An Icelandic Horse Experience
The Best of Iceland with Kids
A trip to Iceland is not complete without an Icelandic horse experience. When we were carefully planning out how we would spend our six days in this small and rugged country, we knew that meeting these unique creatures would have to be part of it. Be sure and check out our posts on West Iceland and South Iceland to get a good overview of our entire trip.
We noticed that most of the horse farms in Iceland are located in the southern region. So we got to work searching on Tripadvisor and reading reviews from other travelers. We finally settled on Icelandic Horseworld and were delighted with our choice. They are located in Skeidvellir, which is about an hour’s drive from Reykjavik. The owner, Katrin was very responsive to our emails before our trip and easy to communicate with. My only regret is that we didn’t also stay at her farm as she rents out several self-containing units. Read all the way to the end of this post to see photos of her gorgeous and well-equipped lodging.
Our visit began with an educational tour, which I happen to love on any activity we do! We learned about the history of the Icelandic horses dating all the way back to Viking days. The international staff at Icelandic Horseworld is friendly and happy to share their expertise of the horses with visitors. What brings them together is their love for these unique animals. We met each of the horses as we made our way through their beautiful state-of-the-art barn.
Next, we went to a riding arena where we got a demonstration of the Icelandic horse’s unique gait, called a tölt. Katrina rode for us while one of her staff members pointed out the specifics of what we were seeing. Finally, it was time to ride! The staff carefully paired each of us with a horse that matched our personality, size, experience and comfort level. We got acquainted with our new friends and rode around a bit in the arena. Then we headed outside to the beautiful outdoors. We eventually made our way to an outdoor field where we were each given a chance to bring our horses to the famous Icelandic horse tölt. It was exciting!
After our ride, it was nice to head indoors to the stable cafe where we enjoyed warm drinks and baked goods.
If your group wants to meet Icelandic horses but doesn't want to ride them, Icelandic Horseworld has an option for that too. They offer a guided tour of the stable with a chance to be up close with the horses, learn about their long history and pet them to your heart's content.
The riding tours are recommended for children 10 and older. If you are visiting with younger children, check out their options for short rides in the riding hall.
Lodging at Icelandic Horseworld
Next time we visit Iceland, we will definitely plan to book this spacious 2-bedroom unit at the farm.
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We would like to thank Icelandic Horseworld for their partnership by providing our visit at a reduced price. As always, all opinions expressed our own and if we didn't love it, we won't recommend it.
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