Keeping Icelandic Horses

Icelandics are generally very easy to feed. The main problem is not allowing them to become too fat. If you have good grass throughout the year they will probably not need any extra food unless you are working them very hard.

In the spring and summer, you may need to restrict your horsesīgrazing time to stop him getting too fat. Electric fences are great! "Starvation paddocks" are not so good for Icelandics - better a concrete or gravel yard, as even if thereīs hardly any grass at all your Icelandic will still pick at it, and he may eat pebbles or sand resulting in colic.

Provide a salt and mineral block with free access, and of course plenty of fresh water that wonīt freeze in the winter.

If you have a "real" winter, then your Icelandic will need good hay or haylage. Silage is too rich, but good quality straw can be used as a "filler" for greedy horses.

If you are working your horse hard, or using it for breeding, or it is very old, then it may need extra food. Avoid food which is too high in protein, and remember that even though Icelandics are tough, any food which they have must be of good quality.

Weight tapes and weigh bridges are fine but thereīs a quick and easy way to check your horseīs waistline. To know if your horse is fat or thin, you need to touch him. Unless he is grossly overweight and on the verge of laminitis, or half-starved, you cannot do it just by looking at him. Put your hand flat on his side, mid-way between his shoulder and his flank. With a little pressure you should be able to feel his ribs. If you need to press really hard or use just your fingertips, your horse is probably too fat. If you can easily feel every rib, heīs on the thin side. If you can see his ribs heīs definitely too thin.

This method isnīt totally infallable as a few Icelandics carry much of their fat on their necks, so check the crest is soft and wobbly just to make sure.

If your horse is losing weight, the skin over his ribs will be very loose. If heīs gaining weight it will feel quite tight.

If your horse is sweating up a great deal in the autumn and winter you may need to clip him. A wet sweaty horse should never be turned out if the weather is cold or wet; he should be kept in a stable until he is dry or he will be at risk from cold and chills. A clipped horse does not sweat as much and dries much quicker.

A bib clip (clipping the hair on the underside of the neck and on the chest) will keep your horse cooler when working but he will still have enough fuzz to keep him warm in bad weather. A more radical clip (a trace or full clip) will mean that you may have to put a rug on your horse in cold, wet or windy weather.

Sweet itch (also called summer eczema) is an allergy, usually to bites of the cullicoides midge. Horses imported from Iceland are often quite susceptible to sweet itch, and it's thought that around 35% of them will get it at some time in their lives. The occurence of sweet itch is much, much less in home- or European-bred Icelandics, or in foals born in the UK from Icelandic-bred horses. There is no real treatment for sweet itch at present, though much research is being carried out, and the main things seems to be to treat the symptoms, and to prevent the horse getting bitten in the first place. We've found the best way to control sweet itch is to use a purpose-made sweet itch blanket during midgy periods, which covers the horse completely and prevents midges biting. The horse wears the blanket all the time - the blankets are water resistant and breathable, and the horse stays cooler inside the blanket even on a hot day. We've tried all sorts of lotions, potions, feed supplements etc and the blanket is the only thing that really works. Likewise, we've tried all the various makes of sweet itch blanket. The Boett is very good, but expensive, and invariably the elastic goes saggy after one summer's use. Cheaper makes are a false economy as they rarely fit well and the material is not so rugged. The best we've found is the ITCH OFF rug made by deMeulenkamp in Holland. These are made from the same material as the Boett rugs, but with good elastic, darted shoulders for an even better fit, lots of different sizes, and they cost only Ģ100, roughly 2/3rd the price of the Boett. I've just started importing and selling them - contact me for details.