Riding Icelandic Horses with Viking Horses
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This past October, I finally got to visit Iceland, a bucket list dream trip that had been over 2 years in the making. There were many experiences on my list, but meeting and riding Icelandic horses was one of my two top must-do activities.About the Icelandic Horse
- A unique breed of small horses dating back to 1100 years ago when the first settlers came to Iceland from Norway
- One of the most purely bred horses in the world
- Average Height is 52 inches to 56 inches (132 cm to 142 cm)
- Average Weight is 730 to 840 pounds (330 to 380 kg)
- While its size is comparable to a pony, Icelandic horses are not ponies and have always been registered as horses.
- In addition to the normal three gaits of a horse (walk, trot, canter/gallop), the Icelandic horse has an additional two unique gaits: the Tölt and the flying pace.
- They come in a wide variety of different colors. There are over 100 names in the Icelandic language for the various colors and patterns!
- They have double layer coats that protect them against the harsh Icelandic winters. You might be freezing, but they aren’t!
- They are hearty and long-lived animals (oldest Icelandic horse was 56!) and can breed up to 25 years of age (which is the usual lifespan of most breeds of horses).
- Because of their long lifespan, they are typically not ridden until age 4.
- Iceland does not allow import of horses and once a horse is exported, it is not allowed back in. Therefore, the Iceland horse is exclusive in Iceland and has very few diseases.
- In addition to racing, showing, and leisure riding, they are great sheepherders which is their traditional use.
- They are very friendly and love people. They are also social and like to be with other Icelandic horses.
I set out to find the perfect way to meet the unique Icelandic horse that I had heard so much about. I knew I wanted to not only ride these special animals and experience their unique Tölt gait but also spend time learning about them and tour the stables too. When I came across Viking Horses in my research, I found exactly what I was looking for and more!
My Viking Horses Experience
We did the Morning Volcano Tour and since we didn’t have a car, we took advantage of the hotel pickup option and were picked up at 9:30 am by Isabel for the 20-minute drive to the farm.
The Preview: Touring the Stables
Upon arriving, we toured the stables and were greeted by some of the horses. I was so excited to be meeting these beautiful animals!
Most of the horses weren’t shy…in fact, quite the opposite.
They were very curious and inquisitive!
After we saw the stables, we were briefed about the ride and the importance of having proper clothes to ensure our experience was most enjoyable. I swapped my chunky beanie out for a thinner beanie that would cover my ears yet fit under my helmet.
I also took them up on their offer to wear their gloves to save mine from getting dirty. And because I was wearing a long down coat that would make riding a little difficult, I swapped to wearing a short puffer coat of theirs under my own regular length raincoat. Since I was wearing waterproof pants and waterproof hiking boots, I was now ready to go!
I really appreciated the fact that they had clothing options there if you didn’t have the right thing or didn’t want to bring it. This is very smart on the part of Viking Horses not to mention quite convenient!
The Meet and Greet: Meeting my Icelandic Horse
Once we were all properly bundled up, it was time to go into the ring to meet the horse we would be riding.
Because I was the only one in our small group of three who had ever ridden a horse before, I was matched with Drífa. They explained that her name meant “Speedy” in Icelandic. I reiterated that I had ridden a few times before but in no way considered myself a “rider”. But, they assured me she would be easy to ride.
Isabel introducing another rider’s horse
Meet Drífa! Two things I learned about Drífa. One, they said she’d be shy at first and she was. But oh-so-sweet! There’s nothing wrong with shy. It just meant that I would know the exact moment she decided I was friend material. 😉
Second, I learned that Drífa is always ready to go and that she likes to be first, not second. Good to know, since one of our instructions was that we should never pass our guide. Duly noted!
Photo by Lisa Krzysik
I think we make a cute pair, don’t you?
Introducing myself to Drífa / Photo by Lisa Krzysik
I was given the okay to mount and this was my first view atop my first Icelandic horse!
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The Main Feature-Riding Icelandic Horses
Kim from Sweden was our guide and she was a great instructor-perfectly patient, energetic and quite friendly. As we started out from the stable, Drífa made sure she and I were the first ones out behind Kim and I just laughed.
They weren’t kidding…sweet, shy girl likes to be first!
The beginning of our riding trail
The ride lasted nearly an hour and a half which I thought was a perfect amount of time. It’s long enough to get a true riding experience, get to know your horse and see a lot of beautiful scenery.
It was also plenty of time to experience many repetitions of the Tölt gait.
