Has anyone done this? We are about to go in a couple of weeks and will be out for six days. Was a little thrown off when told we had to bring sleeping bags in soft sided luggage, but have that ready. Rain gear, etc. What about sterilizing boots? any tips? Advice?
To be safe, you need to check in advance with your agent/outfitter. Iceland has really tight biosecurity. I have heard of people having their riding equipment held at the airport, others not permitted to take in boots but a helmet was ok…
Equitours has not been very helpful in helping us get our gear sterilized and certified so. None of our vets can help as they have small sterilization equipment. I honestly think some of this could have been made clear before we purchased the trip. Really looking forward to this so want everything to go smoothly and be prepared, but the sterilization of boots and half chaps has me flummoxed. Besides just cleaning them really well and using Lysol (what our contact suggested), don’t have a clue.
There is a fellow boarder at my barn who just recently came back from Iceland, who went on a riding vacation. She told me that you can’t bring your own boots into the country and she had to buy new ones. :eek:
I just went riding in Iceland earlier this month. Was told do NOT bring anything. Not even gloves that have been to the barn. Everything was provided for us.
Was this part of a vacation or a riding vacation? The info from MAST (Icelandic food and veterinary authority) says new gloves and boots are okay.
I did just a day ride a couple years ago, not a long trip like you are planning, but the barn I went to provided boots, helmet, and gloves. Can you check with whoever is providing the horses directly to see if boots and helmet are provided? I do remember the websites were not all abundantly clear that was the case when I was looking, so I understand your confusion. Good luck - sounds like an awesome trip!
Boots and helmets are not provided. They sent us a list of what we need. That is what I don’t get, they mentioned the sterilization certificate way after that and didn’t give details. Plus in Iceland, being an island, purchasing gear is about three times more expensive than usual.
Perhaps the way forward is to wash all your riding clothes, as suggested by MAST, and then buy a very cheap helmet and a pair of v cheap rubber boots to take with you. And cheap new gloves if you ride with them.
This is how I’m leaning. Do people ride in muck boots brand?
Ride in whatever boot is cheap, safe (heel necessary) and ok for walking if you have to dismount. Fashion is not a consideration but your comfort certainly is! I have found, on many riding vacations, that a boot sole with a grip is much, much, much better than a smooth one for clambering over rocks or ice. If they are cheap enough you can leave them behind and buy one of those fantastic Icelandic wool sweaters to put in you case.
And I have ridden in muckboots
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An Icelandic riding trip is on my bucket list! My friends are there right now and just finished the Lagavaugar Trail, hiking from hut to hut. Breathtaking terrain but frequent wind, rain, sleet and cold encountered at higher elevation. Whatever you end up bringing, be prepared for inclement weather!
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When I visited this spring I wore a pair of Dublin Husks, which I was gifted for Christmas and kept away from the barn all winter for the express purpose of wearing them in Iceland. I gave the soles a scrub with disinfectant to get any mud off them before I brought them, and I did wear them in the airport. No one batted an eye at them, and I had been wearing them around town all winter, so they did not look brand new or anything.
I think you could certainly ride in muck boots though, but I’ll second having something with a sole that has a grip, it is a rocky place!
We washed our riding clothes a week out and kept them separate from our other horse stuff until we packed. I wore washable gloves (not leather) which I washed and stored for a week away from other riding clothes.
To me it sounds like you can bring leather items, but only if you are willing to subject them to being submerged for 10 minutes in a disinfectant solution, which I would be pretty wary of doing with most of my leather stuff. I think the vet certification just has to be that they observed that happening, not that they actually did the disinfection themselves.
This link is just about the most helpful thing I’ve found on “unconfounding” the rules on disinfecting things for the trip:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/america-2-iceland/disinfecting-riding-gear/105440800223/
This is the relevant page from the Icelandic import authority:
http://www.mast.is/english/frontpage/import-export/import/ridingequipment/
Have a fabulous time! and do update with how the ride goes!
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Thank you for the responses everyone, know COTH is a great resource. Got a Dover cup on and went ahead and got outfitted and keeping all tags on etc. fingers crossed.
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Great trip, rode 250K. It was cold! No one at the airport looked at any of our gear at all when we entered the country.
Those Icelandic horses are amazing, so tough and have huge hearts.
Don’t think I’d use Equitours again, though.
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I’d love to hear more about your trip! I definitely want to do a riding tour of Iceland one day. Was it this one? https://www.equitours.com/horseback-riding/hekla-landmannalaugar-trail/
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Me too! I’d love to hear about your Iceland trip and the experience with Equitours.
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We went on the Hella Landmannagur (I know I did not spell that correctly) trail ride going to charming shepherd huts from Hella to the highlands. The huts had grass growing on the roofs! (Pictures on Instagram at dorrie_fletcher) Every day was so beautiful it made my heart hurt. Volcanos, sheep, mountains, tales of trolls and other sagas. The horses are all heart, tough and gentle. Absolutely in love with those horses! We rode at a brisk pace every day. We’d ate fresh trout and had lots of skyr. We all slept together in bunks but that was actually cool, like camp, and one thing I didn’t expect was to make so many new friends! Cool women. At least five were travelling alone so good on them and definitly nspires me. Only one day was really cold and wet but soup was so so so good that night. The outfitters were great. We had one half day in geothermal hot springs which was great for my back, as sitting the tolt and their Icelandic riding was different than what I’m used to.
I had trouble getting there with missed connections and lost luggage and feel like Equitours could have helped me get in touch with the outfitter and help me with an actual physical address for my luggage instead of a Blythe “hope it works out.”
Overall, it was intense and a great experience, and in the future I will just connect directly with outfitters instead of going through Equitours.
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I’m so jealous. 
I’m glad you had a good time.
I think I have to up my fitness game to be able to do one of those rides, so I have to get on that!
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