Þessi grein er © Horse & Pony magazine (Breska), Apríl 2002. Ég fann hana á netinu og nenni ekki að þýða hana en mér fannst hún nokkuð góð. Leyfi ykkur að dæma fyrir ykkur sjálf. :)

Equestrian stereotypes - Icelandic Horse Owner

A fairly new equestrian stereotype, rarely seen outside Iceland until recently, this rider creates confusion (as does her horse) among the riding community wherever she goes. This confusion is compounded by her horse's ability to change color and appearance from one season to another, from a fine summer coat to a hair beast in the winter.
The Icelandic horse owner changes colour as often as her horse. During winter she becomes caked in mud as she puts her horse's four-wheel drive to the test in what other horses find impossible terrain. In spring, as her horse loses his winter coat, Icelandic horse owner becomes the same colour as her horse, as she gets covered in his hair. During the summer, the Icelandic horse owner turns a dark shade of brown due to the sun (and wind).
Unlike owners of larger horses, the Icelandic horse owner cannot be distinguished by their walk. Large horse owners often cannot walk normally for several hours, recovering their gait only after a long soak in a bath. Even after the longest ride, the Icelandic horse owner's gait is no different. The reason for this is that she ‘cheats’, insisiting in riding in a straight gait called a tolt which, while about the same speed as trot, does not cause the rider to bounce around.
This sneaky gait is frowned upon by the big horse community, who see it as not playing by ‘the rules’. It has also led to some Icelandic horses being declared lame in all four legs, by vets not used to this strange action.
A further sneaky trick of the Icelandic horse owner is to launch the horse into ‘flying ace’ and leave big horse owner struggling for breath as they see what they recently described as a ‘cute little pony’ taking off with Icelandic horse owner sitting very still and looking like she in a very fast hairy arm chair with wings.
Icelandic horse owner has no knowledge of mucking out (her horse lives out), winter rugs (her horse grows his own), or types of feed (she just moves the fence each day).
Icelandic horse owner does have one major problem though: how to pronounce her horse's name, let alone translate it into English. With names like Flo fra Daraeg Dair, Sandholarferju, Glofaxi fra and Perla fra Sellfoss, she spends most of her time trying desperately to get her friends to gain a better understanding of what her horse is called.

Written by Colin Gibson (proud owner of an Icelandic horse)