Halló gott fólk!
Iceland has many, many horses, as anyone who has spent any time in this country will know. They are a specific breed—“the Icelandic horse”— and they are exceedingly photogenic, which often makes people stop their vehicles when they see them by the side of the road, to pet them, take pictures, and admire their general gorgeousness.
I am not exempt. I take pictures of horses all the time (see above). Yet I do observe two golden rules: one, I never stop on the road, and two, I never feed them. Both of those are big no-no’s.
Why? Here is what I said about that in my Little Book of Tourists in Iceland:
Icelandic horses are adorable, aren’t they? So small and cute, and fluffy in the winter. Great to take a selfie with. In fact they’re such a hit that bypassers, and even Icelandic tour operators, have taken to stopping cars or whole buses by the side of the road so that people can get out, pet the horses, and take pictures. Harmless, right?
Actually, no. Most horse owners are super annoyed that their horses are being used as sightseeing attractions. Think about it. Every day people are stopping to schmooze with your horses and feed them treats—some of which are outright dangerous to the horses’ health—without your permission or even your knowledge. They are turning your horses into pets. Meanwhile you may be in the midst of a rigorous training programme with your steeds and feeding them treats only when they perform the thing that you are trying to teach them. Except now they’re getting treats simply by standing there and batting their eyelashes at people, which totally interferes with all your work.
Let us further assume that one of your horses is having an off day, flies off the handle, and maybe bites someone. Or, a tourist enters the corral or field where the horses are kept (happens) and that same grumpy horse gives them a nasty kick, potentially injuring them. Who is liable? You, the owner, because the injury happened on your land? These are the sorts of questions many Icelandic farmers are pondering right about now.
One farmer, whose horses graze on land that lies between Gullfoss and Geysir, two of Iceland’s most-visited tourist attractions, was exceedingly tired of up to twenty vehicles at a time stopping by the side of the road and tourists then “emptying their cars” of anything they thought his horses might possibly eat. But rather than merely fume and rage, the farmer, to his credit, decided to take a constructive approach to the problem and set up a special corral with selected horses to greet tourists. The corral is located next to the road, and the farmer has even constructed a parking lot where cars can stop, which vastly improves safety. The farmer’s hope is that by trotting these selected steeds out as a meet-and-greet committee, his more vulnerable horses will be left in peace. The only condition he makes is that visitors do not feed them any of their own food. Instead he has set up a booth with small cartons of feed for guests to purchase on an honour system for a nominal fee, which also helps him offset some of the costs of his little venture. An excellent initiative if you ask me, and one that bears supporting. So if you are travelling the Golden Circle and are in the mood for some horse canoodling, keep an eye out for the corral, located some 2 km east of Geysir (en route to Gullfoss), and make sure you bring some spare change for treats. Otherwise, if you must stop and pet a horse, consider going to a horse rental or a horse farm that allows for that sort of interaction. And leave the other horses, the ones minding their own business behind that fence, alone.
As it happens, I was giving a talk near Gullfoss a couple of weeks ago, and drove past this place—which, full disclosure, I had never actually seen. I turned in to take a look, and snapped a couple of photos. I’m even more impressed by this farmer’s initiative than I was before—way to go!
Want more tips and tricks for touring Iceland? Check out this perennial favourite:
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