Going on Vacation? Let an Icelandic Horse Type Your OOO E-mail

A study found that 45 percent of Americans check their work email on vacation

By
Laura Ratliff
Laura Ratliff
Laura Ratliff
Senior Editorial Director
Laura Ratliff is TripSavvy’s senior editorial director. She joined the TripSavvy team in April 2019 after spending two years as a freelance travel writer and editor, where she spent more than 200,000 miles on a plane each year. 
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Published on 05/20/22
Fact checked by
Jillian Dara
Jillian Dara
Fact checked by Jillian Dara
Emerson College
Jillian Dara is a freelance journalist and fact-checker. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today, Michelin Guides, Hemispheres, DuJour, and Forbes.
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Icelandic hrose on keyboard

Courtesy of Visit Iceland

Heading out of the office for a few days? Don’t forget to set up your auto-reply—but why not let a horse write it for you?

It might sound a little wacky, but as part of its OutHorse Your Email service, Visit Iceland trained three of the island’s namesake horses to put their hooves to the test on a giant keyboard, trotting out custom out-of-office email replies and giving workers the freedom to disconnect and enjoy their vacation—preferably in Iceland—worry-free.

The inspiration behind the clever campaign came from a recent study conducted by Visit Iceland that found that 45 percent of Americans check their work emails while they’re on vacation, and 16 percent check work emails upwards of five times per day.

"When visitors travel to Iceland, we want them to fully experience everything our nation has to offer, from breathtaking surroundings to endless landscapes and friendly faces," said Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, the head of Visit Iceland in a press release. Our OutHorse Your Email service lets them do just that, taking away the pressure of feeling as if they have to be always on and instead allowing them to be present throughout their trip."

The horses, a unique breed native to the country, can craft clever OOO responses such as "Qwsdcfrtgb fdfg jhlsajf vdpföð lkdsjahg bksdð adæfbnaqerbvui<  i98oimdJVJ <0IÐ KVWE krjgi1ÆIÆ qwiik+ð‘h as whbl ppppppppppp lh." Who wouldn't feel more relaxed knowing that a four-legged professional was handling your office matters?

"Our talented horses took naturally to the OutHorse Your Email service, tölting and galloping their way across the fields and creating a range of unique emails that will help holidaymakers enjoy their trip without any interruptions," said Jelena Ohm, the project manager of Horses of Iceland. "From curiosity, intelligence, and independence, our horses are special for many reasons, and so now we can add email responders too."

Want your own horse-written OOO reply? You can head to Visit Iceland's OutHorse Your Email site.