Icelandic horse that only wants to tölt

There are several ways to approach this. Many Icelandic horses will trot if you give a slightly longer rein and lighten your seat a little. Dropping all contact like this is something of a shortcut, though. A well-schooled Icelandic horse trots at its very best on a good contact, and the bigger difference in how you signal comes down to how you use your seat. If you can get to a riding lesson with a good Icelandic horse instructor near you, I warmly recommend it 😊