For over 1,000 years, the Icelandic horse has been purebred in Iceland. Considered a symbol of fertility, the horse played a pivotal role in Norse culture and history. When the first Norse Viking settlers arrived in Iceland, they brought their horses and belief system with them, and so the Icelandic horse became ingrained in the very fabric of Icelandic culture. Throughout history only the best horses were chosen for breeding – picked according to specific characteristics, such as color and equine conformation – meaning that the modern Icelandic horse is the result of many centuries of selective breeding. Today, to keep the species purebred, an Icelandic horse can only leave the country once, meaning that those horse owners who emigrate face a weighty decision.