How to Survive and What to Expect on an Icelandic Horse Trek
What to Pack and How to Prepare
You’ve booked a trip to the Land of Fire and Ice. You’re beyond excited to cuddle cute, fuzzy horses and learn how to tölt. Here are a few packing pointers and recommendations and some general advice on what to expect when you arrive for your riding adventure.
Packing
Pack Layers
The weather in Iceland can vary wildly and change rapidly. Layers are key - layers that can be put together, interchanged, and added or swapped easily. Long underwear is important - silk long underwear is warm and easy to pack, and polar fleece is extra warm (maybe too warm).
Wool
Wool is very traditional in Iceland, and for good reason. Your guides will probably all be wearing Icelandic sweaters - not because they’re gimmicky, but because they’re warm! Wool socks will keep your feet warm (even if they get a little wet) and wool underwear can be great for preventing chaffing.
Rain Gear
You can buy that cute raincoat you saw on some influencer on the internet, and look cute while you’re wet and cold, or you can use the rain gear provided and look like an orange traffic cone, but you will be dry. If you’re bringing your own rain gear, test it beforehand. Wear it in a cold shower, then go outside and run through the sprinkler - because sometimes the rain doesn’t just pour down, it splashes up. Sometimes it even comes in side ways, so have someone spray you with a garden hose for good measure. If you’re still dry, your gear is good to go, but even so, if you use the gear provided, you don’t have to worry about packing your wet, muddy gear to bring back home.
Make sure the hood of your raincoat fits over your riding helmet, otherwise the rain trickles down your neck and gets underneath your layers!
Long rain jackets/dusters are not recommended - they can flap around in the wind and spook the horses.
I have a rain jacket I love from Outback Trading - cute AND waterproof.
Disinfected Riding Gear
Icelandic horses have no contagious diseases, and are thus very susceptible to diseases carried by horses in other places around the world. Any gear you have previously used on or around other horses needs to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before bringing it into the country - this includes helmets, boots, chaps, etc. Especially leather goods. Used tack and riding gloves are not allowed.
Riding Breeches
You don’t need a new set of riding pants for every day, but if you bring 2-3 pairs that are different weights, you will have different options for different weather.
Riding Boots
Depending on where you’re riding, you may or may not need waterproof boots. There are a ton of boots on the market that say they’re waterproof, but if they aren’t rubber or Gore-Tex or if they have any kind of zippers, they are not 100% waterproof. Sometimes your hosts will have boots you can borrow, but ask before you go. Otherwise, fully rubber boots are a great option - Ovation makes some great lined rubber riding boots. You can also get rubber covers for your regular riding boots if you’re just going to be going through mud and not actually riding through deep water. Consult your trip itinerary to be sure.
Riding Gloves
Warm and watertight gloves are important, especially for cold weather. You are not allowed to bring used riding gloves into the country, in order to protect the Icelandic horses from diseases and contamination. However, if caught in the rain, it is almost impossible to keep your hands completely dry, unless you’re wearing dish gloves, so bring an extra pair just in case.
Swimsuit
You will definitely want to take advantage of Iceland’s hot pots for a hot soak after a long day in the saddle, so bring a swim suit! You are ALWAYS expected to shower, completely naked, before entering any pool or hot pot, which makes sense if you think about it. It’s considered very rude and unhygienic not to.
Slippers
It is expected to take off your shoes when entering an Icelandic home, but this doesn’t mean the floors will be warm. House slippers are a great way to keep your feet warm, keep the floors clean, and show respect when indoors at the guesthouse.
Sleeping Mask
During the summer in Iceland, daylight lasts up to 21 hours per day, and even at midnight it’s more of a twilight than true darkness. The Icelanders soak up every minute of daylight they can, while they can, so rooms are often not equipped with curtains that fully block out the light. If the light will keep you awake, bring a sleeping mask. If you aren’t used to sleeping with one, start wearing it ahead of time at home so you will be used to it when you arrive, and can be well rested for your riding trip.
Ear Plugs
You might be rooming with others during your ride, and they might snore. Come prepared.
