Some would say that the Icelandic horse is really a pony; as horses they are smaller than those you see in the rest of the world. Cows, pigs, chickens, and sheep were also brought over.

They were brought on ships. The Viking ships of the type used are the of the style seen in popular media; they vary in size and shape depending on their purpose. A warship is thin and fast, a trader of cargo ship is wider and slower. These ships would have travelled in a group or convoy, with a few horses on each ship. This would minimise potential loss, as well as prevented possoble overloading on any one ship. A substantial amount of water would have been needed, as well as hay or grass. The hay or grass is not as much of a challenge as the water; cows and horses would have needed significantly more than a human per diem in order to remain in good condition. This was stored in casks and skins. It's worth mentioning that some discomfort for these animals was expected, and they may have been 'rationed' in the expectation that they would only have to endure these conditions long enought to get to land, and therefore grazing and water.

There are many Icelandic Sagas, and travel by ship is mentioned frequently. The details of how people, animals and cargo were arranged and tended to however, are rarely mentioned. These ships were not multi-decked constructions; there is one deck, and it is uncovered. There are storage compartments underfoot (much smaller than a person), and it would have been possible to erect a cloth or other temporary 'shelter' on the deck.

For ships of this time, see the Gokstadt and Oseberg Ships, in Oslo, and the Skuludev ships at the Roskilde Museum in Denmark. There is a replica Viking ship on display in Njarðvík, Iceland, which was once sailed to New York and back. Other replicas have been constructed and sailed, with a journey time varying depending on weather. The sort-of-replica Draken Harald Hårfagre made the journey from Norway to Canada in about six weeks, with stops in Shetland and the Faroe Islands. The journey to Iceland would have been a lot shorter than this.