Those of you that ride on the beach/in the sea

[Stenners]

Those of you that take your horses to the beach....do you ever have a spare saddle you take? I went a few times last summer but the salt water just ruined my saddle! I have a new saddle and want to go to the beach but really don't want it to be ruined!!

 

[ponynutz]

I tended to never go in deep enough to get my saddle wet, I'd gallop along the shallow bit. If I did I took my saddle off for 10 minutes and went in bareback!

 

[Peglo]

I have a plastic saddle and fabric girth so it makes no difference to them. My leather boots were another matter but they actually cleaned up fine. I wouldn’t want to go in with a new expensive saddle right enough.

 

[AmyMay]

Just remove the saddle???

 

[GoldenWillow]

I ride on the beach and take pony paddling in the sea a lot and have never had any problems. We also use a leather girth. When we get back any sand or water that's on any leather gets hosed off, I hose rather than clean with a sponge so that there is no rubbing the sand against the leather. Hth, there is nothing better than riding on the beach.

Eta, current saddle will be 4yrs old and was expensive, or expensive to me and has no marks, girth which is sane age and takes the brunt of the water and sand is the same.

 

[Stenners]

Just remove the saddle???

I haven't yet ever ridden her bareback!

 

[Stenners]

I tended to never go in deep enough to get my saddle wet, I'd gallop along the shallow bit. If I did I took my saddle off for 10 minutes and went in bareback!

She does quite like to go in belly deep!

 

[Chiffy]

My family have a farm right on the sea front. Shore riding is a very regular occurrence all year round. They don’t go in deep enough for the water to reach the saddle even on the ponies but they do canter/ gallop along the shallows. Tack is very regularly cleaned and has never been a problem.

 

[irishdraft]

I think Wintec saddles were first designed for this very thing, race horses in Australia going into the sea. So a Wintec should do the job x

 

[JBM]

Waterproof ride on saddle cover?

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

I don't now but I lived right by the beach in Norfolk and often rode on the beach - always used a synthetic saddle for that. Or if really good summer weather and the right horse, bareback with a cossie on so we could swim properly. Happy memories, I miss the sea.

 

[fidleyspromise]

I go in belly deep a few times a year but my saddle seems fine.
Not sure I'd want to with a brand new saddle just in case - I'd look at a synthetic for beach times.

 

[GoldenWillow]

I don't go in any further than belly deep but if I was wanting to go in deep, deep, to the point of submerging my saddle I'd either go bareback or more likely these days use a bareback pad. Used to go fully in as a kid and can remember how slippy they are!

 

[nikkimariet]

Don’t go in deep enough to get my saddle wet, no interest in getting covered saltwater as I hate how it feels on my skin let alone anything else!

 

[Stenners]

Waterproof ride on saddle cover?

Was thinking this!

 

[sbloom]

A good coating of a waxy conditioner should protect saddles from spashes, bareback would definitely be the better option for getting in deeper than getting a synthetic that almost certainly won't fit as well as what you have (general advice). And yes, rinse off asap to get rid of salt marks.

 

[monte1]

When we took my horse to the beach a couple of years ago, we rode first at the shoreline and used our saddles, but only paddling in the sea and had a good gallop, then changed clothes to swim the horses, removed saddle and used an old bridle, put on a nice big saddle pad and my lunging roller to keep it in place, added a neck strap and went right in to go swimming, it was just brilliant, horse had never been before but was an angel all morning and loved it- still one of my very fondest memories