Most of the Nordic countries were primarily agrarian until the beginning of this century. The farms were small, with a few exceptions, and the farmers often poor. And to work the farms, they needed horsepower, of sturdy and low maintenance type.

Even the cities were in need of horsepower to transport both people and goods. Often the economic situation in the city was even worse than in the countryside. Here too, was a need for horses that could do a lot of work without requiring too much expensive food.

Each of the Nordic countries, despite their close proximity to each other, developed their own unique horsebreeds, each adapted to the specific geographic conditions of its home country

NORWAY

Heading east we come to Norway and find in the mountainous country three horse breeds that seem just like they were made for the terrain. These are the Fjord-horse, the Dölehorse and the Nordlands-horse.

The most well-known of these is the Fjord-horse. It is as Norwegian as Norway itself. It was the mount of the Vikings on land and this is the reason why it has become the national symbol of Norway. Now one can purchase rosemaled wooden fjord-horses with very pronounced upright names, which resemble the Swedish Dalahorses.

The origin of the Fjordhorse is still uncertain, but most researchers see the clear resemblance to the Mongolian wild horse of the Przewalskii horse as an indication of common ancestors. The common characteristics are the dun coloring with a pronounced dorsal stripe, the silver-colored mane and the tail with the black dorsal stripe showing, black horizontal stripes on the back of the legs. Researchers estimate that the Fjordhorse has bred true in Norway for about 4 000 years and has possibly been domesticated for about 2 000 of those.

The Fjordhorse has been used for farm-work through our days in mountain areas inaccessible to tractors. Its kind and gentle nature and the fact that it is very sociable has made it popular for riding with both children and adults. The Fjordhorse has also proven itself in the area of dressage.

To avoid the standing question of whether this breed is a horse or a pony, the Fjordhorse/pony is often referred to as a Fjording in both Norwegian and English.

Though the Fjordhorse is the most well-known of the Norwegian horse breeds, the Dölehorse is the most widespread and accounts for about two-thirds of the equine population in the country.

The Döle is a very old breed that originates from the Gudbrandsdal Valley between Oslo and the North Sea coast. It can be compared to the Friesian horse and the Dale and Fell ponies, which both most likely are part of its ancestry.

The Döle is found as both a heavy working type horse and a lighter type, as well as a Döle Trotter. The colors are usually soli, black, brown or bay and the horse stands at about 14.2 - 15.2 hands.

The Nordlandshorse is also called Lofoten horse. It is a breed that not many are familiar with and about fifty years ago it was almost on the verge of dying out.

Considered a large pony, the Nordlands-horse is found in a variety of colors. It is a hardy pony and strong.