The Tölt
One of two gaits unique to the Icelandic horse (the other is flying pace which is used in racing so I won’t discuss it here), the Tölt is a smooth 4-beat gait allowing the rider to be bounce-free even at rapid paces. It is a natural gait of the Icelandic horse where one foot always touches the ground. The horse’s feet hit the ground in the same pattern as walking but just at a much faster pace.
I was eager to try tölting. Although it is natural to the Icelandic horse, it wasn’t natural to me, the rider, and it took me several tries to get it…somewhat right. To get the smooth, no-bounce ride, I had to hold the reins just right. Not too tight, not too loose and even so that I didn’t pull Drífa’s head to the right or left.
In the beginning, I was a master at all the things I wasn’t supposed to do. I had poor Drífa’s head pulled a bit to the left, I had her reigns pulled too tight (trying to keep it between the orange and blue marks isn’t as easy as it seems), and mind you, I was trying to commemorate my ride via the GoPro mounted to my left hand.
Once I decided that I wasn’t going to get a good Tölt while filming, I didn’t worry about the video and suddenly I found Drífa tölting her little heart out at a quick pace and I was barely moving. It was an incredible feeling!
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Kim took us all over the place, around the trails, in the lava fields, across roads, through tunnels and we even saw views of Reykjavik!
Kim guiding us on our ride
This is one of the times Drífa and I were actually behind Kim. Most of the time Drífa wanted to be even with Kim and her horse and there were a couple of times I had to pull back on the reins to get her to fall back in line after she took a slight lead.
Thinking I might need to look up the Icelandic words for “me first”. 😉
On a different note, probably my favorite physical feature of the Icelandic horse is their manes. How beautiful is Drífa’s mane blowing in the wind? 😍
The After Party: Experiencing an Icelandic Meal
The floors were even heated which was fantastic since we had taken our wet, muddy shoes off at the door!
Lunch was an authentic Icelandic meal consisting of lamb and veggie soup which was quite tasty and a perfect choice after a wintry ride!
The soup was accompanied by bread and butter…
and finished off with Icelandic skyr topped with chocolate shavings and a strawberry for dessert!
Afterwards, I admired the array of old cameras that decorated both the living and dining rooms…
Mickey all snuggled up for an afternoon nap
and played with Mickey and Bella, the dogs of the house.
Right before we left, I go to meet owner Verena and baby Jakob, her (then) almost 6-month-old son. He was so cute with his beautiful, big blue eyes!
Then it was time to return to Reykjavik and we were dropped off at our hotel in the city center at around 2:30 pm. I was sad that the day was over!
My Riding Experience
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Definitely put meeting and riding Icelandic horses with Viking Horses on your Iceland bucket list. It’s an experience you shouldn’t miss! A small family company, getting up-close-and-personal with the horses and sitting down to an in-home traditional Icelandic meal. My expectations (and what I had envisioned) were totally exceeded and I couldn’t have been happier with my choice!
Who’s ready to visit Iceland and ride with Viking Horses? Have you ridden an Icelandic horse? Let me know your experience below!
‘Til next time…
Trimm Travels,
Beautiful Horses! Looks like a fun time, but cold! 🙂
Hi-It was definitely cold but so much fun. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Your adventure sounds so fun, and of course you, the one who had ridden “a couple of times before” was the one put on Drífa … and inside, you know Drifa was smiling saying … yeah, I’ll show here. 😉 I once had a horse, a very experienced rodeo horse, turn its head to look at me after I did something stupid with the reigns with an eye roll that totally said, “seriously, you have actually ridden a horse before?”
Hi Michael-Hahaha!! That was TOTALLY what Drífa was saying to me!! Bless her, she was patient with me! It was such a fun experience though and I hope to go again. Thanks for reading! 🙂
We were lucky enough to meet some amazing Iceland horses during our road trip. The kids loved them as well.
I can easily understand why you loved this experience and were looking forward to learning more about them.
Hi Rim, Glad you had a great experience as well! Thanks for reading! 🙂
It looks like a fantastic experience. I can’t wait to go to Iceland someday and if I go with my daughter, she’ll want to do this for sure. The horses are beautiful and it may be a little less scary for me since these horses are a little smaller. I always get nervous on horseback. But I already know I’ll be put on the horse that wants to be first. That’s always my luck and it scares me to death! Haha
Hi Juliann-They are smaller and they are so sweet and gentle. Even Drífa who loved to be first was gentle and very patient. I think the Icelandic horse would be perfect for you to “get back in the saddle”! LOL! Thanks for reading! 🙂
I LOVE Icelandic horses! Aren’t they the friendliest?! I only got to interact a pet a few on my trip there, would love to return and have a nice ride. Looks like your experience was fab!
