When I lived on the coast, we rode on the beach as much as possible. It’s wonderful and I highly recommend. We would go to beaches that permitted horses, of course, which was during the off season. We also went to areas with few people. I think if you do all of those things, no one will be bothered. We never had issues.
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Well in the ocean things wash away every day. In lakes things don’t.
I live in a city with ocean beaches and the swimming beaches are no horses or no horses April to October. There are non swimming beaches you can ride on but these are basically more mud flats and some have sinkholes.
Even on our swimming beaches we have a lot of rocks with barnacles. I think the fantasy beach ride like the fantasy vacation is a stretch of sand like a groomed arena, no rocks, no broken bottles, no rogue waves. Most beaches are not like this.
Scribbler-- Long Beach in WA has that fantasy beach-- 19 miles of wide open sand, with multiple access points, campgrounds and house rentals with stabling. Granted, in the summer months, it’s packed with people and cars (I hate that you can drive on it, but it’s big enough for everyone to enjoy).
We ride on river beaches here in the Portland/Vancouver area-- the Columbia has some good ones, right in my town there’s miles of dike and beach access year round. Ocean beach riding is very common, with horse camping available in Oregon (Nehalem Bay!) As far as lake beach, if you were off season and maybe dismounted to bury poop, that might be far more acceptable for users to tolerate.
I’m living for these pictures!
I have gone swimming on a horse but it wasn’t at a body of water with a beach you could ride the shores. Snake loves that!
I don’t know if I’d swim in NY because of how the sand bars are. You go in and there’s usually a good drop once you go in past the shore that gets kinda deep. Then you get to the sandbar that’s usually pretty shallow. I for sure wouldn’t swim in any tack except a bridle in any body of water. I’d be scared of something happening.
The area of Lake Erie that I’d ride is mostly what used to be cottages and they’re not lake front in the sense of being right on the beach. They are set back and you take stairs to get to the beach. So hopefully it wouldn’t be all that disruptive. Especially in cooler weather.
I truly don’t want to be disrespectful to anyone or be too much of a bother. So all the insights are great!
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To me it all depends on the beach.
I live right next to my old boarding barn, and 3/4 mile from the ocean with a smallish beach of about 1/2 mile long that’s very nice for riding on. But only in certain conditions: low tide (wider firm sand), fewer surfers (as it turns out they dislike poop balls in the water), and overcast or cooler weather (the beach gets crowded in warm weather and everyone brings DOGS - this is a leashed beach but the majority ignore the law and their dogs lose their damn minds at the sight of a horse every time)
We used to always go back and pick up poop but I recall one dog owner chasing after us and demanding we pick up, despite her dog being off leash… yeah lady…
I also take walks on foot down to the beach now (tho my horse moved inland to a new boarding place) and am disappointed that riders going to the beach aren’t kicking the poops to the side of the path and street sidewalks on the way there all the time.
There’s another beach north of us that’s much longer (4 miles roughly) that’s a trailer ride away. Much more space, fewer people, and anything deposited on the beach at low tide is gone in a few hours. I’d be comfortable leaving a poop there.
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I’m totally going to tease her and say this should really be part of the package. It’s a memory making experience for all! I could get her a picture frame that says “Spreading joy and manure.”
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Around here, beaches are closed to horses in the summer but from Labor day to Memorial day, it’s a blast. Not to swim, really (we have ponds for that 
) but to just ride on good footing in the winter time, packed sand is the best. A bit chilly, yes, horses a bit frisky, but such a blast.
In my avatar I am riding my mare on a nearby Maine beach.
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Get him a beach bike with a trailer and a poop picker.
As to my position on the debate, to me this looks like heaven:
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I have been there a couple times and have had a blast! Hope to go again with the current horse at some point as he loves to swim. Have to say I never thought about the poop beyond cleaning where the trailer was parked…
I have also ridden on the beach during a couple different vacations.
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SO MUCH FUN!! Thanks for shaing your pictures.
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how could you not want to ride on the beach…!
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All of the beaches nearby that we can ride are either beaches where there aren’t any people other than maybe a hiker or two or are only open in winter for horses so it’s not an issue. I wouldn’t want to ride the popular beaches here during the summer anyway- it’s too hot and there’s too many people to even move
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Gorgeous pictures!!! What fun!!! It’s definitely moved up some numbers on the ol’ bucket list!!! (Especially the poster with the Fjord. On a beach. You’re living my dream life. 
I’ve always wanted a Fjord. They’re such cute horses, like small sized drafts and I hear in general they have lovely temperaments, perfect for first time ammie owners.)
Riding on a crowded beach…I can only think of gaggles of excited kids screeching “Pony! Pony! Horsie! Horsie!” and running up to the riders. And possibly horses spooking at the sudden rush and being surrounded by excited noisy ankle biters. Maybe running a few over.
So even if I was allowed, I think I’d steer clear of the crowded beaches full of people.
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Yes, been there done that, on my young, fresh off the track Tb mare. On top of that, little kids on Maine beaches in the winter wear ski pants…lots of noise those make, when the little ones run…!!!
And dogs off leash who decide to charge at the horses, barking…and risk getting kicked or trampled etc.
Not fun, but you just have to be aware and handle things!
There’s an upside to those excited children. As a teen, I’d ride to a popular park and charge a quarter for “pony rides.” 
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Well, obviously Feronia and I have been to the beach, given my avatar. That photo was taken the first time.
She wasn’t a fan - toooooo much water, and it moves. I did a few more rides on the beach with her before deciding it was just too stressful for both of us. The only time she kept it together was when the horse we were with was even more upset, and well, you give her a job - in this case taking care of another horse- and she treats it very seriously and keeps her brains in her head.
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I’m all for it. I’ve done it in England and several times on the Canuck side of Lake Erie. There is nothing like it.
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A different point of view. I’m not a huge beach fan anyway, but riding a horse on the beach involves sticky salt water, sand in places it should not go, getting soaking wet, dodging round unexpected soft patches and buried hazards and then a lot of time cleaning everything up with fresh water afterwards. The horses often do enjoy it, though.
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Pretty sure the OP is talking about Lake Erie. Giant lake. Fresh water. Safe footing. Nothing to clean but sand and that brushes off once everything has dried out.
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Indeed, initially it was a lake but the discussion expanded to include sea shores.
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