Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wild Animal Research (IZW) in Berlin have announced a fascinating discovery in the history of gaited horses. By studying the genomes of ninety horses that lived between the Copper Age and the eleventh century, they have traced the spread of the fifth equine gait or amble. This …
Continue reading “Scandal! Did the Icelandic tölt come from England?”
In Benedikt Erlingsson’s Of Horses and Men, the inhabitants of a remote Icelandic valley have emotions as tightly knitted as their jumpers – except when it comes to their swift-trotting, thick-maned horses. In the opening scene we see the coat on a grey mare’s chest, caught in whorls and feathered by drizzle as her owner’s …
Englishman Charles Taylor visited Iceland in 1862 and recorded his impressions of the local beasts, seen here in Reyjavik. Full details at the US Library of Congress’ excellent, generous website.
Iceland’s entry for this year’s best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars has a very horsey flavour. Its trailer is also, like all the best foreign films, NSFW. Thank you to Tanya for alerting me!
The 2013 Icelandic Horse World Championships launched this morning at the Platz der 18 Mars, in front of the Brandenburg Gate. A parade of horses and riders from over twenty nations clopped up the Strasse des 17 Juni through the middle of the Tiergarten park in the centre of Berlin and stood in a circle …
Continue reading “Icelandic Horses Gather at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin”
Artist Mark Wallinger has made a 3D scan of a racehorse, produced it in marble dust and resin and set it outside the British Council building in London. Wallinger’s work frequently features horses, and he’s even a racehorse owner himself. The piece will tour internationally, and the artist hopes it will revive interest in his …
In Greek myth Heracles’ eighth task is to steal the flesh-eating mares of the giant Diomedes: Podagros, Lampon, Xanthos and Deinos. Heracles is victorious in the ensuing struggle with Diomedes, and feeds his body to the horses who chomp him up with much relish and gore, as in all the best Greek literature. In some …
