Multi-day Horseback trek in Iceland -- anybody done it?

[ArabDiva]

For my next international vacation, I’m dreaming of a multi-day horseback trek in Iceland.

Has anybody here done it?
What company did you use?
How long was your trek?
Do you have any tips?
Got any amazing photos to share?

[ERNurseonaHorse]

I’ve done it…kind of! I rode with IsHestar. We rode for 2 days, 4/5hrs at a time, then stayed in a farmhouse overnight. It was a fantastic experience! The country is so focused on tourism, I think you would have a great experience with any group. We rode to the Geyser, and Gullfoss waterfall. Sorry I have no idea how to post pictures here.

[AKB]

I haven’t done Iceland, but I just came back from riding with Cooper’s Hill Stables in Galway, Ireland. It was fantastic. Have fun!

[ArabDiva]

@ERNurseonaHorse

I’ve done it…kind of! I rode with IsHestar. We rode for 2 days, 4/5hrs at a time, then stayed in a farmhouse overnight. It was a fantastic experience! The country is so focused on tourism, I think you would have a great experience with any group. We rode to the Geyser, and Gullfoss waterfall. Sorry I have no idea how to post pictures here.

Awesome! Thanks for the tip!

@AKB

I haven’t done Iceland, but I just came back from riding with Cooper’s Hill Stables in Galway, Ireland. It was fantastic. Have fun!

Thanks for the recommendation! Maybe I can try them after I do Iceland I have family history in Ireland, so it’s definitely on my list too

@zakattack

I’ve done it! It was an amazing experience. My mom and I did a 6 day/5 night ride in Northern Iceland where we rode with a large herd of horses and moved from one farm house to the next. The terrain is beautiful and incredibly diverse. I unfortunately cannot remember the name of the company, I’ll post when it comes to me.

IsHestar is a well known company and also has great tours. They are located within an hour of Reykjavik so convenient to get to and have everything from beginner, 1 hour-long rides to multiple day tours. I booked a tour for my mom and I through them when we were back in Iceland this past August. It was a 3 hour ride with a small group and very enjoyable.

The Iceland horses are SO fun! Their tolt gait is very smooth and can be very fast The guides on the tour instructed us on how to ask for the tolt when riding. They use cut-back english-style saddles and, from what I’ve seen, almost exclusively ride in loose ring snaffles with a drop noseband. It was fun learning about the different horse’s personalities and hearing their Icelandic names. We would ride different horses in the morning and the afternoon as well as day-to-day since we rode with a herd and had many to chose from. They were matched based on the rider’s abilities and the horse’s temperament.

Tips:
-It is indeed rather cold there. The highs in the middle of the summer are in the low 60s, and that’s if you’re lucky (I’ve also done several backpacking trips in Iceland, I’m a big fan of the place) So pack for cold weather and try to book your tour in late July or August. Weather also tends to change on a dime. Sunny one moment, raining (hailing, snowing) the next!
-Despite the cold weather, there is an abundant insect population. Bring insect gear if you are going on a multi-day trip

• The days of riding were 5-8 hours long. Get a lot of saddle time in preparation for the ride if you can or you may be very sore
  -Bring a camera and lots of extra batteries. You’ll want it every step of the way!
• Be honest about your riding level and experience. It’s no fun to be stuck with a horse that is too much for you when you’re riding cross country for many hours. However, the guides on my ride were very willing to stop and switch the horses if there were any problems
  -Iceland has strict protocol regarding used riding gear because their animals have no immunity to outside germs. Any used leather equipment is not allowed in to the country and any rubber/other equipment must be sterilized before hand. I bought new muck boots for the trip and sterilized my helmet.

Attached photos from the day ride I took with IsHestar in August

Thanks for the amazing experience report and great tips!! This sounds awesome! Your post makes me very excited to go.
I had no idea Iceland was so cold (but duh, it’s north!)

Very interesting about the used riding gear. Guess I have an excuse to buy some new equipment before I go…will add that to the budget

[CELook]

I just did the 6 day ride in August with Hekluhestar. http://hekluhestar.is/ They were simply amazing and I highly recommend them. The owners breed and train all of their own horses so they know each and every one of them. We rode with a group of 50 free horses and we would switch horses every other day or twice a day depending on how long we rode. We would ride 40-50km a day.

The staff members took great care of us. Breakfast was a traditional Icelandic meal and we usually made sandwiches for lunch to eat while riding. Dinner was again a traditional Icelandic meal. We had lamb from their farm and fresh fish caught that morning. On the last day they prepared a traditional Easter dinner for us. We were NEVER hungry, lol. They shared with us their history and traditions and sang songs that are a part of their culture.

We had some really fun gallops across Iceland! The horses were phenomenal and were so sure-footed. They did an excellent job of matching horses with rider, noone in our group had to get re-assigned.

Here are some of my tips:

1. Buy some ‘second skin’. It comes in sheets. I don’t think anything can prepare your bum for being in a saddle for 6-8 hours a day except for riding 6-8 hours a day, most of us don’t have time for that. The second skin is an adhesive (like moleskin) that goes directly over sore spots. I got saddle sores the first day as I was figuring out the tolt so this was a lifesaver.

2. Wear a layer underneath your breeches regardless of temps. This will help with chaffing.

3. Wear layers.

4. Wear sunglasses. This is mainly to protect your eyes from the horses kicking up small rocks and dirt.

5. You only really need 2 pairs of breeches for a 6 day trip.

6. Flashlight/headlamp and ear plugs. You will be sleeping in mountain huts so everyone sleeps together in one big room. Lucky for us noone was a snorer!

There are probably many more tips to share but those are the highlights. I enjoyed this trip so much that I plan on going back for the 8 day in 2019. They say the 8 days is even faster paced…can’t wait! Riding with the free horses was soooo fun!
I went mid-August and the weather was amazing. Mid-60’s. Their fly season was also over so only saw a few flies the whole. time. The outfitter provided fly nets and goretex rain gear for us. It only rained one day while I was there.

A few pics and some gopro footage from my trip. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h3e6x16rm8bw2dz/AABR3Lz-2r_HsRT5yM79ZQNwa?dl=0

[Bells]

CELook - how did you get to Hella? Did you rent a car and let it sit while you rode or did you take a bus from the airport? If you took the bus, how much was it? THANKS!