Breeding goal:
The aim of our breeding is to increase progress in the following three characteristics judged by the Agricultural Society of Iceland, tölt, temperament and appearance under the rider. In addition, a lot of emphasis is put on a high, elastic and long leg action. We say that in the long run, the best conformation is the conformation that gives us the best tolt and appearance under the rider. Also we say that the strength in the legs is good enough if the horses keep their high, elastic movements together with strong training program several years. The goal for conformation is therefor included within the above simple framework

We like our horses to have reliable characters, nice temperaments and a good Tolt with beautiful and attractive movements. Good conformity, variety of colours and the typical long mane complete our breeding aims.
We mostly use evaluated stallions who belong to breeding societies though sometimes we use young, promising prospects with good pedigrees.
    &
At 4 years of age we start to train the youngsters for a couple of weeks. At 5 years, when they get more strength, we continue the training with several interruptions. We want to give them a gentle training and enough time to learn things. This gives the youngsters a strong foundation towards becoming a good riding horse.

A new training season
Now a new season starts for those who want to organize their training work, maybe having competition in mind. 
Many horses are now in a rather low condition in training, so when we start again, we have to be careful not making too much demands and pressure on the horse witch could cause problems in the horses muscles.  This could lied to visible problems for the rider in the form of unclearness and bad balance in the gates, maybe also problems in the mouth, or the horse would become uneven (not straight), and in many cases, the horse would start to hold his energy back, that is not working positive forward.  
We must start the training work in a lower tempo, and not to ride to much each time, but as time passes, we will increase the training little by little.  Training and feeding should hold hands.  We increase the feeding when the training gets harder.

One of the most interesting characteristics is, that almost all equine colors occur in the Icelandic horse stock. Icelandic farmers used to say: "A good horse has no color", and never selected their horses on the basis of their color.
Nowadays, however, the enormous variety in color is considered a great asset, and many breeders take a good deal of trouble to preserve it.
The Kilhraun Horse Farm is a case in point: most colors occur in the Kilhraun stock.
Another characteristic of Icelandic horses that appeals to modern man is their closeness to nature. In Iceland, only horses in training are stabled during the winter, brood mares and young horses stay outdoors all year. In summer, all horses live outdoors and the young ones are often sent to uninhabited areas for grazing. Thus, they grow up on the high moors and learn to deal with nature's challenges. In winter, they acquire a thick coat that protects them against the cold. Breeding in Iceland still means a stallion grazing together with a herd of mares. Fertility rates are very high. The horses are usually broken in when 4 or 5 years old, and they are fully developed at 8 years. But they live long and can usually be ridden until they are well over 20 years old.

Icelandic horses have great willingness, a lovely character and, above all, versatile and high quality gaits. This is one of the most interesting assets of this breed.
The Icelandic horse breed has 5 gaits, instead of the usual 3: walk, trot and gallop, as in most other breeds, and tolt (pronounced as "toelt") and pace. In tölt the horse moves its legs in the same sequence as in walk, but a lot faster and in a pure 4-beat rhythm. It is just as speedy as trot, but much more comfortable for the rider. Even people with back trouble, who can not ride trotting horses comfortably, can often ride tolting horses without any problem.
In pace both left feet move at the same time, followed by both right feet, with a suspension moment in between. This gait is very speedy and therefore spectacular to watch and adventurous to ride.