Legendary horse breeds on icy islands

More than 1,000 years apart on the island, Iceland horses are the purest breed in the world, with strong beauty and high adaptability.

Iceland possesses unique terrain, from black sand beaches to endless snow-white tundra. The beauty of the island nation attracts Drew Doggett, an American professional photographer and filmmaker. On a trip to Europe, he made a series of "In the Legendary Kingdom" to depict the link between wild horses and the natural landscape of the island.

The horses here differ from any other species found around the world, in both traits and abilities. They are small in size but healthy and have a long life. Iceland's terrain is extremely diverse, so for centuries, when transport was underdeveloped, horses were the only means of transportation, transporting goods, delivering mail. The first settlers on the island predicted this, they brought the strongest of the flock here, when migrating from Norway. Isolated on the island and not bred with any other horse breed since 874, they are noble thoroughbred Viking horses that play an important role in Icelandic culture and history.

In order to adapt to the harsh living conditions, their fur grows long and silky. They are the only horse to perform five different types of movement, including walking, jogging, galloping and ground vacuuming. Most prominent is the tolt, a four-step gait with the main moving hind legs and two relaxed forelegs.

Iceland horse is one of the most colorful breeds in the world, with more than 40 colors and more than 100 variations with many different coat colors, but mainly 4 colors white, brown, black, chestnut. The photo was taken by the author at Skogafoss, one of the largest waterfalls on the island, during the cold winter.

The white horses in the "crystal" water. Drew Doggett shared, when making this photo, snow began to fall but the sun still shines, forming a picture of light that can not be found anywhere else in the world. "The horses seem to come from an endless dream , " he said. Standing under a rushing waterfall with translucent bubbles obscuring the view, they were still calm and not bothered. All create an incredibly harmonious scene.

The author said, he spent more than 3 months to plan the series. However, he still faced many challenges because of unpredictable weather conditions such as snow and high winds. "I am always fascinated by the near impossible work. The surreal beauty of Iceland and the wild horses provide an unforgettable spectacle , " he said.

The white horse runs long on the black sand of Breiðamerkursandur. Next to it is the sea ice. Breiðamerkursandur is nicknamed "diamond beach", one of the most famous sights in Iceland. Icebergs drift to the beach from the Jökulsárlón lagoon. In addition to size, magnetic tape of the lagoon impresses with color. Besides white, they can be tinged in blue or black with volcanic ash.

The image of the noble light trail, capturing the opposing beauty of white horses with black rocks formed from volcanoes.

In addition to speed and power, the horses on the icy island are also loyal, intelligent, adventurous and friendly to humans. According to local legend, they are descendants of the horse god Sleipnir, the 8-legged horse of the magical god Odin. Images of Sleipnir are engraved on the rocks, in the settlements of ancient Northern Europe. Today, although horses are no longer used as a means of transportation, people still consider them to represent the country and culture of the island nation. They are taken care of and used in recreation or in sports.

Currently more than 250,000 Icelandic horses are found worldwide, of which 40% live in the country. Due to geographic isolation, horses in the island nation have very few diseases and do not need to be vaccinated. This also constitutes the strict rule that no other horse should be imported into Iceland.