Norway and Icelandic Horses

So for my 24 hours in Tromos, I did a 24 hour experience on an Icelandic Horse farm. It was BEAUTIFUL!!

Honestly, Norway is just too pretty for words. So I will let the pictures do most of the talking in this episode. 

Bard (the owner of said Icelandic Horse farm and my host) picked my up from Tromso after my Reindeer and tent experience and I was mostly just keen to stay in a car/indoors for a very long time! But I was also really keen to ride an Icelandic Horse.  They have a distinctive way of moving that is unique to the breed that is very smooth to ride called a tolt. (video here if you're interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6H4sUpmWzU )

On they way to his farm, we drove past a frozen fjord. He was saying that the tracks are snowmobiles that drive out to check on the fishing holes!

 I was a bit apprehensive walking out on the the ice as this is technically the ocean and affected by tides and the 'shore' cracks when the tide moves... Plus it was quite slippery and very cold..

 So the way it works is they dig two holes and string a net between them then once a day (or however often you want I guess) they pull the net back through one hole and collect the fish.  A very easy way to get food! He collected 10 fish this day. Mostly Cod and Salmon. 

 They leave the entrails and heads on the ice for the birds to eat but there is so much that the birds have left heaps behind.  Apparently the otters help themselves too sometimes.

The road curved along the side of the fjord and the view from the car was just beautiful. This was around 11am so probably peak sunlight. 

Then after a delicious lunch (with more brown cheese!) we went to find the ponies!!! 

There were two of his friends horses kept in the barn because they kept escaping and they were quite excited and energetic from being cooped up.

Oh I might not have mentioned, these are the fluffiest horses I have ever seen!!!! They are totally happy living outside - in the SNOW! I call them ponies because to me they are very small and technically they fall into the pony size range of 13-14hh (1.3-1.4m) but they are referred to as horses by those in the know.

 Bard had a few WWOOFers staying at his place. WWOOFer's are Willing Workers on Organic Farms. Basically they are backpackers who volunteer to help on organic farms for free food and accommodation. I think the work can be quite tough but on this day they got to go on the ride with us so I think it has its perks! 

This is me and my little pony! She was sweet but wasn't that impressed that I knew how to ride and wanted her to work! 

I have always always always wanted to go for a ride in the snow! Ever since I first saw The Man From Snowy River movie as a child and there is the scene where he is chasing the brumbies through the snowy mountains and they come to a clearing up the top and the music changes and it is just magical. 

In case you aren't as obsessed as me, you can watch this video. The bit I'm talking about is at 2 minutes in.

So this ride along the beach, in the snow beside the setting sun was just a dream come true! I couldn't believe it! 

Grace would love this arena. They have actually ploughed the snow into a figure of eight with sides... There is also a track around the outside to go a bit faster and work on the gaits (different paces) and lateral work. 

This is me!! 

 You can't really tell, but the brown blob above the snowline to the right of centre is a Moose!!! There is a family of three that live in the mountain behind the farm and they mooch around and drop in overnight.

Seriously, these things are so fluffy I don't know how they see!!

After the first ride, Bard asked if I wanted to ride the other horses that were locked in the stable because he wanted to let them out but they were so energetic they might just play or take off and hurt themselves.  He didn't need to twist my arm. I got the extra naughty one. Once he got going he was amazing! So smooth to ride and very sensitive to commands.
After the ride I just walked around the farm remarking how different it was to Australian farms.  The whole place might be 20 acres but 15 of that would be the mountain. The other 5 is the cleared slope between the mountain and the fjord. In this area there was the main house, the guest house and the barn. My apartment was attached to the barn. The fences were mostly post and rail and everything was covered in snow. The animals all had bales of hay to eat and were accustomed to living in the snow. There were 4 different paddocks that the horses lived in. They were all very sloped so the horses were quite nimble.

 Bard also had a large chicken pen and a herd of sheep. I think he said these were bred for their hide.. Super fluffy either way..

Talk about room with a view!

 He also has a few farm dogs. They are a mixed breed of big fluffy dogs. They sleep outside tied to a long line. They were super friendly and cuddly!!

 

After re-packing my bag (AGAIN!) We drove to the airport and I collected my big bag and checked them both in - All the way to LONDON!!!

At the airport they had this big aerial picture of Tromso that I really liked. I tried to spend all my Norwegian Krone at the airport and ended up with a phone charger and a bottle of water that I had to skull to get through airport security.

And then I was off, heading for London

I was enthralled by all the different snowy landscapes. Just everything was covered in snow. The mountain, valleys and streams. Finally I made it to Oslo and had a very quick connection (just enough time to find the right end of the terminal, get my passport stamped, pee and find the gate.

Talk to you again from the UK!!!!