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I've placed this here as an introduction to the Icelandic horse. Check out the tölt, the smooth gait where the rider seems to float through the air on the horse. Compare this to the bouncy trot which some riders are using for training or to to cross some rough terrain.
Yes, it is common for a herd to go loose like this. They follow the lead riders although you will see some free-lancers who have no problem getting back in line. All over the country you can see horse trails like this one along the side of the roads.
Notice how the riders take a break and get off the horses so they can rest. This is also typical. They will ride at a good clip, in tölt, of course, for about a half hour and then take a break to let the horses rest and graze. With a loose herd, very little is done at a walk!
Everyone, especially the horses, enjoys an outing like this!
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Wondering what it's like to go on a horse trek in Iceland? This is a video I shot during my first trek, the one that really got me hooked on horseback riding.
It was in 2000. I had been taking lessons for all of four months and I was about to go on a 5 day riding trek. But first we were going to spend a few days at the Landsmot.
I really don't think the Landsmot is good preparation for trekking if you are an inexperiended rider. There I was, watching the best riders zipping around the track on the best, most explosive, horses in Iceland. All my ideas of what actually would hold me on a horse fell, as I knew I soon would, by the wayside.
Each night they would be turned out in a pasture and then herded into a paddock where the ones who were to be ridden would be selected. Sometimes it was a little game, as you will see.
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>>>CLICK to see more videos in this article>>>
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The juniors' group of 4 and 5 year-olds at Reitskóli Harðar -- the Hördur Club Riding School -- in Mosfellsbaer go off on a trail ride. For Americans of a certain age, this is the Art Linkletter School of Icelandic Horseback Riding. Cute kids, but the horses are so well-behaved they steal the show.
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Trail Riding 
