Stable for Nordland horse / Heather horse
From Rognan in Saltdal . Space for one Nordland horse / Heather horse. Set up in Bodøsjøen in 1951.
Nordland horse/heather horse
This horse is a Norwegian horse breed originating from Northern Norway. It is believed to be descended from the country horse that has been kept in this region for centuries. The Nordland horse/lyngshest is the physically smallest of the three Norwegian horse breeds, which also include the Fjord horse and the Dølahest. Today, the breed is used as a riding, trotting and light draft horse.
Look
The Nordland Horse/Lyngshest is slightly larger than the Icelandic Horse and has a more rectangular body shape, typical of working horses. It stands between 120 and 148 cm at the withers. The breed has a wide range of colors, red, brown, black, yellow, bay and fawn of all the basic colors. In addition, the breed has the silver gene that can produce silver-black, silver-brown and silver bay. It has a fairly low withers and a short, strong back with a large ribcage, which makes it very good to ride bareback. These horses have a very good coat, and develop a good winter coat in the winter. They therefore do not need much use of the blanket, which means that they can live outside.
History
In the late thirties, the breed was threatened with extinction, and Troms Landbruksselskap bought the stallion Rimfakse who was stationed in Lyngen, where the largest number of purebred mares had been found, and they then gave the breed the name Lyngshest. During the Second World War, the breed was close to extinction, only a few horses survived the last years of the war. When the tractor took over farm work in the 1960s, the situation was still not good for the breed. There were fewer and fewer people keeping horses and breeding work in Lyngen declined sharply.
Christian Klefstad from Vesterålen had bought some horses from Lyngen, and on his travels in Ofoten found a few more horses of the old breed. The horses he bought were placed with farmers in the district who wanted to breed, and he also bred many good horses himself. One of these was Nordlandssvarten, the breed's first stallion to achieve 1st prize. Klefstad died on New Year's Eve 1968, but by then the breeding work had been continued by Kleiva Agricultural School and a new breeding club had been established in Nordland.
This team then applied to have the breed approved under the name Nordlandshest, had it approved and had the breed's first studbook published in 1969. However, the breed was still called Lyngshest in Nord-Troms, and in order to unite all good forces to take care of the breed, the solution was that the name of the breed should be Nordlandshest/Lyngshest.
Application
Today's horses have excellent driving and riding qualities and have always had a versatile use. They have a nice and calm temperament. The horse was previously used for all kinds of farm work and carriage driving. They are now widely used as a family horse. They are well suited for trail riding and cross-country riding due to their strength and endurance. The horse breed is good as a "first-time horse" and can be used in all riding disciplines.
