Stodrettir are the Icelandic horse round-ups.
What stodrettir are
Stodrettir are a tradition mostly exclusive to the north of Iceland. Stodrettir usually take place by the end of September or the beginning of October. The horses gathered are Icelandic horses, a breed bred pure in Iceland for more than 1,000 years.
How they follow the sheep
Horses are brought home a few weeks after the sheep round-ups. At rettir, sheep and sometimes free-roaming horses are gathered home for the winter.
Laufskalarett
The most famous Icelandic horse round-up is the Laufskalarett, in the Hjaltadalur valley in Skagafjordur. At the Laufskalarett, horses are gathered and corralled over many days and then brought to the Laufskalarett pen next to Holar i Hjaltadal. Glaumbaer, a protected turf farmhouse and museum site, is in the same Skagafjordur district.
Riding out with a round-up
Many horse-tour providers and farms offer stodrettir tours on which guests take part in rounding up the horses over several days.
Stud horses and the mountain commons
A fjallskil district board may ban the driving of stud horses onto a mountain common. Where it does, those horses are exempt from fjallskil. A fjallskil district board may decide when each species of livestock may first be driven onto a mountain common.
Checking road conditions for the drive north
Road conditions and closures for Iceland are published by the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration. Use the Road Conditions to help plan your trip.
Comparing North Iceland tours
You can compare North Iceland tours to see the current options.
