The DNA of about 5,000 Icelandic horses has been tested for comparison against their horse breeding documents to prove whether the horses are correctly registered.
The goal is to test all major families of horses actively used for breeding to uncover any breeding scams.
Gudlaugur Antonsson, a horse breeding consultant, told RÚV that this decision to test Iceland’s horses DNA had been made at a domestic horse breeding conference last year.
Antonsson said after finishing the DNA testing, horse owners will not be allowed to register their foals into the Icelandic horse breeding registry, which is considered a stamp of approval, without proving the identity of their foals with a DNA test first.
The Icelandic horse stock numbers approximately 80,000 animals. Ninety percent of all foals born in Iceland are registered into the breeding system.
