WorldFengur
WorldFengur Database
WorldFengur is the official FEIF register of the Icelandic horse breed. It was established in 2000 by the Icelandic Government in cooperation with FEIF. Only one year later, in 2001, WorldFengur was opened for public use. From the outset, this extensive database was developed to become the essential tool for breeders of the Icelandic horse and to be a key factor in achieving the breeding goal that was set internationally.
The database consists of unique identification of each horse, pedigree information, information on breeders, owners, offspring’s records, photos, results on breeding evaluations and the international genetic evaluation with the BLUP method. The backbone of the database is the unique identification number (FEIF ID-number) of each horse.
Access to over 3000 horse videos from sport and breeding shows since 1954.
Photo: Katrín Ólína Sigurðardóttir
Objectives of the WorldFengur project
- to register the whole population of Icelandic horses in one single database
- to calculate BLUP (Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) breeding value scores for all Icelandic horses in the world.
- offer member associations of FEIF a common online studbook for their daily administration
As the studbook of origin, it provides information on Icelandic horses in the membership countries of FEIF as well as horses born elsewhere in the world. More than 100 registrars in 22 countries are responsible for registering horses into WorldFengur. Every FEIF member association gets free access to WorldFengur for all its individual members.
Currently (03/2021) the number of registered horses in WorldFengur is more than 515.000 horses dead and alive and about 15.000 horses are added every year. The FEIF member associations in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA have some or almost all horses born in their nation state registered in WorldFengur.
Registration of horses in the database
The process of registering the data on each horse is a heavy demand on each of the subscribing FEIF member associations. In some of the countries this work has only started. Outside Iceland registering of horse data in WorldFengur is performed by voluntary enthusiasts. – It takes time – but every new day means new horses and new information to WorldFengur.
Filling the database with the information was a huge amount of work as the prerequisite for registering a newborn Icelandic horse in WorldFengur meant, that first their sire and dam had to be registered, and in order to register them, their respective parents had to be registered first, and so on.
Read more about how WorldFengur started in the FEIF member countries and dive into the history of the development of this great and unique database!
