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Links
Horses
Here are some links with more information. (Note that these are separate organizations and that we make no warranties whatsoever with regard to them or their horses.)
- US Icelandic Horse Congress (http://www.icelandics.org)
- Icelandic Horse Connection (http://iceryder.net) - A site with LOTS of information about Icelandic's.
- A great book for learning more about gaited horses and their gaits: "Easy-Gaited Horses" by Lee Ziegler. No one explains the look and feel of gaits better than Lee!
- Books about Icelandic's that are great, by Rikke Schultz and Christine Schwartz can be found here
Other Farms
These are other Icelandic horse farms in North America.
- Unicorn Valley Icelandics (http://www.unicornvalley.net) - A lovely farm tucked away in rural Kentucky that truly deserves its magical name..
- The Icelandic Horse Farm (http://www.icefarm.com) - A large breeding farm in Vernon, British Columbia.
Tack and Saddles, etc.:
Icelandics can be ridden in any saddle that fits the horse and is comfortable for the rider. The biggest limitation is that some Icelandics are short-backed and most are very wide. My favorite saddles are treeless. Although treeless saddles may not work for every rider and every horse, they certainly work well for me (Karen) on a lot of my wide, short-backed Icelandic Horses. My favorite saddle of all times is made by Nickers Saddlery, and is called the Sensation Ride. www.nickerssaddlery.com It's the most comfortable saddle I've ever sat in! At present, there is a waiting list for these saddles. She also makes a lovely bridle called the Harmony, that can be used as a halter, bridle, bosal, sidepull or cross-over bitless bridle.
We have bought a new (used) saddle for Cary that looks very promising. It is a flex-panel saddle, made by Free 'N' Easy of England, www.fnesaddles.com, distributed in the USA by Moss Rock Endurance, www.mossrockendurance.com. They make these saddles on the same panels in dressage, endurance, and other English styles. Moss Rock also sells a lot of practical and useful items for endurance riders, which might be of interest to lots of trail riders. They also sell a multi-function bridle I like that can be a halter, bridle or sidepull, called the Freedom Bridle.
Wintec English saddles, particularly their dressage models with the changeable gullets like the Dressage Pro, may work for many Icelandic's - but we've found that usually even the narrower Icelandic's need the wide or extra wide gullets. Sadly, some Icelandic's are too wide for even those. Some Wintec models (Isabel, Endurance Pro) may be too long for short Icelandic backs, particularly in the larger seat sizes. Wintec does make a truly wide saddle, called simply the Wintec Wide. I haven't used it on my horses, but it might be a good one to try. The Wintec western saddles have been too narrow and too long for virtually all Icelandics, but I haven't tried their new Quarter Horse bar western saddles.
I also like Bob Marshall Sport Saddles (treeless) saddles for some Icelandic's, although you should be careful - some of the larger seat sizes may be too long for some short-backed Icelandic's. Bob Marshall's are made in western and endurance styles, and are somewhat custom-made.
We tried a Freeform Endurance saddle in their "classic" model, but found it too long for most of our horse's backs. They do make a Short Back model that might be worth trying. Also, some people like the Torsion saddles, but I haven't used one on my horses. Both the Torsion and the FreeForm are treeless.
A great online tack store is Saddle Up Tack, www.saddleuptack.com. Susan carries lots of practical items for pleasure and trail, some nice sidepulls, double-S and caged endurance safety stirrups, Wintec saddles, and many mild bits in sizes 4.5" and 4.75". She's a pleasure to deal with!