The Icelandic horse is a small horse, not a pony! If you call it a pony you just might offend someone.
So you can´t really write about Iceland without talking about the Icelandic horse at some point. The reason for this is a strong connection between Iceland and the horses. If you look back to when Iceland was settled they brought their best horses with them to travel over the hard terrain here. There are few things that make it special and it´s not only their special gaits.
The temperament of the Icelandic horse is calm and obeying by nature. This means that they hardly kick and you can walk freely around the paddock even right behind them.This calm temperament means that it is easy for kids to be around them right from the begging. Even before you tame the horse it hardly kicks. One benefit is that you can ride close to each other without any problems. This makes being around them pleasurable and almost anyone can ride a horse in Iceland.
You can´t import á horse to Iceland if you ever export your horse you can never bring it back! The thing is that we use the islands as a quarantine to keep out diseases. We do not have to vaccinate the horses here cause there is little to no diseases here to fight back from. The rule goes even further than that and bans all importation of used leather riding gear to make sure that it has nothing in it. Everything you bring has to be cleaned and kept away from horses outside of Iceland at least five days before they come in contact here.
The Icelandic horse has two gaits that make it unique as well. It is called Tölt, which is at the same speed as a trot but you don´t bounce when riding it. That makes it highly comfortable and good for multi-day tours. We have another one called Skeið which is the same speed as gallop but again is a lot more comfortable to ride!
Last but far from least. If you ever get the chance to ride after a herd – do it. It is an experience you will never forget. When you ride with a herd there I usually 1-2 persons in front and behind the herd. The herd follows the rider in front and the one in the back makes sure they don´t stop. This is a thrilling experience. The video and pictures are taken on my ride to Landmannalaugar couple of years back.
