The Icelandic Horse is a very unique animal to the country. I went horseback riding recently and was not only impressed by the nature, but also the horse's ability to give a smooth ride in the rocky environment that it was in.
I went riding with a company called Islenski Hesturinn, or Icelandic Horse. The company provided pick up and picked my roommate and I on an early Saturday morning. Admittedly, I was a little nervous since I had never ridden a horse before and was about to be on one in a two hour tour. However, this wasn't a problem since the tour guide gave a lesson before the tour on the history of Icelandic horses and how to ride them. Lucky for me, Icelandic horses are really easy to ride. They're very short, so it's easy to mount them and if you were to fall off, it's not a long drop. It's recommended to sit in a relaxed posture rather than a proper straight one, especially when riding a horse in it's fifth gait, the tölt.
The tölt is very rare in horses, but all Icelandic horses are able to do it. It's a gait that evolved to help the horses navigate the uneven terrain. While I don't ride horses regularly, all the experienced horse riders in the group said that it was the smoothest ride they had been on.
It's definitely an experience that I would recommend to anyone that gets the chance. Icelandic horses can be found around the world, but are most common in Iceland of course. Due to the horses not receiving any vaccinations and having very few diseases, it is illegal to import horses. The only horse in Iceland is the Icelandic horse and once the horses leave, out of risk of bringing in any new diseases, they can never return.
They are very gentle creatures and very caring. They live in herds and love human interaction; before I left the horse I was riding came up to me and stuck his head through the fence to be pet some more!
That's all I have to say!
x Emma
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