Breed in the spotlight: the Fjord

Today we're going to talk about a popular horse breed, namely the Fjord. Enjoy reading!

History of the Fjord horse

The Fjord is originally from Norway, where it was bred by farmers to work on the land. So they were mainly used in forestry, to pull carts, and even to pull sledges in winter. The cold Norwegian winters and food scarcity made the Fjord the hardy and sober horse it is today.

Modern uses of the Fjord horse

Nowadays, the Fjord is mainly used recreationally. They have great stamina and are therefore very suitable for long rides. You can often find at least one Fjord at riding schools too. But their strength and stubbornness make them not always suitable for beginners. 
Did you know that...? There are even Fjords competing at a high level in dressage? For example, Super Guus, the horse of Dutch rider Jolanda Adelaar, was the first Fjord horse to compete in the subtop of Dutch dressage. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2023 at the age of 30.

The character of the Fjord

Fjords are willing to work, slightly stubborn horses. They are calm by nature and not easily impressed by anything.

Appearance and size of the Fjord horse

Fjords are small, strong horses of around 1.30 m to 1.50 m. Despite the name ‘Fjord horse’, they are actually ponies in terms of size, but because of their strength, they are sometimes counted as horses. The mane is often trimmed straight, so that it stands up.

Fjord horse colours explained

Fjords come in five colours, with each colour being a variation of the dun colour.
These are the colours:

Brunblakk (a kind of yellow-brown colour), also called brown dun, is the most common colour.

Rodblakk: red dun, reddish, pale golden colour

Gra: grey colour

Ulsblakk: white dun, cream colour

Gulblakk: yellow dun is the rarest colour

In addition to these five recognised colours, there is also an unofficial colour called “Kvit”. These horses are almost white and have blue eyes and a pink nose. This is due to the double dilution gene.

As you may have already seen, we recently released the Fjord on My Horsez. You can read more about it here: New Breed: The Fjord Horse (click)

Thanks for reading my blog! ❤ Do you like the Fjord too? 🐴


Jolanda Adelaar and ‘Super Guus’ in action.
Source: Horse and Hound

Thumbnail source: Eider-Treene-Sorge GmbH, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons