A: The import process of an Icelandic horse (and costs):
Be welcome here, we´re the place to help you find and get your dream horse 🙂
You can contact me through email arnhei@simnet.is or Facebook ( Arnþrúður Heimisdóttir or our farm page Langhus farm). A lot of horses get sold within days, if they have super temperament, so we usually have some horses for sale that are not on this webpage. It is great if you write to us what kind of a horse you are looking for, I’ll tell you what is available (or search for that horse on other farms), and somewhere down the line it’s helpful and necessary to hear about your background in horses, the setup of the future home of the horse, and of course I’ll be sending pictures and videos and descriptions, and we can have a lot of fun discussing the horses.
We might have the right horse for you on our farm. Also, I often get people on visit here for a couple of days, and take them around to many farms in the area to find the right horse. It’s free for the horsebuyer 🙂 And this way you might look at ca. 15-20 horses that are all more or less prospects for what you are looking for.
The import process is actually very simple for the buyer, that wants to buy a horse from us.
Me and an export company (there are several in Iceland) take care of most of the process. Here I will describe the process for people that want to import a horse from Iceland to Europe or North America. The prices variate a little bit, depending on exchange rates and other things, so you can contact me if you are wondering about buying a horse from me.
The prices are from February 2026.
The costs included in getting the horse are:
Always:
The price of the horse (since the exchange rate can change slightly from day to day, the price of the horse is set in the Icelandic krona).
A thorough veterinary check (paid by the seller if the horse isn’t sound) is usually 40.000 isk depending on what’s included in it (ca. 260 euros / 290 $).
Horses are exported from Iceland (Keflavik) virtually every week to Liege (Belgium). From there, they can be transported both all over Europe, and to New York (not to other cities or airports in North America).
Occasionally there are direct exports from Keflavik to New York.
There are professional exporters that take care of the whole process for you. We have cooperated a lot with Eysteinn Leifson / Export Hestar, he is super experienced and makes the process go smoothly:
Export from the home of the horse in Iceland to Keflavik international airport, to Liege, Belgium, costs:
- Domestic transport in Iceland, and flight 1 880 EUR, with all the paperwork (including the fees to the exporter).
- 670 EUR fees at the airport in Belgium.
- VAT (There is 25% tax paid at import in Scandinavia, but 7-12 % in most other countries in Europe).
- If it’s a stallion it costs extra at the airport in Belgium.
Export from Keflavik to New York, USA, costs:
- Flight, quarantine (very short in time, but unfortunately costly) are around 4000 $.
Export from Keflavik to Dublin, Ireland, costs:
- Flight, with all the paperwork, 1080 EUR. The exporter that does that route is Fákaland export.
Export from Keflavik to UK, costs:
- Flight to Liege with same costs as above, plus that exporter helps with arranging for truck transport to UK, and then onwards to your doorstep.
- As an example, the extra costs that have to be paid for a horse that goes with truck from Liege to Wales can be 600 pounds.
FURTHER TRANSPORT of a horse from the airports to their future home:
Truck transport from the airport to the future home of the horse vary of course a lot depending on the distance. The exporter can usually arrange for or help finding a commercial horse transport, if you ask them to, and there is always truck ready at the airport to pick up several Icelandic horses landing on that flight and drive them to their future homes. So, often several Icelandic horses (owned by several new owners) being exported can share a transport taking them towards their new homes.
Europe: Ingo Müller´s company transports horses all over mainland Europe, and Scandinavia, in connection with the export flights.
UK: John Parker’s company transports horses to the British isles.
USA/Canada: The exporter can help finding/arranging for a commercial horse transport, from New York to the horse’s future home, if needed.
B: IN MORE DETAILS: The process of acquiring the horse is:
The buyer decides on a horse, and we arrange for having a veterinary check done. We can make a contract, and this is the best time to do it. I book the vet to come and do a thorough vet check. I also book a space on the next export, tentatively, or on whatever export the buyer wants ; )
The horse is veterinary checked. If the horse is sound, the full price of the horse is paid (except if there is some different agreement done), and the vet check, and I confirm the space on the export, if the buyer wants ; ) The horse is by then the buyer’s property : ) Costs that happen after that (feed and care, taking a mare to a stallion, training, etc.) are the buyers responsibility, unless a different agreement is made on beforehand. Usually the horse is though kept for free, by the seller, until the next export between Iceland and the future home country.
It is best, by then, that the owner insures the horse with its future insurance company. It’s virtually never a problem if the horse is to be exported soon. If it stays for a long time in Iceland so your insurance company becomes reluctant to insure the horse, that is, if it’s needed, I can help you insure it by an Icelandic insurance company. Of course, not everybody decides to put the costs into insurance.
The exporter sends the buyer the information on the exact amount of costs for the transport, and the information on the account to pay that to (this information is often sent just at the time when the export happens).
A few days before the export, the exporter sends a truck to fetch the horse at it’s home in Iceland and take it to Reykjavik and then Keflavik international airport.
All the paperwork (horse passport, receipt etc.) come with the horse when it is exported, either with the plane or in mail. It is nice (when the papers are in your hands) to contact the Icelandic horse registry in your country and let them transfer them to your name in the worldfengur.com database, but it is not necessary, the horse passport is your proof of ownership.
The horse is exported in the buyer’s name, so getting the horse delivered at the airport is an easy process.
