Welcome to Haldane Icelandic Horses home to Australia’s Viking horse. The Icelandic horse is known for its outstanding temperament, its spectacular gaits (the tolt and flying pace) and superb range of natural colours.

Not many people are aware that there are Icelandic horses in Australia, so we'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of the special qualities of the Icelandic, our herd and about ourselves. We estimate there are around 50 Icelandic horses in New Zealand and possibly 40 + in Australia – at present most of whom are part of our herd.

They are one of the rare horse breeds that have retained their natural gaits and are usually 4 or 5 gaited. The smooth tolt makes them an extremely comfortable and pleasurable ride … the flying pace is purely invigorating. While their small stature makes them a non threatening size to handle and ride, their strength ensures they can carry a fully grown adult male. They are a versatile breed so while their size and temperament means they usually make excellent family horses, they also lend themselves to trekking, endurance riding, dressage, gymkhana and many other equine sports events.

The Icelandic horse must really be met in person and be ridden under saddle to truly appreciate the beautiful gaits, willingness of spirit, and sweet, generous nature.

Please contact us for further information on Icelandic horses, our herd, animals for sale or to arrange a farm visit.

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Our herd of purebred Icelandic horses, live happily in Victoria, Australia. Although native to Iceland they have adapted well to Australian conditions since the original 9 horses were imported from Denmark by our late Uncle, Clyde Haldane in 1996. The herd has grown considerably over the years and Clyde imported a stallion from Germany in 2005. Sadly Clyde passed away in 2005 and was unable to see through his vision for the Icelandic horse in Australia.

Brothers Clyde and Roger Haldane have been successful livestock breeders and visionaries in a number of fledgling Australian agriculture industries. Their names will be familiar to any alpaca breeders around the world and are associated with quality of breeding and enduring bloodlines.

Today Roger and wife Suzanne Haldane run the very successful Shaw River Buffalo Cheese label. Their herd of Australia’s first imported pure Italian Riverine buffalo produce a naturally white milk that is made into beautiful, soft balls of Mozzarella (handmade the traditional way) and a range of exquisite hard cheeses. Business is a family affair, son-in-law Andrew is chief cheese maker and now two of their daughters, Thea and Amy manage the Icelandic Horses, for their parents and siblings.

Thea and Amy have years of animal husbandry, specialty livestock breeding and marketing experience. We pride ourselves in providing practical, friendly pre and post purchase services to our clients. With young families of our own we really enjoy the gentle nature of the Icelandic and get immense pleasure from working with them.

Please feel free to contact Thea for more information or to make an appointment to visit. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to the world of the Icelandic horse.

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Breed History
Icelandic horses are one of the purest breeds of horses in the world. The Icelandic is the descendant of the horses originally brought to Iceland by the Vikings, possibly Norwegian Dole horses and Celtic ponies. A law passed by the Icelandic parliament in 982 AD to prevent the spread of diseases meant that no horses have been allowed to be imported into Iceland, and no horse that leaves may come back in. This law remains today and as a direct result the Icelandic has been bred and evolved in isolation, unaltered by crossbreeding. The Icelandic horse has adapted perfectly for its harsh native environment where only the tough can survive. Its genetics have survived through volcanic eruptions, famine and plagues that ravaged the human and equine populations of their island home.

Icelanders take great pride in their horsemanship and breeding. Selective breeding programs in Iceland started around 1879.  FEIF, The International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations governs the breeding standards of the Icelandic horse among its associate members. Worldfengur is an international database for Icelandic horses and only 100% purebred Icelandic horses can be registered.
Iceland as a nation is proud of its native horse and trekking adventures in the homeland are a popular draw card for tourists.

Breed Characteristics
Although the Icelandic is usually only 12 – 14 hh it is strong and capable of carrying a fully grown man - all day! They are very good natured, and are bred as much for temperament as for their other attributes. Stocky, compact bodies with short strong limbs together with a thick fuzzy winter coat, makes them tough and weather resistant. They are sure footed, willing, naturally curious and generally very sensible and easily taught.

Being slow to mature the Icelandic horse is rarely put under saddle, or a mare bred until 4 years of age. However their lifespan and working life are long… many working until they are 25 – 30 years old and horses 35 – 40 years old are apparently quite common.

The colouring seems to have been a minor consideration in the breeding. Hence they come in most shades and combinations like blue dun, bay dun, palomino, skewbald, pinto, silver dapple, chestnut, bay .. etc . It is truly stunning to see a mixture of these coloured horses running as a herd.

The Gaits

The Icelandic breed have 5 natural gaits – the walk, trot, Tolt, canter and Pace, though not all Icelandic’s are able to achieve all 5.

The Tolt is an extremely smooth gait which can be ridden comfortably by the rider for long periods of time. It is a four beat gait with the same footfall as the walk and at least one foot is always in contact with the ground. The tolt can be ridden very slow or fast to the pace of a canter. A tolting horse is magic to ride and the tolt is a very important trait of the Icelandic breed.

The Pace is a two beated gait where the horses legs move laterally with a moment of suspension. It is often called the flying pace as it gives the rider the feeling of doing just that. The flying pace can reach speeds of up to 30mph for short distances over flat ground.

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In 1996 A filly and colt were imported from Daeli stud in Iceland and 7 fillies from Gudenadalen in Denmark into Australia to make up the nucleus herd. Tandri from Roetgen was recently brought in from Germany to add new genetics and his first foals were born in 2006.

Stallions
Both our stallions have impressive bloodlines and the most beautiful temperaments. They are currently not being offered for outside servicing.

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Postal Address
Haldane Icelandic Horses
Thea Royal
P.O. Box 3
Yambuk 3285
Victoria
Australia

Ph/Fax: +61 (0)3 55 684396

email: info@icelandichorses.com.au

website: www.icelandichorses.com.au

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Here are a few links to Icelandic horse related sites we hope you will find interesting.

Look out for more links added from time to time.

FEIF - The International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations web

Worldfengur - International Icelandic horse database

USA icelandic horse congress - United states icelandic horse association   

Tolt News - icelandic horse newsletter & info

Eidfaxi    - international icelandic horse magazine

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