 minutes drive from Reykjavík. In 2002 Eldhestar opened a eco-hotel right by the farm wich is available for all visitors.

-Katrín Rut Sigurgeirsdóttir

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MANAGING IN INGÓLFSHVOL Theres a lot going on in Ingólfshvol in Ölfus these days. A huge horse center and tourist service is being built there. A big part of the riding hall and the restaurant has been redecorated and enlarged. The facility has been given the name Fákasel. The owners say that not only will Fákasel

DID YOU KNOW?

that between 1783 and 1784 around 70% of horses in Iceland were killed by volcanic ash poisoning and starvation after the eruption of Lakagígar? today there are about 80.000 Icelandic horses in Iceland?

THE HORSE RENTAL IN LAXNES

The couple Þórarinn Jónasson and Ragnhildur Bergsdóttir, better known as Póri and Heiða, are the pioneers in horse related tourist service. The year 1968 marks the beginning of the horse rental in Laxnes in Mosfellssveit and so last year the company turned 45 years old. For that occasion Bjarki Bjarnason published a noble book called Hestaleigan Laxnesi- Fjölskyldan og fyrirtækið í máli og myndum.

The horse rental at Laxnes is the oldest functioning horse rental in Iceland. Póri and Heiða began the industry with only six horses. Today the horses are about 120 and they welcome around 10.000-15,000 guest every year.

The horse rental has been a port of call of many guests. Both royal people and movie stars have went horseback riding there. Many Icelanders take a tour on the Laxnes horses too. Our president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and his wife Dorrit visit Laxnes horse rental regularly.

-Katrín Rut Sigurgerisdóttir

that the Icelandic horse was first exported to another countries in 1950?

PERSONAL ARTICLE Ichose this subject because I live for my horses and everything that happens around them. I grew up around horses and have spent most of my life in the stable.

In Biskupstungur, where I live, we have a great amount of tourist attraction related to horses, food and agriculture. That's why I chose to talk about tourist attraction related to horses.

In my school, Fjölbrautarskóli Suðurlands, I take a lot of horse related courses. One of them is called Ferðateng hestaþjónusta and there we learn bout tourist service related to horses. You can also go further with those studies if you go to Hólar in Hjaltadalur.

-Katrín Rut Sigurgeirsdóttir