Icelandic horse, Iceland

It's hard to tell as this sharp-looking Icelandic horse poses for its portrait, but this breed is barely bigger than a pony, generally standing only 13 or 14 hands high. When the first Icelanders set out around the year 870 from mainland Europe, they brought small, sturdy beasts of burden to help them farm the land—ancestors of the present-day Icelandic horse, weathered over generations by harsh conditions and hard work. The only horse breed allowed in Iceland, these pint-size powerhouses boast a high head count: about 80,000, or one horse for every five people in this sparse Nordic nation.