Though the Icelandic horse is a rather small one specialists do not consider it a pony - its average height to the shoulder being 138 cm. One of the characteristics of the Icelandic horse is the great variety in colouring. The breed is not linked to any particular colours - attested to by the fact that the Icelandic language has hundreds of words to describe the colour of a horse. Kirkjubaer in southern-Iceland, where all the horses are a hue of red. It is thought that in Iceland there are now some 70-75 thousand horses.
Most farmers still keep horses and some breed horses exclusively, often keeping hundreds at a time.
Most horse farms breed horses for riding, though there is a great deal of meat produced as well. Horse meat is eaten in Iceland and much is exported to Belgium and other European countries. Japan also imports a considerable amount of Icelandic horse meat each year. Furthermore, some farmers have recently based their income on the sale of blood drained from fillies. The blood is used in the production of hormone-based drugs.