Bug Net
There’s nothing worse than riding into a swarm of bugs on horseback and getting them in your eyes, ears, mouth, or nose. The easiest solution to this problem is a bug net, which fits over your riding helmet and keeps the bugs off your face. Some regions of Iceland are worse for bugs than others, especially in the north. The net packs down super small and takes up next to no space in your suitcase.
Neck Buff
A neck buff is a great accessory, as it can be used to keep your ears warm, or your face, or your neck, or any combination, and fits nicely under your riding helmet without much bulk.
Seat Cover
You can expect long hours in the saddle, and a padded seat cover is a great way to ensure better comfort. Wool seat covers provide perhaps the best cushion, but if it’s raining, they get soggy. Gel seat covers are another option.
Laundry Line
If it rains, or you ride on the beach, it’s quite possible you’ll get wet while riding, even with rain gear. You might have limited counter space to hang things up to dry in your room, so a portable laundry line you can hang wet gear on can be super helpful. If you bring some detergent to wash out those socks that got soaked while riding before you hang them up, it will also help to not stink up your room.
Snacks
While the dinners are delicious, breakfast and lunch are pretty basic. Breakfasts consists of porridge (runny oatmeal), toast and some spreads and jams, ham, salami, cheese, and apples. These are also the ingredients from which you’ll make your lunch to take on the trail - sandwiches and an apple. If you’re lucky there might be pesto for the sammies. Bring your own snacks to munch on between meals - bars, trail mix, and fruit snacks are great - and packets of any kind of peanut, almond, or nut butter, mustard or mayo you might want on your sandwich to spice it up.
Chocolate is a great energy boost on the trail!
Water Bottle
You will most likely be provided with a water bottle, but you should bring one just in case. That way, with one on each side of your saddle bags, they will stay better balanced. Plus, staying hydrated will help keep your energy up and boost your immune system.
Moleskin and Monkey Butt
Blisters, whether on your feet or…elsewhere…can make a trip uncomfortable and unpleasant. Moleskin is great for blisters, and Monkey Butt powder or similar products are great for preventing chaffing.
What to Expect
The Icelandic Cowboy
The Icelandic demeanor is very stoic, and your guides may come across as very serious, even aloof, when you meet them. But make no mistake, they are enjoying themselves, it just isn’t written on their faces. But get them singing and you will find that beneath their Viking exteriors, they’re bards at heart.
You have to understand that most horseback guides in Iceland are farmers first (usually), horsemen second, and guides third. Their job is to get you from one place to the next, not to cater to your every need. You may be a guest here, but there is an expectation that to a certain degree, you will take care of yourself and your needs.
Icelandic is Impossible
Icelandic is supposedly one of the hardest languages on Earth to learn - between sounds that don’t exist in other languages and a grammatical structure that makes linguists cringe, it isn’t an easy language, but your hosts will LOVE IT if you make the effort to learn a few Useful Words and Phrases in Icelandic, even if you completely butcher them.
Choosing Your Saddle
You will have the same saddle for the whole trek, so choose wisely. Poke the seat to see how soft it is and look at the condition of the leather. Newer saddles tend to be less hardened by use, so look for saddles with bigger knee rolls and less wear on the stitching lines. Seat covers are a great way to make any saddle more comfortable as well (see above).
Leave your Pride (and privacy) at Home
Often on the trail, when the group stops for breaks, there are no trees, no rocks, and no kind of privacy whatsoever for going to the bathroom. Everyone does their best to look away, but occasionally mooning one another is inevitable. Think you can just hold it? Not on a tölting Icelandic horse you can’t. Think you can just avoid drinking water so you won’t have to go? Dehydration isn’t worth it. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go, and you’ll feel so much better once you do!
Leave No Trace
Speaking of going to the plein-air bathroom, if you require toilet paper, please pack it out with you. We come to these beautiful, pristine places because they are just that, pristine. If you leave your TP in the wilderness, imagine what it would look like if everyone did it. Pack a sandwich bag to pack out your TP, and keep some hand sanitizer in your saddle bags for washing up.
Bring Your Sense of Adventure…and Sense of Humor
A horseback trek in Iceland is no luxury vacation and it’s not for the faint of heart - you have to remember that it’s an adventure, after all, and that even when the going gets tough, you’ll be a better rider for it, with better stories to tell!