Regular beach riding...

S

SarahF

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 December 2013
Messages
283
Location
The Gambia
Visit site
Does anyone do the majority of their riding on a beach (or similar surface?)

Just looking for tips, warnings, advice etc as I'm planning to do most of my riding on the beach when I finally buy a horse next year...
Thanks :)
 
Jellyfish, strong tides, sudden depths, quicksand, sea snakes, sharks, broken glass or sharp rocks/shells, etc.

Also, do you have permission to ride on the beach?
 
Sharks??!! Well we're not planning on swimming (I can't swim so we won't be going on the sea pat out ankles lol!)
Yeh it's quite relaxed here, and unless your horse is working on the beach you don't need a permit :)
 
Sand is quite hard on their tendons and ligaments when dry as it's a pretty unstable surface- think about walking through dry sand yourself, and you'll understand. Wet sand is great though - and beaches are great fun to ride on!
 
Thanks Auslander - yeh we won't be doing much in the dry sand. It's hard work even for us!
I'm kid of re-learning to ride (or rather balance lol) again after many years out (before I buy) and all my riding at the moment is on a hired beach horse.
I'm just thinking ahead whether it's suitable terrain for constant riding as there aren't many other places where I am!
 
Good to know the tide times, I can hack to the beach from the yard and nothing worse than when you get there and the tides in! Also look out for holes etc, the beach near me is really popular for tourists so theres always sand castles with moats leading to the sea that are just looking to be tripped up in:rolleyes:
 
We are lucky to be able to ride on beaches. Just have access to the tide tables and look for usual rubbish that people and the tide leave behind. We have ridden on beaches for years we use them to school on especially youngsters. Never had a mishap yet. The water is fantastic for getting the white socks clean. Just be aware of any loose dogs and kids!!!
 
Yeh we are lucky to have beaches to ride on - I just wanted to check it was healthy to do so more than once in a while.
I've already saved a tide tracker site on my phone, which is useful as there are tourists here too so if the tide is far out I'll have more room to avoid them (we almost got tangled in an invisible kite the other day!)
Also there are plenty of dogs at the beach (I call them the beach boys) They are used to the horses already so they shouldn't be trouble I hope!
 
Last edited:
I used to ride a lot at the beach, when you get your horse make sure it is ok with water though! Mine used to spook at water which made things... interesting. There's monsters lurking in those puddles! You'd think after so much time down there he'd get used to it, but nope.

The sand where we were never really seemed to get dry, was always wet. Made for a great temporary arena (my stables had no facilities), would just walk out an area and take it from there.

Having said that, do be careful. I had to get riders help/find their horses/call ambulances more often than I would have liked...
 
Yes i ride on the beach twice a week in the winter, ride on the tide line and always check where you are cantering first, as others have said it isnt always a stable surface, however I canter reasonably fast as a fitness ride and have never had a problem in 10 years. enjoy !!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top