I wouldn’t swim a horse in salt water. Too sticky.
But in lakes and ponds, it’s fun!
The beach for us was the nicest footing around in winter, not having access to an indoor, so that is why we went. Basically went there to work on the flat, but couldn’t resist galloping the length of the beach at low tide, my mare jumping all the little rivulets on the way 
I will not ride a horse at speed in deep sand.
Um… where is that because I need to be there!? 
Many years ago, when I still lived in England, a group from the yard I boarded at went off to the beach for the day. I was working and couldn’t go. I was so jealous.
They had a wonderful time galloping along, jumping the breakwaters, until they hit a bad patch --a hole washed out behind one of the breakwaters, if I remember rightly. One rider ended up seriously injured with a broken shoulder, another broke a leg, one horse tore a suspensory so badly I never saw it ridden again, and another horse suffered some other kind of gory leg injury.
I went right off the whole idea at that point.
Atr, there is truth to that. “Our” beach changes after every storm, even if it’s an offshore storm. Prudent riders stay where they can see clearly and walk or trot a section before cantering/galloping. Not to say that I have always been prudent! But within the tide margin the sand is pretty even
It is lovely to be able to ride in a straight line in the middle of an icy winter, and the beach allows for that. It’s also a great place to practice figures because you can see whether your circles are really round and if you hold the diagonal when doing lateral work. And sometimes it’s just fun to let your OTTB gallop 
Many things I haven’t thought of- both good and bad- being mentioned here. Like the beach changing after a storm so you always have to be aware of your footing before letting loose with a nice gallop and the advantages of the beach, like a freshly dragged arena, let you see exactly where hooves have been and how you did vs how you think you did. (I’m bad about stuff like that- I figure that’s why I pay my trainer for, to tell me what I did right/ wrong😂. But then I don’t compete etc. I just ride for fun so I’m not concerned with how fast I progress. Though Trainer would probably be more happy if I was more focused/ serious. On the up side I’m also a good guinea pig because I’m game for anything from pole bending to groundwork.)
I went once and that was enough. Yeah, it’s fun for about an hour and then I’m bored with the scenery, it doesn’t change.
Isn’t it stone footing, like cobblestone?
Miles and miles of fine sand on the Canuck side The worst thing about Lake Erie beaches is that the sand can get so unbearably hot during summer that despite wanting to feel it between your toes, you wear sandals from your umbrella to the water’s edge.
Worst thing about riding it in the off season is potential for sand in horse’s eyes on a windy day - it’s so fine that it gets picked up in the spray from a brisk trot. BTDT and got the corneal ulcer vet bill as a souvenir.
i boarded a GGP and rode down into Ocean Beach once or twice a week. It was great.
That was how I felt when I went on a riding vacation that included 2 days of 4-5 hours riding at the beach. I really enjoyed riding on the trails through the dunes - a lot of variety there to ride through (up and down and curves) and visually. But when we’d switch to the beach and canter at the water’s edge it was great the first or second time but then I got pretty tired of it mentally and physically!
We can ride to the beach from my barn, and we go as a brain break from training or for a swim if it’s really hot and the bugs aren’t bad. Otherwise I agree, it gets old and isn’t something I’d do every day, heck even every week. It’s a fun novelty though and definitely fun to do if you never have!
the thing i don’t like about riding in the surf is i get so dizzy if i look down. Or even just a little bit ahead. In order to feel ‘firm’ really have to gaze far or into the sand (which is what i generally needed to do because: dogs).
Yes, I get the same!!
A veterinarian friend who rides on the beach has a theory that horses get disoriented too, but by the sand being sucked out from under their feet by a receding wave. Their proprioception gets messed up. Interesting idea.
i always felt my mare also got frizzy about the waves pulling back out. Not when we galloped, just mostly when we walked right on the wet, receding wave edge. Now…when I walk, me, my feet on the sand…i don’t get dizzy.
I wish we could know whether they do or not.
I didn’t read this thread. I moved to Maine in 1995 and lived 5 minutes from the beach. Now It’s about 20 minutes. It was a long-standing topic of discussion at town council when I arrived and continues unabated. I’ve done some beach riding, my horse has done more. There were a few barns that did public beach rides but it disapppeared years ago - insurance.
We have 10 foot tides so there is a very wide swatth of wet sand at low tide that is great for riding. This is in the southern part of the state. The granite and spruce trees take over and beaches of any size are hard to find.
You used to be able to beach ride anytime. Then there were specified times of the day, then months, when you could ride. Then you had to register with the town, and a fee came on the scene. Then you had to carry the permit. That turned into a permit displayed on your clothing. Here’s part of a current town ordinance:
“Effective October 1, 2018, the owner, operator or drive of horses, or
horse-drawn carriages operating on the beach shall be required to attach a
containment device to the rear of each and every horse so operated, to be maintained
and emptied so that manure is completely contained therein, cannot and does not fall
upon any surface while operating under the Permit provided for herein, and is carried
away for proper disposal.”
This helps keep the infection rate down because so much poop is dropped in the intertidal area. Otherwise it will pollute the ocean water.when it is washed away by the waves.
There are beaches where riding is not prohibited, but you are at the mercy of the neighbors. Plus you have to find a place to park the trailer
And lest you think that this isn’t a big deal, note the ppossible fines and jail time the state establsihed.
Maine: §3853-A. Public beaches and shores
The municipal officers in any municipality wherein a public beach, shore or bank exists may grant a permit to persons to allow horses, cattle, sheep, swine, motor vehicles or motor driven cycles to enter upon such beach, shore or bank at the times designated on such permit. Anyone willfully permitting cattle, horses, sheep, swine, motor vehicles or motor driven cycles to enter upon such public beach, shore or bank without such permit shall be guilty of trespass and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $20 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or by both.
No more than 20 bucks for a fine but the possibility of 30 days in the slammer? Interesting.
I remember this photo on the internet. Third one down;https://www.reshareworthy.com/tim-hartson-captures-unbelievable-horse-photo/
I had a wonderful time as a young person riding on the beach. It was great fun.
Riding a horse on the beach and taking them in the water is also on my bucket list. I recently went to Barbados where as part of the thoroughbreds race training, they walk them across the street from the track to the ocean and take them for a swim. It was really cool to see them literally just swim out and back with the horses (not on them) as their form of aqua therapy. Others just walked around in chest-deep water as part of injury rehab.
But in answer to OP’s question - how many people are really going to be on the beach in Upstate NY in October to be bothered by horse poop? I’m in Rochester and its currently 55 and raining…it won’t be better beach weather next month.
I can testify to that.
The first time I took my mare into the lapping waves and let her look down, I thought she was going to fall down, she started backing up and stumbling around drunkenly. I had to keep her head up and keep moving alongside the water at a good clip (it’s too cold to go into the ocean in the winter, in Maine, anyway, haha).
Also, she almost had a hard attack when she realized the sand CHANGED COLOR when she stepped on it. I felt like I was on a merry go round ride, boinking around like the sand was lava, until she realized it was, well, ok.
I miss that little mare 
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