Getting our tölt on - Horseback riding in snowy Iceland
Icelandic horses are beautiful and unique creatures. When I first started my research on Iceland, Icelandic horses came up multiple times and were often described in the highest light. We had a quick interaction with them during The Golden Circle tour and they were the friendliest horses I’ve ever interacted with. After playing with the huskies the day before, I could easily compare the horses to giant dogs because they were gentle and friendly, and just wanted our attention and praise.
Long hair don't care
We decided to sign up with Islenski Hesturinn, as they’re the number one rated outdoor activity for Reykjavik on TripAdvisor. In case you’re wondering, they completely lived up to the hype. The activity was well executed, customer service on point, and they did everything they possibly could to make the experience enjoyable for us.
Preparing for the tölt, our instructor demonstrates how smooth the ride will be by delicately holding onto her "champagne glass"
In fact, now that I think about it everyone we encountered in Reykjavik was extremely nice and helpful. I’m not sure if it’s because the city runs on tourism, but we didn’t encounter any negative experiences in regards to interactions with locals or customer service at restaurants. As said by our accommodating instructors at Islenski Hesturinn, the Icelandic horses take after the Icelandic people, they’re very calm and friendly.
The Icelandic horse's five gaits
At the stables, we learned the proper ways of riding a horse including how to sit, hand and feet placement, and how to hold onto the reins to steer. We learned why the Icelandic horses are such magnificent creatures. Besides their thick beautiful mane and coat, they’re renowned for having five natural gaits. They can walk, trot, pace, gallop, and lastly tölt. Tölt is a special four-beat gait in which one foot is always on the ground. The tölt gait can reach speeds similar to fast trotting, although it’s the smoothest ride for its pace. Our instructor claims that one can even hold a full champagne glass while reaching high speeds on a tölt and still sit comfortably with no spillage.
Icelandic horses are smaller in stature, although they're not to be referred as ponies. They're also virtually unknown to many of the diseases that plague other European or North American horses. Thus strict government regulation implements that no other horses are allowed to be imported into Iceland, and once an Icelandic horse is exported to another country, she may never return. It was interesting to learn all of this from the company, and I can see why it definitely affects the purity of the Icelandic horse.
We were matched to different horses based on our skill level. As a complete beginner who has never been on a horse before, I was matched with an experienced gentle horse named Grana. They suggested that we constantly encourage them by praising and petting her. Luckily I can roll my R’s and pronounce Grana’s name. A couple other people in our group couldn’t even pronounce their horse’s Icelandic names.
In the pen, we practiced steering our horses and learning how to control their speed. Not long after everyone was settled on their horse, we set off for our magical horseback ride. The minute we left the pen, it started to snow, not heavily, more like a powder that drifted slowly and landed softly in front of us. You can see the white specks of snow in most of the pictures. It was truly breathtaking to have a smooth gentle ride on a thick coated horse, journeying toward a beautiful landscape with delicate snow falling all around us.
There was a trail we kept to that made it safer for the horses to follow so we don’t veer off to uncharted snow. Throughout most of the journey it was wide enough for us to ride our horses next to 3 or 4 other people, but at some points it was narrow enough that we had to ride individually and keep our horses in line. Some of the horses had bigger personalities and always wanted to ride in the front or ride a little faster, and I’m sure those horses were matched with more experienced riders. Grana was very gentle and followed whichever direction I took her.
About 30 minutes into the ride, we took a quick break and admired some natural volcanic landscapes. At this point, the company was nice enough to stop and steer our horses so that we could pose with them to capture the moment. They took individual as well as group photos and promised us they would send these photos to us within 3-4 weeks. As you can see from the photos below, promise delivered.
After the break, there was a long straight stretch of road where we could get our tölt-ing on! I actually haven’t been on other horses when they’re galloping or pacing so I don’t know how bouncy or uncomfortable it can get. But all the other experienced riders definitely agreed that the tölt was a very smooth and comfortable ride. Towards the end of our journey, we slowed back down to a walk and had the chance to enjoy the beautiful snowy landscape while riding the magnificent horses.
