Riding in Winter and Cold Climates: Iceland, Alpine Sleighs, and Layering Right
Winter riding has a reputation problem. Ask someone who has only ridden on a warm summer morning what riding in sub-zero temperatures sounds like, and the answers tend to involve words like miserable. Ask someone who has done a two-hour tölt through a snow-covered lava field on an Icelandic horse with steam rising from the horse's breath into a pewter sky, and the answers are different. The cold is real. The discomfort is manageable. The experience is unlike anything you will find in warm weather.
Cold-climate riding has its own tradition, its own breeds, its own gear logic, and its own rhythms. Here is what you need to know.
The Icelandic horse and its gaits
The Icelandic horse is, by the standards of most light-horse breeds, a compact, deep-chested, thickly maned animal that looks as if it has been designed specifically for harsh conditions — because it has been. The breed has been isolated on Iceland since the ninth and tenth centuries, when Norse settlers brought horses with them. Subsequent Icelandic law banned the import of other breeds to protect genetic purity. The result, over a thousand years of natural and selective pressure, is a horse that is exceptionally sure-footed on volcanic rock, lava field, and snow; resistant to cold; and possessed of two additional gaits that most breeds do not have.
The tölt is the Icelandic horse's signature movement and the reason riders who have tried it once tend to seek it out again. It is a four-beat lateral gait with no moment of suspension — at least one foot is always on the ground — and a naturally smooth action that allows a rider to sit without rising even at speed. The absence of the jarring two-beat diagonal that characterises the trot means that at tölt, a rider can carry a drink without spilling it. This is not a metaphor; it is a demonstration that Icelandic horse breeders actually perform.
The flying pace is a two-beat lateral gait ridden at speed — faster than gallop over a short distance — used in racing. Not all Icelandic horses have it; those that do are particularly prized. A five-gaited horse (walk, trot, canter, tölt, flying pace) is the gold standard of the breed, and breed associations keep detailed records.
Riding in Iceland in winter
The Icelandic horse farms clustered around Reykjavík and across the country run year-round, and the winter programme is often better for smaller groups because summer draws the larger tourist volume. Farms such as Eldhestar near Hveragerði, Íshestar in Hafnarfjörður, and Laxnes Horse Farm about forty kilometres from the capital all provide winter rides with full kit supplied or available.
The outdoor temperature in Iceland in December and January averages between minus two and plus four degrees Celsius at low elevations, which is cold but not extreme. What varies is the wind, and wind chill on horseback — where you are moving at speed through air — is the dominant comfort factor. Every reputable farm supplies full waterproof oversuit, hat, gloves, and boot covers if you do not have your own gear. Do not assume you need to arrive with a full riding kit; the supplied gear is designed for the conditions and is usually better than what a visitor brings.
The unshod-in-snow tradition
Icelandic horses are routinely ridden unshod in winter, a practice that surprises riders from other traditions. In snow and ice, bare hoof provides more grip than a smooth metal shoe, which acts similarly to a skating blade on hard-packed surfaces. The horses are carefully trimmed and monitored; the barefoot tradition in Iceland is not about cost-cutting but about a genuine advantage in the terrain.
Horses in other snowy regions are shod with specialised winter shoes that include carbide studs or pads to prevent snowballing (the accumulation of compacted snow inside the shoe that raises the horse up uncomfortably). In managed riding centres in the Alps or the Canadian Rockies, properly studded winter shoes are standard. Ask when you book whether the horses are appropriately shod for the winter surface you will be riding on.
Winter sleigh experiences
Sleigh riding with horses is a distinct experience from horseback riding but belongs in the same family of cold-weather equestrian tourism. The most atmospheric sleigh experiences in Europe concentrate around Salzburg in Austria and the Salzkammergut lake district, where horse-drawn sleighs have been used across frozen lake surfaces and through snow-covered forest since before motor vehicles existed. Operators in the Salzburger Land offer both short tourist sleigh rides and longer forest excursions through the Tennen mountains.
In Quebec, the Charlevoix region and the area around the Eastern Townships offer horse-drawn sleigh experiences that range from thirty-minute introductions to full-day excursions with stops for warming food and drink. The Quebec horse culture is deeply rooted in the Canadian-Canadian Horse breed (Cheval Canadien), a hardy breed descended from horses brought by French colonists in the seventeenth century that survived severe winters partly through isolation and natural selection — a parallel to the Icelandic story in different geography.
Layering for mounted riding in the cold
The layering principle for cold-weather riding is the same as for any cold outdoor activity, with one modification: the middle layer must be thin enough that you can still feel what your body is doing in the saddle. Thick padding around the hips and thighs reduces the feel through the seat, which matters even on a gentle hack.
The base layer should be a moisture-wicking thermal next to the skin — merino wool or a synthetic wicking fabric. The mid layer is an insulating fleece or thin down gilet. The outer layer should be wind and waterproof, and for riding specifically it should be long enough at the back to cover your lower back when you are in the saddle (most general outdoor jackets are too short). Riding-specific winter jackets are cut longer in the back for exactly this reason.
Extremities lose heat fastest. For hands, the most effective solution for cold riding is a mitten over a thin liner glove, with a hand-warmer packet inside the mitten. A mitten keeps the fingers together and warmer than separate-finger gloves; the liner lets you manage reins or a mobile phone without taking the outer off. For feet, a merino wool sock under a tall boot, with a boot cover or waterproof gaiter over the top, is the standard approach. Ensure boot covers are sized to fit over your specific boots before you arrive at the centre.
Plan around the season
The map shows equestrian centres in Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, and alpine Europe. Winter riding programmes are often not the same as summer programmes; contact the centre directly or check their website for which trails and activities run year-round and which close in the coldest months. Iceland is a year-round destination; many mountain centres in Switzerland or Austria suspend riding from December to March but run sleigh and stable-visit programmes instead.