I'm just back from a fabulous trip to Iceland. I had 3 rides there - one at Laxnes Farm and 2 at Ishestar. I had THE most fantastic time, and I am even more in love with Icelandic horses 
Although I really enjoyed the rides, I felt I hadn't a clue what I was doing most of the time! There were times when I didn't actually know what gait my horse was doing - I knew when we were in walk and tolt, but then things went a bit bumpy and I wasn't sure whether we were trotting, or pacing, or doing a mixture of gaits! So I was sometimes sitting, sometimes rising and occasionally bumping about in the saddle like a sack of potatoes
I was amazed too how different the horses were to ride. The first horse I rode at Laxnes was a mare, very pretty (I know they all are, but this one particularly so!). Because this was my first ride, I really had no idea what I was doing, and didn't know what gait I was in for the first half! Towards the end though, we were definitely getting some good tolts - I don't know if this is because I was getting more used to the riding, or whether it just took my horse a while to get 'warmed up'. She was certainly a speedy wee thing and was determined to be up near the front. We had a few canters, which was just lovely - she had the smoothest canter ever and my bum was glued to the saddle! So even when we all went flat out up a hill in canter (maybe gallop?!) I wasn't too worried. I don't think this was actually meant to happen, I think the horses all just got a bit too excited and fancied a bit of a sprint! I don't think I've ever seen horses react as fast as Icelandics - it looks like they can do 0-30 miles an hour in about 2 seconds! Luckily the guide got control again so things settled down to a more sensible pace. I have no idea how some of the riders stayed on though - this was supposedly a ride for all levels, including beginners It was as fast as I'd like to go, so I can't imagine how someone who had never been on a horse would feel!
The first horse I rode at Ishestar was a lovely wee mare with a bit of an attitude (kept swinging her bum round and threatening to kick when the guide passed by because she didn't like her horse!) called Pilar (at least thats what it sounded like, I'm sure its not spelt like that!) She liked to tolt rather than walk, but then went into trot (I think!) when the ride got a bit faster.
The second horse I rode there was a very friendly gelding (can't rememer his name but he was an albino, so had quite a distinctive appearance). He had a nice walk and seemed to be happy both trotting and tolting. I was trying different approaches with my position etc to if I could get him to tolt and I found that I could sometimes get it, but not all the time. But I could only ever get it from walk, not from trot. So if he went into trot, I couldn't get tolt again until we went back to walk and tried again. Is this usually the case with Icelandics, or was it just this particular horse?
I really want to find out more about the gaits of these wonderful animals, and would love to have lessons on how to ride them properly - I'm sure the poor wee critters wondered what I wanted them to do with my confusing aids and bouncing about! Am I right in thinking there is a centre in Scotland that has Icelandics - do they do lessons?
I'll try to post some pics of the horses when I have time
Although I really enjoyed the rides, I felt I hadn't a clue what I was doing most of the time! There were times when I didn't actually know what gait my horse was doing - I knew when we were in walk and tolt, but then things went a bit bumpy and I wasn't sure whether we were trotting, or pacing, or doing a mixture of gaits! So I was sometimes sitting, sometimes rising and occasionally bumping about in the saddle like a sack of potatoes
I was amazed too how different the horses were to ride. The first horse I rode at Laxnes was a mare, very pretty (I know they all are, but this one particularly so!). Because this was my first ride, I really had no idea what I was doing, and didn't know what gait I was in for the first half! Towards the end though, we were definitely getting some good tolts - I don't know if this is because I was getting more used to the riding, or whether it just took my horse a while to get 'warmed up'. She was certainly a speedy wee thing and was determined to be up near the front. We had a few canters, which was just lovely - she had the smoothest canter ever and my bum was glued to the saddle! So even when we all went flat out up a hill in canter (maybe gallop?!) I wasn't too worried. I don't think this was actually meant to happen, I think the horses all just got a bit too excited and fancied a bit of a sprint! I don't think I've ever seen horses react as fast as Icelandics - it looks like they can do 0-30 miles an hour in about 2 seconds! Luckily the guide got control again so things settled down to a more sensible pace. I have no idea how some of the riders stayed on though - this was supposedly a ride for all levels, including beginners
It was as fast as I'd like to go, so I can't imagine how someone who had never been on a horse would feel!The first horse I rode at Ishestar was a lovely wee mare with a bit of an attitude (kept swinging her bum round and threatening to kick when the guide passed by because she didn't like her horse!) called Pilar (at least thats what it sounded like, I'm sure its not spelt like that!) She liked to tolt rather than walk, but then went into trot (I think!) when the ride got a bit faster.
The second horse I rode there was a very friendly gelding (can't rememer his name but he was an albino, so had quite a distinctive appearance). He had a nice walk and seemed to be happy both trotting and tolting. I was trying different approaches with my position etc to if I could get him to tolt and I found that I could sometimes get it, but not all the time. But I could only ever get it from walk, not from trot. So if he went into trot, I couldn't get tolt again until we went back to walk and tried again. Is this usually the case with Icelandics, or was it just this particular horse?
I really want to find out more about the gaits of these wonderful animals, and would love to have lessons on how to ride them properly - I'm sure the poor wee critters wondered what I wanted them to do with my confusing aids and bouncing about! Am I right in thinking there is a centre in Scotland that has Icelandics - do they do lessons?
I'll try to post some pics of the horses when I have time
