Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm/ Mad River Inn Review

We had a great ride. Karen was a wonderful host. Will definitely go again

First, the positive. My horse kept me safe and there are scenic views from the barns. Now the negative. We were told to arrive early but the owner was late arriving at the farm so our ride left 40 minutes late. The owner also changed the price of the ride to $140 for a 3 hour ride from the $120 on the website. Her explanation was that the $120 was a different ride and would not honor the quoted price. She had all of our info as far as experience, for at least a month but had made no prior plans as to which horse we would be suited to ride. The riding helmets appeared old and I'm glad I brought my spray Lysol. The saddle was the most uncomfortable one I have ever been on. The ride consisted of way too much time on the road with vehicles flying by. The trails through the woods were incredibly rocky, had many downed trees, and the downhill parts on so many rocks were unnerving and uncomfortable. Up hill wasn't much better. I stressed that I'm a beginner rider, not nervous, but a beginner. THIS WAS NOT A BEGINNER TRAIL RIDE!!! Our guide, though nice, stayed way ahead of the beginners at the back and really had no idea what we were doing so far back there. Thank God one experienced rider in our group stayed back with us! Definitely not an enjoyable ride.

An absolutely terrific, wonderful horseback riding experience! Cannot recommend it highly enough! Beautiful, well-trained, well-cared for horses; guides both days were helpful, took care to understand our riding backgrounds and to tailor the rides to our experience level; the rides had the right combination of education, adventure, and peaceful riding through beautiful countryside. Loved it and expect to return for more. Judy (from Virginia)

I totally agree with the above. We had some nerves about getting back in the saddle again but the guides were very solicitous of this and lead our ride with just the right amount of safety and challenge for us!!!! Fun. Made me wish I was 50 years younger again. Thanks. Beth

When I was in Iceland I fell in love with the Icelandic horse. We were ecstatic to find a place in Vermont that had the Icelandic horse. It was a beautiful, clean farm. The owner, Karen, and her assistants were very careful to make sure that we were well matched with our horse. We enjoyed a mixture of back road and forest trail rides. A meadow photo stop was included. In short, everyone did everything to insure that we will return........AND WE WILL! I hope that I can ride Miss Perla again. Mary (from New Jersey)

Absolutely one of the best experiences!
This had been something I've been wanting to do for ten years. I am so happy the bad reviews did not discourage me. All of my interactions with Karen before arrival were great. I was there for 3 days of riding. I loved getting to ride to different horses each day and also trying different saddles! Found out I love the Astund 2000. My favorite horse was Kulur, a big white gelding from Iceland. All the other guests that week were awesome! I loved learning to tolt on the track even though my particular horse didn't like track and arena work, (and had only been recently started under saddle), she tried very hard for me. Karen let me arrive early and groom the horses. Each horse was very well behaved and were easy to groom and clean hooves. The scenery was amazing, the trails were fun, especially the hemlock forest. I felt very safe on all the horses. Lunches were simple but very good! The grounds were clean and well cared for, b it takes a tremendous amount of work to run such a farm. I would love to come back and ride again! Thank you Karen & crew!

Amazing, that's all I can say. Two beginners and 1 experienced rider (the little one) Staff was so kind, horses so gentle, what a way to spend the afternoon!

A few friends and I went to the Farm last summer.We had gone to Iceland the summer before and were looking for a facility in the US to ride. We all feel in love with the Icelandic Horses when we were in Iceland.

Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm met all of our expectations. We rode for 4 days with a wonderful guide. Wonderful people, great horses and amazing trails.. We have several different abilities of riders in our group and all of us felt comfortable and safe with Kayle as our guide.

I fell so much in love with the horses and the beauty of Vermont I ended my trip buying a beautiful Icelandic Horse.

Awesome been back a couple of time very good place to ride even if you are an amateur.

Helpful, experienced guides will lead you on horseback riding through the beautiful Vermont countryside. The horses are gentle, beautiful, and well behaved. A joy!

We came to the farm on a Saturday without reservation. We were welcome by Karen the owner who told us with a stinky face that with needed it a reservation and I told her that we have 6 more days left in our vacation. Karen open up a book to look if she has any space for us. She told me that was possible on Thursday or Friday. She ask me for my name and number and that she will call me back to confirm, however is Friday already and no one call me. Terrible customer service.

We booked a 3 hour ride for our party of 6; a mix of very experienced and inexperienced riders. The website states that a 3 hour ride is $120 plus tax - we were charged $140 plus tax with no advanced notice of an increase- when questioned, the owner stated that was for a 2 1/2 hour ride, the website is out of date and a few other excuses that made no sense.
I was happy that I brought my own helmet as the ones they provide are basically junk -and look as though they are never cleaned up. Time is fluid - we were instructed to arrive early but spent a good amount of time standing around with no direction from staff who apparently were waiting for the farm owner to arrive.
The location is beautiful, the farm itself is lovely and the staff was friendly. The horses that we rode were well behaved and made everyone feel safe. The majority of the ride was on roads which was not at all what we expected. The trail portions were very rocky and more difficult than I would take novice riders on. The guide spent most of the time at the head of the ride with no idea and seemingly little interest in how the riders were doing- at times we were very spread out - since we had experienced riders in our group we were keeping an eye on those that were inexperienced. With the mix of experience levels I would have expected 2 guides so everyone had an opportunity to ride at their level which would have made for a better ride all around. I would not go back and would be very hesitant to encourage others to go.