Icelandic horse riding
By Jaimy de Vries
Riding an Icelandic horse is as near to an essential Icelandic experience as there is. There is something special about Icelandic horses. First of all they’re incredibly cute and they have a really sweet character. But they’re also very strong and adaptive to the cold weather in Iceland. That is something I’m still struggling with. The Icelandic horse has quite a history and they’re very important to Icelandic people. I loved riding on an Icelandic horse, it surely is like dancing the tango as Ishestar described.
Riding an Icelandic horse is as near to an essential Icelandic experience as there is. There is something special about Icelandic horses. First of all they’re incredibly cute and they have a really sweet character. But they’re also very strong and adaptive to the cold weather in Iceland. That is something I’m still struggling with. The Icelandic horse has quite a history and they’re very important to Icelandic people. I loved riding on an Icelandic horse, it surely is like dancing the tango as Ishestar described.
The morning of the “ride” I woke up, excited for that day. ‘Today I’m going horseback riding on an Icelandic horse! How exciting!’ I was thinking. On 9 o’clock I got picked up at one of the bus stops in Reykjavik. A very nice lady picked me up and we talked about my travel plans. After half an hour we drove out of the city to the country side. We got welcomed at Ishestar’s stable. I took a look outside at the horses and saw them playing. And this is something that I’ve seen often while driving along the roads: I saw lots of Icelandic horses playing, grazing and running. ‘What made them so cheerful?’ I was asking myself.
Icelandic horse?
To explain why. I first want to tell you a little bit about the history of the Icelandic horse. Icelandic horses are not at all like other breeds. At first sight, it appears that they only differ in terms of height, as they rarely reach 150 centimeter (59 inches) tall. After a few minutes in their company, however, it becomes apparent that Icelandic horses are more friendly, curious, and intelligent than other horses. These character traits have made them a central part of Icelandic identity. The reason for their unique charm is due to their descendants. Only one horse could fit within a longboat when Iceland was first settled. Since many of the early settlers were wealthy chieftains, they would only take the very best of their stock with them. That meant that, as the settlement period ended, Iceland had a healthy population of the sturdiest,
Cute Icelandic horse
strongest, and most intelligent horses from Norway. So that’s what made them so cheerful. Okay, now back to my day at Ishestar….. After a short introduction video about Ishestar itself and some safety procedures, our group got dressed up. Because it’s really cold (minus 6 °C) we got a warm overall. After I put my overall on, I walked to the stable and got matched with a lovely horse. I heard her Icelandic name but it was to difficult to remember. I did remember that her name meant White Snow in English. So I just simply called her White Snow. She was kinda relaxed, but had quite her own will. She wanted to start slowly that morning, so we got behind the group quite a lot. I needed to give her a little push and motivate her to stay close to the group. We walked on a beautiful landscape, an old lava field, near Reykjavik. Icelandic horses are used to the rough landscape and have no difficulty to walk here. Impressive, because our Dutch horses will stumble all the time.
After more than half an hour walking we made a stop to have a little break, cuddle with the horses and make some pictures with them.
White snow
A picture with my buddy
Dancing the tango
When we got an explanation on how to ride a horse at the beginning of our trip. Ishestar explained that riding a horse is like dancing the tango. You’re in this together. You’re the one that leads and the horse follows you and moves along. So White Snow and I did some tango dancing. You need to be a good lead and give clear instructions, otherwise she won’t do the thing you want her to do. If I want her to speed her, I needed to give her a little bump with my feet, hold on tight and make high pit sounds, like ‘hay-di-hop‘, or ‘prr prr‘. If I want her to stop I need to speak with a low voice: ‘ho ho‘, or ‘stop‘ and keep the horse strap tight. It was real fun to speed up with White Snow and I really enjoyed the lava landscape.
During the trip I talked to our guide and she explained a lot about the Icelandic Horse and the environment. What she also told me is that the horses who leave Iceland can never return, and no other breeds are allowed on the island. These restrictions are because the isolated native breed is susceptible to diseases, and a foreign infection could cripple the whole population.
After a half hour walk back we returned back to the stable. When we got off the horse we gave them a little snack, they knew it already because they came to cuddle and sniff us. But that’s fine, I got the opportunity to hug them and I love some dosis of hugs.
It was a real fun experience. It was not my first time on a horse, but the first time I got to speed up on a horse – and I loved it!! And it was my first time horse riding on a lava field. Not many people can say that, right!?
I learned a lot about the Icelandic horse and the people of Ishestar were so nice! Thank you Ishestar for a great experience!
This Post Has 2 Comments
Wat gaaf, Jaime!!
Hoi Francien! Wat lief, dankje!