This is when I first got on the horse. My dad ended up staying behind, he didn't want to try with the weird breed of Icelandic horse. So I went alone with my guide, some old Icelandic man who didn't speak English, but seemed nice enough anyway.
As we continued to ride, I noticed how comfortable the horses were to ride. This is because they are a different type of horse than the American ones I'm used to riding. Icelandic horses are much shorter than the average hourse and much wider, this provided a very steady and smooth ride.
Icelandic horses also have 6 gaits rather than than the standard 4 gaits (Walk, Trot, Canter, Gallup.) The extra two gaits are "Tolt" and "Flugskeid". Tolt is a very smooth very fast pace, that is reasonably easy to achieve. Flugskeid, on the other hand, is incredibly hard to master, and when done well can achieve speeds up to 48 miles per hour.
Saudarkrokur, the town we rode in, is the center of the horse culture and history in Iceland, and has been for hundreds of years.
The ride was a bit more than a hour. We rode around a nearby a lake, on trails that felt like different farmers' driveways. Once during our journey, we came close to a cliff and stopped to look out over the beautiful lake we had been exploring.
It was such an amazing experience and I am so happy that we were able to find a way to make it work in our overall plan for this trip.
Location:Snæfellsnesvegur,,Iceland
