the P word
Entertaining vacation discovery #1: Icelanders get all bent out of shape if you refer to Icelandic horses as "ponies".
In case the hilarity of this situation is not immediately obvious, I will endeavor to explain.
Exhibit A: Wikipedia entry for "pony" which states that while Icelandic Horses are considered horses, they are pony sized and in any case "The term 'pony' can be used generally for any small horse or colt, regardless of its actual measurements." That's right, in everyday conversation the words "horse" and "pony" are interchangeable.
Exhibit B: Wikipedia entry for "Icelandic Horse" which states that "The Icelandic horse is a breed of pony".
Exhibit C: In the 872 +/- 2 exhibit of an archeological dig in Reykjavik, one of the displays states that the Icelandic horse's closest relative is the Shetland pony.
Exhibit D: When I say that I want to go pony riding and am harshly told that there are no ponies here, my response is most definitively not "Yay! Let's go horse riding!" I mean, who wants to ride horses? Horses are horrible, tedious creatures who step on my toe when I am nine years old. Ponies, on the other hand, are fabulous beasts of a much more reasonable size and temperament.
So I ask you, gentle readers: Why do the Icelanders hate ponies so much?
In case the hilarity of this situation is not immediately obvious, I will endeavor to explain.
Exhibit A: Wikipedia entry for "pony" which states that while Icelandic Horses are considered horses, they are pony sized and in any case "The term 'pony' can be used generally for any small horse or colt, regardless of its actual measurements." That's right, in everyday conversation the words "horse" and "pony" are interchangeable.
Exhibit B: Wikipedia entry for "Icelandic Horse" which states that "The Icelandic horse is a breed of pony".
Exhibit C: In the 872 +/- 2 exhibit of an archeological dig in Reykjavik, one of the displays states that the Icelandic horse's closest relative is the Shetland pony.
Exhibit D: When I say that I want to go pony riding and am harshly told that there are no ponies here, my response is most definitively not "Yay! Let's go horse riding!" I mean, who wants to ride horses? Horses are horrible, tedious creatures who step on my toe when I am nine years old. Ponies, on the other hand, are fabulous beasts of a much more reasonable size and temperament.
So I ask you, gentle readers: Why do the Icelanders hate ponies so much?