Don't Want to Answer Emails on Vacation? Iceland's Tourism Board Hires a "Horse Secretary" to Type for You, With Auto-Replies That Are Surprisingly Sincere
This marketing idea is so funny, it lets you really enjoy being truly “out of office”!
Summary
- Visit Iceland, the Icelandic tourist board, launched a creative service called “Outhorse Your Email” in 2025, letting travelers truly switch off from work on vacation by having Icelandic horses reply to their emails.
- The team specially built an oversized keyboard designed for hooves so the horses could literally step on the keys to type, and users could choose different “equine secretaries,” each with its own typing style.
- Even though most of the replies looked like gibberish, they turned into delightfully funny out‑of‑office auto‑replies.
- To sign up, you just had to enter your name, vacation end date, email address, and a few basic details.
Already abroad on vacation, yet still can’t resist checking your work email? Visit Iceland once launched the highly creative “Outhorse Your Email” service, designed to help travelers truly disconnect from work by having Icelandic horses reply to emails while they’re away. And the horses aren’t just there in name – they really do the “typing” themselves!
Icelandic horses really do stand on a giant keyboard to reply to your emails
Images from / Visit Iceland
To help the horses complete their task, the team built a giant keyboard for the Icelandic horses to stand on, using their hooves to type one letter at a time. Most of the resulting text is an incomprehensible string of gibberish, yet it feels oddly fitting – and funny – as a dead-serious out-of-office auto-reply.
You can even choose your own “horse secretary”
Images from / Visit Iceland
Even more fun, travelers can choose their own “horse secretary” from a selection of Icelandic horses, including the nimble Litla Stjarna, the confident Hrímnir, and the friendly Hekla. Each horse has its own “typing style,” giving the otherwise cookie-cutter vacation auto-reply a little more personality.
Leave the work to the horses and focus on your vacation!
Images from / Visit Iceland
Just enter basic details such as your name, the date your vacation ends, and your email address to create a personalized auto-reply. Instead of flying all the way to Iceland, only to secretly deal with work messages while taking in waterfalls and soaking in hot springs, why not leave your inbox with the Icelandic horses for a while and enjoy a real “Out of Office” break?
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