So, the process is pretty simple, what you have to worry about on your side is sending the payments for the horse and the transport, and booking a transport from the airport to the future home of the horse.
If you need to get a further idea about the amounts in a different currency than ISK, there are good apps for that, for example the free Units Plus app (is in Play store).
It is ok to send the payments in Euros or Dollars or other common currency, my bank changes it to ISK here for a very slight fee (1000 isk, ca. 7 euros) that you can put on top of the price, and that is usually a lot quicker and easier than buying ISK.
C: Then, acclimatation of the horse, getting to know the new home.
We prioritize that the horses we sell are level headed and courageous, and they’ve usually adjusted well and it’s been a fun process for their new owner to get to know them and introduse them to their new home. A part of that is understanding what they are getting used to, instead of you being surprised at them stopping with big eyes looking at something that you’re super used to.
Their entire world has changed, and it’s good to give your new friend time to adjust to their new environment.
What your horse sees, tastes, smells, hear. And people that communicate maybe in the same way as the horses are used to, or maybe in slightly different ways.
So, first, it’s good to give your friend time to settle in. First to rest after the journey, and also to take in their new environment. Giving him or her more or less a month for that is great, having a time off, and if you want to do some training, then just light and easy work for example in a paddock. Then the horse has settled a lot and is physically and mentally prepared to get wider experiences.
Iceland is disease free, so horses aren’t vaccinated there. So, keeping the horse a bit away from lots of horses until they have received all basic vaccinations is best. But, Icelandic horses are herd animals, they need some company or it’s super stressful and not good. So, having one fully vaccinated horse as a companion first, or maybe some friends in a pasture beside him/her, if they’re many, without them being able to get in direct contact over the fence, is great. Seeing a horse is very often enough, then your friend sees he/she isn’t alone in the world. But if there’s one chill companion with your new horse, it’s great, to be a role model at maybe finding the water, be courageous about trees, or whatever is new at your place.
Many horses in Iceland are not used to fly spray, and baths, so it’s then good to introduce them to that gently. Starting maybe with just spraying water instead of stinky fly spray. And hosing slowly with just a leak of water, not directly full flood of water. But many horses here are also used to this. If your horse still have winter coat on when it is already a warm spring where you live, shave it. A shaver is often a new experience for them, so yes simply introduse it gently. If the mane is thick so the horse is too warm when you’re riding, braiding it quickly ventilates the neck. You can also ask beforehand if the horse is used to all this, or ask for the horse being trained a bit in this for you before export.
Common treats here are horse cookies that just have a mild barley taste. Or slices of bread. Your horse most likely does not like to begin with for example carrots, apples, apple taste treats, and more. But they’ll learn (for example by seeing the other horses eat it). So, start with some “boring” tasting treats, and later they’ll of course show you that they’ll love all sorts of things. You can for example simply start by laying the exotic treats in their stall or pasture or wherever they are, and they’ll probably get curious in the end and try it out.
There is not a lot of trees in Iceland, and definitely not forests with high trees and whistling leaves or dry leaves making weird sounds when crushed under the hooves. The horse of course gets used to it, but at first you might see that they have to look and get used to the sounds.
If your horse is not happy about going into puddles, it’s because often puddles can be mudpits that horses sink into, in Iceland. So, your horse isn’t weird, and soon finds out that it’s not a problem in it’s new home. Also, sea and lakes are super cold in Iceland, and combined with cold weather, they don’t enjoy wading in water. But, if it’s warm where you live, your horse learns quickly that they love wading in water in their lovely new climate.
Having another horse with them to see these things is great, a good role model. If your friend is chill, why worry? You can even start by handwalking your horse, being the chill friend on the ground. And maybe you have a friend that would like to lead another horse it’s even better. Taking a walk, allowing your horse to eat grass (they love eating) by the trail, something like that. You’re probably all exited anyway to share time with your new companion, so that’s one way to do that, win win.
When riding starts, it’s nice to start it in a paddock, or smaller area, where you can enjoy and get familiar to riding the horse, without the horse needing at the same time to get used to new environment. And the horse gets used to you, if you maybe ride a bit differently to what it’s used to. Later ride on the trail, if you can, with a friend on a chill horse, Icelandic horses get a lot of courage from a courageous friend. Slowly moving to riding alone on the trail, now your horse is used to the new environment, and has bonded to you, and happily goes out with it’s new friend on their back. it’s very common in Iceland to train horses to go as handhorses, so if you’re familiar with doing that, try it out, you’ll find out right away if the horse has learned that or not.
There’s not a lot of biting bugs in Iceland, there are though biting midges in many places there, but not everywhere. So, to begin with at least, it’s best if you can stall your horse in the main bug hours, and turning it out in the middle of the day (with fly spray) when there are fewest bugs.
If you can have riding lessons, or go to a riding course, tought by a riding teacher used to Icelandic horses, taking lessons is of course ideal, fun, and helps you understand your horse and communicate better with your horse.
Thank you for telling me about your place and life with horses, that is very important to me, to know what a good life lies in the future for your horse. Iceland is a wonderful country for a horse. But a lot of people own many horses here, and even if each horse is loved on a big farm they don’t get as much attention as when they’re the new star in their new future home. They love that, being loved to pieces, and to have a bit different, but wonderful new life in your good hands.
Ask any questions at any time.
Have fun with your new team mate and friend, that is now enjoying a new life where they are your star and love.
Lukka and the Langhús team.