A Good Horse Has No Color

This true account of Nancy Marie Brown's time spent in Iceland searching for the perfect Icelandic horse gave me some great insight into rural life in the country. Brown also offered through her translation, another contrast in family life in Iceland. In all of the readings I have completed and am in the middle of I have a sense of contrast. All of the emotions, sounds, and landscapes I have felt - mentally and physically have presented a contrast to me. I feel that the theme of this country is contrast. It is overwhelming.

I did not initially feel this way after reading A Good Horse Has No Color, but looking over my notes and remembering the anecdotes that Brown wrote about I once again, see conflicting ideas.

The families that Brown met, welcomed her into their homes and she would soon call them dear friends. They might even call her family. Brown's quest for the perfect horse taught her a lot about the relationship that a traditional family in Iceland has with horses. The horses can easily be talked about as if they were members of the family, all have names which fit their characteristics, all have personalities, all have a certain family member whom they connect with better than the others. Some have family members who feel a close connection to them, feeling something beyond a farm animal or a family pet. Yet, some horses, if not blessed with all five gaits, or blessed with a color not traditionally desired may not be given a chance and are sold to Japan as meat.

In 1986 breeding prediction of horses was computerized so that farmers could eliminate certain "bad" traits in their horses. A farmer whom Brown was fond of lists of the reasons to return a horse. It has always been customary to, for the first few years, leave the horses alone as much as possible, away from humans. This is said to make a better horse. Although I see nothing wrong with this, I do enjoy the parallel that it presents of Icelanders themselves seeming to lack human contact. From what I have read and experienced, they are a very solitary people.

Again, after completing more research, I plan to take a more in-depth look at the contrasts and conflicts on Icelandic community that are offered in this book.