Icelandics are very easy keepers and a thick winter coat protects them in cold climates. Slow to mature they are usually not ridden until they are four or five years old, but it is not unusual to ride them into their late twenties or early thirties. A great variety of colours, including many shades of dun and pintos can be found in the breed.

Both the United States Icelandic Horse Congress and the Canadian Icelandic Horse Federation are affiliated with FEIF, the European umbrella organization for Icelandic Horse Associations in Europe and North America.

After several bad experiences trying to learn riding on "normal horses", Rainer was so frustrated that he just gave up. Years later he learned about Icelandic horses, enjoyed their company and playful nature and soon owned two of them! That was in the early 1970s back in Germany, and most people laughed about these "hairy pigs". Today in Europe the Icelandics outnumber any other breed.

After imigrating to Canada we bought six mares from The Icelandic Horse Farm in Vernon, B.C in 1995: Two pregnant imported mares, Dukka fra Bakkakoti and Lisa fra Stokkseyri, two four year old canadian bred mares, Skugga and Skeifa fra Fitjamyri, and the yearling fillies Tyra fra Magnafaxi and Disa fra Icelandic Horse Farm made the start of our herd. Lisa had been bred by Sorli fra Tungufelli before she was imported from Iceland and presented us with a handsome chestnut colt with a flaxen mane and tail and lots of tolt who we named Faxi fra Big Bear Ranch. Dukka was in foal to Finnbogi fra Icelandic Horse Farm and her black colt, Krummi fra Big Bear Ranch was our main stud for several years. He has a very friendly disposition and a strong tolt. His offspring is mainly black. After Dukka got a very beautiful bay colt sired by Segull fra Stora-Hofi with smooth gaits, he, Dani fra Big Bear Ranch, now is our main stud and our herd gets more colourful.

We raise our horses in big groups on large pastures. We have the perfect place to raise foals, growing up climbing hills, stepping over logs, getting lots of natural exercise and learning to look out for bears and cougars. This is a good base to meet our breeding goal: a strong, reliable and experienced trail horse, a true friend for life and lots of fun to ride.

For breeding we use our stallion Dani fra Big Bear Ranch.
Dani is a beautiful Icelandic horse with a dark reddish-brown colour and a nice character.

Stud fee CDN$ 500.00 + 3 CDN$ per day mare care.
Purebred Icelandic mares only. - Live foal guarantee.

Most of our horses are still too young to be ridden, so we do not try to give a description for every horse. Instead you are very welcome to visit our place and take a look: Join us on our daily horse exercise tour up and down the mountain. This is a 1-3 km drive of the whole herd to and off pasture in the morning and at night.

Sale-Prices:

The horses are divided into categories depending on their price. The catogories are shown below:

Mares:

