Exploring Iceland on Horseback

Iceland is famous for its chilly climate, fascinating geology, and most importantly, it’s unique Icelandic horses! They are the only species of horse in Iceland, no horses are allowed to be brought to Iceland due to the risk of disease spreading. Icelandic horses aren’t vaccinated as they aren’t exposed to any diseases! This also means that unfortunately when an Icelandic horse leaves Iceland, it can never return to Iceland…However, these sturdy horses are simply adorable as they are technically a pony according to their height but it is considered offensive to refer to them as ponies, instead, it is more acceptable to just refer to them as Icelandic horses! They come in a huge variety of colours and are known for being very easy to handle. I won’t let my inner pony-mad childhood come through as I could talk about them for hours!

We went on the ‘Nature Comfort’ trip which was hosted by ‘Ishestar’ riding tours. The stables were located only a quick 20-minute drive from the centre of Reykjavik (or maybe it was so quick due to our speedy driver who seemed to be in a rush!) The trip included the hire of the riding gear (hat, boots etc) and the horse (isn’t that obvious?) and free hot chocolate drinks afterwards – which were well appreciated after escaping from the freezing winds! They have 70 horses at the stables at all times and 30 on 'vacation', which is when they are given a break from the work and go and live on a farm somewhere in Iceland for a few months. The riding centre opened in 2000, initially only offering 1 to 5-hour rides but they now can do rides that are multiple days long, from two to nine days!

The ride took us through miles of moss-covered lava fields and unique scenery at the foot of huge volcanoes and the Bláfjöll mountain range. Iceland has a weird landscape as it doesn’t have many trees to block the wind so it is extremely cold out in the wilderness. Instead of trees, Iceland has an abundance of moss – there are more than 600 different species of moss native to Iceland! The horses did like to eat this but I can’t imagine it tasted as good as a mouthful of leaves would (for them anyway, can’t say I’d enjoy it).

Despite the wind being harsh and ice-cold, the ride was a great distraction! My horse was called Friday, and my mum’s horse was called Patrick (or Patti for short). Goodness knows why they put me on Friday, as he was the biggest horse there! However, he was a gentle giant who enjoyed plodding along, yet some of the other horses were more interested in scratching their backs on the trees… Needless to say, I think I got lucky! 

There are approximately 90,000 horses for a population of 350,000 people which equates to about one horse for every three people! Even though Iceland is very expensive, the horses are considered quite cheap and are only about £1750 – I know this doesn’t sound cheap but considering that a small house in Iceland can cost £600,000 … the cost of a horse is quite similar to the UK, therefore making it quite cheap for the Icelanders!

It was a great way to explore the area and learn more about the Icelandic culture through their love for horses, as well as being fun! If you're heading to Iceland then I do recommend this activity as it only takes up half a day but brings a whole new meaning to exploring the country. 

My past few destinations have been quite cold, so I think I might go somewhere warmer for my next trip! But then I guess there are not many places colder than Iceland, right?!