More on the Icelandic Horse - Sokki
I (Sue) would like to tell you about the Icelandic gelding, Sokki and a little about this breed. He was born in Iceland and imported to this country about 12 years ago. He's a 17 or 18 year old gelding.
This breed (although bred all over the world now) originally, came from Iceland, they have been purebred for over 900 years. There's a law in Iceland (still on the books today), that there can't be any importation. Showing internationally is difficult, as, once a horse leaves Iceland, it cannot come back!
Icelandic Horses are gaited horses. They have walk, trot and canter, plus tolt (running walk). Some have the "flying pace", where the horse, under saddle, can go quite fast. They are born that way, do not need special shoes, or training.
The breed as a whole is friendly, loyal, careful of your "personal" space, easily trained, smart (do not use this to take advantage), startle (but, do not spook), protective of their owner/rider and the list goes on and on.
Sound too good to be true? Really, it's not. These are fantastic horses. They've been compared to the "Golden Retrievers" of the horse world!
My favorite story about this horse (and there are many) is:
The day I got him into town, it was windy, I got him from the trailer and led him into his indoor/outdoor stall. Before I could close the gate/door, it slammed. I jumped, another horse would have taken off, Sokki didn't blink an eye and he's not deaf!
See Sokki's other web page
See more Sokki photos