The Nordland / Lyngen horse

Abstract

In this thesis work, we researched the Nordland/Lyngen horse. This horse is a small Norwegian breed, native to the north of the country. It is few in numbers, and it is on the Food and Agriculture organization's list of endangered breeds. We looked at the breed standards, the origins and history of the horse, how the shows and performance testing are carried out today, the use of the horse, and the plans for the future to maintain this breed. We discovered that the breed originates most likely from the east, and was taken to Norway by migrating people from amongst other Finland, and also the possibility of Djengis Khan's groups having left animals that are believed to have become some of the ancestors of the Nordland/Lyngen. The horse was close to extinct on several occations, until they started to do organized breeding to save the horse during the last century. After the second world war, there were very few of these horses left and these were the horses that todays population descends from. Due to this, the inbreeding rate is 12 percent in this breed. Today, there are measures taken to preserve the breed and prevent inbreeding. There are elaborate performance testing of the breed to ensure good quality breeding animals. The stallions have to pass a five weeks extended performance testing program, where skills and learning abilities in driving and riding and also the temperament is tested. The usage of the horse comprise a lot of different areas such as riding, driving, pony trotting and tourism. Both adults and children use the horse for recreation and for dressage and showjumping. It is also used in riding therapy for disabled people.