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

SWEDEN

Sweden’s horse breeds are as varied as the country itself. Ranging in size from the Gotland pony, the Swedish Warmblood, the North Swedish horse, to the Swedish Ardennes, horses in Sweden are gaining in popularity.

The Gotland pony or "russ" is considered to be a direct descendant of the Tarpan, a native of Poland, which in turn descends from the Mongolian and Asiatic wild horses. The isolated location of the island of Gotland, which is directly north of Poland may account for the ability of the pony to breed pure.

The Gotlands russ is still used for some farm work, it is a popular child-ren’s pony and special pony trotting races are held. It stands at about 12 hands and is predominantly dun in color.

The Swedish Warmblood is the Swedish horse breed that has made its mark in the horse world, be it in jumping or in dressage. The Warmblood has taken home medals in almost every Olympics since 1912. This a a fairly large and strong horse, standing at 16.2-17 hands. The coat is usually bay, brown, chestnut or gray. The Swedish Warmblood was originally bred to be mounts for the army. Today, both stallions and mares have to pass a rigid test in order to be approved as breeding stock.

The North Swedish horse is most often described as a light draft horse with a lively temperament and is considered to be descended from an old Scandinavian strain.

The Swedish Ardennes is a cross between the Belgian Ardennes and the North Swedish horse. It stands at 15.2 to 16 hands and is brown, black, bay and chestnut. It was developed as a heavy horse for farm work, but is now mostly used for hauling timber in mountain areas.