Photograph by George Sakkestad
Heather Thordarson 'ponies' several Icelandic horses, a mentoring technique that allows the younger horses to learn from a more mature one
By Shari Kaplan
At the Icelandic Crest horse ranch, secluded high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mother's Day arrived along with a new addition to owner Heather Thordarson's family--of horses, that is!
Little As (rhymes with "house"), a fuzzy, blue dun-colored foal, was born in the evening hours to Soley, one of two mares and seven geldings currently residing at the ranch, which Thordarson, her husband Gunnar and members of the extended family have operated for a year this month.
As, Flotti and Trissa belong to the Thordarsons; the others--Andi, Hersir, Mani, Sokki, Soley, Scout and Tinder--are boarders. As will one day become the ranch's breeding stallion; hence his name, which means "Ace" in Icelandic. His father is the stallion Hugur, who belongs to a breeder and horse-ranch owner in Washington.
The ranch is the fulfillment of a dream for Thordarson, and the Icelandic equines living there are her dream horses. Already a fan of Icelandics just from reading about them, Thordarson's dream began in earnest many years ago upon visiting Iceland with Gunnar and actually riding the horses.
"I'm basically a country girl. I've always had a love of horses," Thordarson says, reminiscing about headstrong Sugar, a quarter horse who "wasn't so sweet" whom she rode on her family's 240-acre homestead in Washington.
"You have to have a real love of horses when you're willing to put up with all the dirty stuff and still get back up and ride," she says.
Icelandics, Thordarson says, are the perfect horses for children or beginning riders of any age because of their size, strength and temperament, as well as their variety of gaits.
All of these traits originated in Iceland more than 1,100 years ago. When Vikings crossed the North Sea to settle Iceland in the ninth century, they brought many small, stocky Germanic-type horses with them. Celtic wayfarers arriving in Iceland from the coasts of Ireland and Scotland brought their own, more lithe, breed of horses.
Iceland's isolation allowed its horse population to breed and increase over the centuries, and the cold climate and rugged terrain of the island encouraged the survival of the fittest--those with thick, warm coats, high endurance levels and muscular bodies shorter than the average European horse.
The early Icelandics lived in semi-wild herds--as many of them still do today in the highlands and valleys--but at the same time were accepting of their human neighbors and willing to live and work with humans.
"The Icelandics don't have a 'who's out to get me?' attitude because there are no natural predators on Iceland," Thordarson says. There is also little or no horse disease, which means that once the horses are exported from Iceland, they can never return.
"When I think of the Icelandic horse, I think of love and gentleness and a willingness to please. They're unintimidating and very intelligent--just what a horse should be," she adds, recalling old Viking sagas in which loyal horses tended to their masters and kept them warm and safe during snowstorms or other times of hardship.
Stories Thordarson does not like retelling are those she hears from acquaintances who own other types of horses; when owners make comments such as "I sure wouldn't put my kids on that horse yet," Thordarson wonders why they own horses they can't fully trust. Her own children, six-year-old Stefan and four-year-old Elise, learned horseback riding early and safely, thanks to the presence of the Icelandics, all of whom are imported from their native island.
Although Thordarson says common sense and respect for the animals is obviously required, riders have much less to worry about when they settle upon the back of an Icelandic, which stands between 12 to 14 hands high and can carry up to 300 pounds.
"They do get frightened sometimes, but they don't rear up or run away or go ballistic. They'll just plant [their feet] and stare," she says.
Santa Cruz resident Kathy Hayes, owner of Andi, a brown and white pinto, says her difficulties with horses of other breeds led her to study Icelandics.
"When I started reading about Icelandics, I realized that's the kind of horse I wanted, because I wanted a good trail horse," explains Hayes, whose Arabian horse was too hot-headed and easily spooked to take on most trails.
"Andi really likes to go on trails. The only thing he hates is going over a trail he's already been on. He doesn't want to turn around and go back because he's so interested in exploring and seeing new things. Sometimes he'll find a new way to do an old trail," Hayes says of her six-year-old gelding.
Among the pair's favorite haunts are Waddell Beach and Wilder Ranch, both slightly north of Santa Cruz, as well as places in the Santa Cruz Mountains, such as the watershed trail areas off Summit Road.
If Hayes is unsure of which trail fork to take on a return trip, or if she can't quite judge how to navigate certain terrain, she often lets Andi take over. "I like the fact that he's always thinking. I can rely on him to figure it out."
Thordarson, who also enjoys trail riding, agrees, explaining the intuitive nature of the horses. Once, when riding Sokki, Thordarson had to spend a long time persuading him to forge a shallow little creek. The creek turned out to be much deeper than Thordarson thought. Sokki was not surprised.
"The only time I've had problems with the Icelandics is when I should have listened to them rather than making them listen to me," she says.
Another advantage of Icelandics is the ease with which they are trained, Thordarson explains. Just like in their ancestral homeland, Icelandics in America are still allowed to "do their own thing" for their first four to five years of life. "This develops a real sense of self," she says.
Afterwards, they go through a training process that begins with basic groundwork. One of the most important tasks for a young Icelandic to learn is "ponying," in which the trainer rides a mature horse while leading the young horse around. This type of "mentorship" enables the young to learn from their elders.
Other training exercises include longeing, learning vocal commands and becoming accustomed to a bridle, bit and saddle.
"They're calm and willing so it's easier to train them. They also catch on faster," Thordarson says.
In addition to the usual walk, trot and gallop familiar to most horse fanciers, the Icelandics have two special gaits: the skeid (pace) and the tölt--a distinctive non-jostling running walk in which only one or two hooves are on the ground at a time. An Icelandic moving into a tölt is like a car shifting into a higher gear--although it's moving faster, the ride is easier and smoother.
The only hitch in working with Icelandics--more of an amusement than a problem--is that the horses love attention and expect to have their 15 minutes of fame more than just once.
"Icelandics are a lot like children. They expect things. And they get jealous--not among themselves but for the attention of people," Thordarson says with a grin. Although all the horses at Icelandic Crest are social animals, some have particularly interesting idiosyncrasies, which are reflected in their names.
Trissa--"Wanderer"--likes to visit and finds herself a new boyfriend every week among the geldings, while Flotti--"Escape"--gets his kicks from picking the lock to his stall. "He doesn't leave; he just waits for you to catch him and see what he did," Thordarson says, grinning again.
Along with boarding and caring for her own horses and those of others at Icelandic Crest ranch, Thordarson frequently hosts schoolchildren on field trips. She also offers private horseback riding lessons for children and adults as well as a variety of day treks, which include an outdoor lunch.
In the fall, Thordarson plans to offer ongoing workshops to educate would-be horse owners on every aspect of having a horse. She is also organizing a two-day clinic for Icelandic owners to talk with professional trainers and breeders.
"I want to show people that horses can be gentle and can be good family animals. It's a whole new way of thinking that Icelandics introduce," she says. "They're like potato chips; you can't have just one!"
For more information about Icelandic horses or about the Icelandic Crest ranch, call 353-4701.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, June 26, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved