Horseback riding on the beach

[Anonymous]

Is it worth it? We will be going to Sea island and the resort we are staying at offers beach rides. Approx $290 for two people. For a 2 mile ride, basically walking. No trotting or anything. Around 1.5hrs.

It sounds like it could be fun but I also don't want to spend $300 for a mediocre experience. Any thoughts? DH is happy to go if I want but not something he would pick on his own. Is it worth it or is there something else in the area we can better spend that money?

[Anonymous]

I did it in Costa Rica and it was pretty cool except the horses clearly weren't in very good shape so we felt bad about it. We have been riding before in places where the horses just seemed healtheir and well cared for. Theses were not. Now we try to get more info about a stable before riding.

[Anonymous]

We did it in Costa Rica too. Part beach and part hills. It was worth it but part of fun was riding through the trees and seeing the monkeys. The beach part was relatively tame in comparison, but beautiful.

[Anonymous]

A 2 mile ride isn't going to take you 90 minutes.

While mounted, a horse is going to walk a little faster than a person walking at a normal/decent pace. 2 miles is 30 minutes, tops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A 2 mile ride isn't going to take you 90 minutes.

While mounted, a horse is going to walk a little faster than a person walking at a normal/decent pace. 2 miles is 30 minutes, tops.

It's just what the website says I'm sure they are allowing time for stopping, getting set up and so on...

[Anonymous]

Hmm the Costa Rica trips sound fun. But now I'm thinking that the experience probably won't be close in Georgia

[Anonymous]

I did the Sea Island beach horse back riding with my 3 daughters (ages 10-16) about 4 years ago. Absolutely amazing experience for us. I think it’s one of my favorite memories ever. (My 10 year old had never been on a horse before and did fine)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did the Sea Island beach horse back riding with my 3 daughters (ages 10-16) about 4 years ago. Absolutely amazing experience for us. I think it’s one of my favorite memories ever. (My 10 year old had never been on a horse before and did fine)

Encouraging to hear! Would you have enjoyed it without kids you think?

Any other activities we should look out for? We are staying at the clositers

[Anonymous]

Rip off. Totally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did the Sea Island beach horse back riding with my 3 daughters (ages 10-16) about 4 years ago. Absolutely amazing experience for us. I think it’s one of my favorite memories ever. (My 10 year old had never been on a horse before and did fine)

Encouraging to hear! Would you have enjoyed it without kids you think?

Any other activities we should look out for? We are staying at the clositers

The Cloister is one of my favorite resorts in the world. We went when I was growing up, and we’ve taken our own kids there.

When are you going? Summer is prime for most activities, but the beach is gorgeous - and timeless - all year round. Look for sand dollars on the beach early in the morning!

[Anonymous]

As a horsey person, I hate that this is a thing. It is a way to make money off people who don't know anything about horses, but it is terrible for the horses themselves.

Riding a horse on deep sand is horrific for the horse's legs. This is NOT the same as riding in a carefully manicured arena that uses shallow sand. Deep sand causes the horse's fetlocks to move in ways they wouldn't normally move, and forcing a horse to do this every day for hours is going to cause injuries. Especially if the horse is "ridden" by people who are inexperienced riders, and will be sawing at the horse's mouth and shifting their weight all over the place as they attempt to balance themselves. The horses used for these tourist trap money pits will be placid, older animals that are gentle enough to take daily the daily abuse of trudging through deep beach sand while carrying inexperienced riders, and it will break the horses down quickly. Nobody cares about the horses themselves: they will forced to keep going when they develop wind puffs and other injuries, and discarded when they finally succumb to the inevitable, more serious injury.

And all the while, the tourists are thinking about how "romantic" it is to be riding a horse on the beach.

I've seen various such horses/riders on various beaches, and I can always see the results on the horses' legs (which are NOT apparent to people who don't know horses: to you, everything looks fine).

I hate the owners of these horrible enterprises. If you care about horses, do NOT do this kind of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did it in Costa Rica and it was pretty cool except the horses clearly weren't in very good shape so we felt bad about it. We have been riding before in places where the horses just seemed healtheir and well cared for. Theses were not. Now we try to get more info about a stable before riding.

See my previous comment on the effects of riding horses in deep beach sand.

You were right: the horses WERE NOT in very good shape. They were probably sore and uncomfortable as well, and most likely given meds to get more time/profit out of them before they had to be discarded for the next exploited money-making nag.

Don't do this again. Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did it in Costa Rica and it was pretty cool except the horses clearly weren't in very good shape so we felt bad about it. We have been riding before in places where the horses just seemed healtheir and well cared for. Theses were not. Now we try to get more info about a stable before riding.

try walking on the sand with someone on your back. poor horses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did the Sea Island beach horse back riding with my 3 daughters (ages 10-16) about 4 years ago. Absolutely amazing experience for us. I think it’s one of my favorite memories ever. (My 10 year old had never been on a horse before and did fine)

Encouraging to hear! Would you have enjoyed it without kids you think?

Any other activities we should look out for? We are staying at the clositers

The Cloister is one of my favorite resorts in the world. We went when I was growing up, and we’ve taken our own kids there.

When are you going? Summer is prime for most activities, but the beach is gorgeous - and timeless - all year round. Look for sand dollars on the beach early in the morning!

We are actually going this month! Any recommendations in terms of restaurants? Have you been to the spa there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a horsey person, I hate that this is a thing. It is a way to make money off people who don't know anything about horses, but it is terrible for the horses themselves.

Riding a horse on deep sand is horrific for the horse's legs. This is NOT the same as riding in a carefully manicured arena that uses shallow sand. Deep sand causes the horse's fetlocks to move in ways they wouldn't normally move, and forcing a horse to do this every day for hours is going to cause injuries. Especially if the horse is "ridden" by people who are inexperienced riders, and will be sawing at the horse's mouth and shifting their weight all over the place as they attempt to balance themselves. The horses used for these tourist trap money pits will be placid, older animals that are gentle enough to take daily the daily abuse of trudging through deep beach sand while carrying inexperienced riders, and it will break the horses down quickly. Nobody cares about the horses themselves: they will forced to keep going when they develop wind puffs and other injuries, and discarded when they finally succumb to the inevitable, more serious injury.

And all the while, the tourists are thinking about how "romantic" it is to be riding a horse on the beach.

I've seen various such horses/riders on various beaches, and I can always see the results on the horses' legs (which are NOT apparent to people who don't know horses: to you, everything looks fine).

I hate the owners of these horrible enterprises. If you care about horses, do NOT do this kind of thing.

Well. That shut that down pretty quick.