1987		Dukka Fra Bakkakoti, Rang.	dark-bay	not for sale	offspring
1989		Lisa Fra Stokkseyri, Arnessyslu	palomino w. blaze	not for sale	offspring
1991		Skeifa Fra Fitjamyri	sorrel pinto	not for sale	offspring
		Skugga Fra Fitjamyri	black	not for sale	offspring
1994		Tyra Fra Magnafaxi	dark brown	not for sale	offspring
1999		Isafold Fra Big Bear Ranch	dark brown Isafold is a five gaited mare with an excellent confirmation and good gaits. She wants to work and gets sometimes overexcited. Isa, as we call her, has a nice and friendly character but she is definitely a horse for an experienced rider with a lot of patience to build up a trustful relationship to her. Her offspring is good looking with smooth gaits and a lot of expression. (link to offspring: Ingolfur und Ingibjoerg)	E
2003		Dora Fra Big Bear Ranch	bay This absolutely beautiful mare is a joy to ride and will be a perfect family horse or a horse for a young adolescent. Dora is very friendly and loves to be with people. She is five gaited with a lot of natural Tolt, good Trot and Canter. She is safe on trails, participated in some horse shows and is very well trained by different trainers. Adorable Dora!	E
		Skippa Fra Big Bear Ranch	dark brown Skippa is a tall black mare with a beautiful star. She showed Tolt under the saddle from the first moment on. Her gaits are smooth with good movements and expression. Skippa has been a bit suspicious when we started her, but now she is very interested in pleasing and learning  so it is really enjoyable to work with her. She might become an interesting horse for anybody more experienced as well as for breeders too.	D
2004		Bessa Fra Big Bear Ranch	brown bay Bessa will be the perfect option if you want to go for a ride, relax and do not think about anything anymore. She is amazing, calm and friendly, easy going with a lot of natural Tolt. She has been at the Fall Fair, is used to a lot of people touching her and would be a good choice as a horse for kids too.	D
		Lina Fra Big Bear Ranch	brown	D
2005		Ingibjoerg Fra Big Bear Ranch		Sold	Dam: Isafold Fra Big Bear Ranch Sire: Dani Fra Big Bear Ranch
		Litla Elska Fra Big Bear Ranch	liver chestnut Our little girl is one of the youngest horses in training right now. She is four gaited and shows Tolt all the time. Her colour is unique, her coat is dark brown, but mane and tail have a lot of blond hair. Litla Elska is not finished with her training yet but she will be a nice horse in the end maybe with a bit more temperament.	C	Dam: Lisa Fra Stokkseyri, Arnessyslu Sire: Dani Fra Big Bear Ranch
		Sunna Fra Big Bear Ranch	bay Sunna is a tall bay mare with very good confirmation and a pleasant appearance. She has been started and did very well so far. She is paying attention all the time but not afraid of anything and we are expecting her to become a really nice family-fun-trail horse. Due to her beauty and her absolutely friendly character she might be a good breeding mare too. Sunna shows Tolt, Trot and Canter so far. She might be a four gaited horse.	C	Dam: Skugga Fra Fitjamyri Sire: Dani Fra Big Bear Ranch
2006		Sif Fra Big Bear Ranch	bay This cute mare has a beautiful confirmation and shows nice gaits but she is a bit small for her age and so we decided to wait a bit longer with her training.	C	Dam: Sina Fra Big Bear Ranch Sire: Dani Fra Big Bear Ranch
2007		Kylja Fra Big Bear Ranch	bay Kylja has been started on the halter and we did some ground work with her.		Dam:Dukka Fra Bakkakoti Sire: Kjalar fra Skagastroend
2009		Frekja Fra Big Bear Ranch	bay Frekja knows how to give her hooves and enjoys to get brushed but the rest she does not care so much! She is one year old now and has time…
		?? Fra Big Bear Ranch

chestnut

Diddi the allrounder! He is a nice guy with a good temperament, beautiful long blond mane and tail and a never ending will to go.
Diddi might be the right horse for somebody who is an experienced rider who wants to go for long trail rides all year around. Diddi needs one person to trust and if he has found that person he will always give 200%. He does not have big movements in Tolt but he is really easy going and a fun to ride.
 

dark brown

Litli is four gaited and he would love to live and eat forever. He would be a good horse for kids, also as a therapy horse, because he is really friendly to people, calm and nice to work with in the riding arena. We also started him under the double lunge and the harnest and he did actually very well.

black-brown

13.5 h height

brown

Ingo, as we call him, is a smart and pretty guy. He learns really quickly and pays always attention. We started him this spring and rode him a few times in the round pen. He has good dynamic movements and is easy going. He is bay as his father Dani fra Big Bear Ranch.

black

Oscar is the nice guy. He is just a lovely horse. We started him and he has always been a pleasure to train and to work with. Oscar is black and has a wonderful white star. He is four gaited and is looking for a nice person that wants to spend a lot of time with this cute horse.

chestnut

Dam: Skeifa Fra Fitjamyri

chestnut

Dam: Tyra Fra Magnafaxi

Loki is three years old and we worked with him a little bit just to let him know the basics. He is already a relatively tall gelding with strong legs and a pretty colour. We will do more with this winter and probably start him under the saddle next spring when he turns four.

Dam: Lisa Fra Stokkseyri

Sire: Dani Fra Big Bear Ranch

Dam: Skugga Fra Big Bear Ranch

Sire: Dani Fra Big Bear Ranch