Hi Eileen-They were the absolute best!! I fell in love and want to go back to ride Drífa again! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Looks like a fun experience and how cool you got to go to Iceland. It is high on my list too. I had no idea Icelandic horses were used in sheepherding. Now I want to find out more!
Hi Lara-I didn’t know that either! If you haven’t been to Iceland, you have to go! Like tomorrow! I had been wanting to go since 2016 and it fell through and finally I got to go and I almost went back for New Years (so a little over two months after I returned the first time)! I love it there. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Oh, this looks like an amazing, not-to-be-missed experience! The Icelandic horses look so sweet and friendly. I have not ridden at all but after reading this post, I will definitely be adding a tour with Viking Horses when I go to Iceland.
Hi Alison-You will love it! Especially if you’ve never ridden before. They are the PERFECT horses for your first ride. The other two people in my group had never ridden either and they had the best time! Thanks for reading! 🙂
I have done horse riding on the mountain slopes of Himalayas but that one guided by locals and it was really fun. As Icelandic horses are famous all over the world and therefore riding on them with Viking horses really look fun and adventurous. Also stable visit is interesting.
Hi Yukti-Yes visiting the stables was really cool and something I wanted to do! Definitely ride with Viking Horses if you visit Iceland. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Now we must add another adventure to our Iceland bucket list. The Icelandic Horses are beautiful creatures. I loved learning about their unique nature. It must have been fun to ride and to try the Tölt. How convenient that Viking Horses provided some extra clothing and gear for you.
Hi Lance-Yes, it was very convenient and a huge pro for sure! The Tölt was amazing!! Definitely put riding the Icelandic horse with Viking Horses on your list. Thanks for reading! 🙂
My sister took photos with these beautiful horses when she was in Iceland. They are so beautiful and I loved the interesting facts in the beginning. I would love the opportunity to ride one of them if I make it to Iceland.
Hi Candy-Yes you should definitely ride if you get the chance to visit Iceland and I highly recommend going. Thanks for reading! 🙂
There are so many wonderful reasons to visit Iceland. I went horse riding many many years ago and loved it. They were big though, not small like the Icelandic horses. This is such an amazing outing when visiting Iceland and Viking Horses, being a family business, is exactly the type of business we’d choose 🙂
Hi Joanne-Yes a small, family-owned business makes a huge difference in my opinion. The feel, how they operate the entire experience was absolutely amazing. Definitely put riding with Viking Horses on your list if you travel to Iceland. Thanks for reading! 🙂
That is such a fun post! While I’m not a horse fan, these looked very cute and, like you said, curious. 😉 I loved all of your facts at the beginning, which was more than I knew about horses in general before reading this. LOL
Hi Melody-Haha! Glad you liked the facts and they were so very curious and friendly! It was definitely a fun experience. Thanks for reading! 🙂
OMG – any place that has heated floors in the restaurant and makes you take off your shoes at the door sounds like somewhere I would absolutely fall in love with. I mean the food wouldn’t even have to been good necessarily, just the mere presence of that combination would be amazing!
I love how the horses/ponies eyes got huge when you were taking the photos, lol. What I worry about, is that I am plus size and am wondering if they can carry someone like me or not. Did you hear anything about that? Regardless this sounds like an amazing way to tour, especially if you have bad feet and a back like I do.
Hi Janiel-Yes, the horses’ eyes were hilarious! They were SOOOOO curious! They would come up and press into the stall as much as they could sticking their heads out and those eyes were so wide! They were precious! The reason we took our shoes off is because they were muddy and the meal was in their house not in a restaurant, hence the heated floors and the personal feel. They do have a weight limit but I forgot what it was. It is listed on their site I do believe. It was a fantastic experience! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Looks like an amazing experience for you!! Ticking off your bucket list one thing at a time!!! Well Done & Happy Travels 🙂
Hi Stacey-It was! Thanks for reading! 🙂
I have heard of Icelandic horses, but didn’t know you can actually ride them! They seem smaller than normal horses. It is very nice of them to offer clothings on site, not many tour companies do that!
Hi Cat-I know, right? Yes you can definitely ride them and they are smaller and so sweet. Thanks for reading! 🙂
What a fun experience! I’ve never been a super fan of horseback riding, but this looks right up my alley and something I can easily do – it might have something to do with the size of the horses, they are a little less scary! And the lamb soup – YUM!
Hi Andi, Yes! The size of the horses make them much easier to ride if you have a fear of horseback riding or heights. I can’t tell you how gentle and easy they were and I’ve ridden before. Thanks for reading! 🙂