At 08:50:31 on 12.08.11, Flicka wrote:
One of the to do's on my wish list is to take my horse to a really good beach like Holkham but I always remember my friend saying that you have to be really careful taking horses into deep water because once they start swimming, if they're heading out to sea, they won't turn, and keep going. Unfortunately this happened with a horse the other day after the rider had fallen off. Has anyone ridden their horse in the sea and have you got any advice on doing it safely?
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/872013-horse-left-in-stable-condition-after-swimming-out-to-sea

At 09:28:11 on 12.08.11, Em28 wrote:
Ive never heard of this before, hadnt really considered it. Must have been terrifying for his owner so glad he was rescued. In the film Into The West, set in Ireland that's what happens at the end. Have to say that is one of my favourite films, I could watch it over and over.

At 11:48:43 on 12.08.11, Dazzle wrote:
Quite a few years ago this happend to my cousin. She took her youngster to the beach and he loved the water so much that he took off in a straight line towards Denmark. When she realised they were in trouble she knotted the reins and jumped off. The local inshore lifeboat was called out to rescue him. Thinking this would never happen again she took him back to the beach a month later and exactly the same thing happend. It not only made the local news but the national news too. She eventually sold him to someone in the Oxford area as she thought that was far enough away from the sea for it to be a problem!

At 20:50:01 on 13.08.11, bee20 wrote:
I have been warned to be careful in the sea because horses can't turn. I don't need to worry with mine as she's not very keen on going in it but would never go deeper than knee height. Hope to go to the beach next week. If anyone gets the chance to go, it really is worth it, such an exhilarating experience in and out of the water. Wonderful for cleaning horses feet as well.

At 01:38:52 on 14.08.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I have been in the sea on horses before but not on grenville (the waves TERRIFY him) but when we do, we don't go past knee level (horses knees not ours) and we don't ride out to sea, we go out diagonally so we are still riding along the beach but in the sea then straighten off when we are out as far as we feel is safe, also be careful your horse doesn't roll on you in the sea... You and your horse get soaked and your tack ruined lol, oh and be careful of big waves, if the sea is rough don't risk it my friend was riding her horse (she was about 15 at the time she is in her 20s now) and they weren't very far out but a wave came and hit sammy and he fell over and they were both under for about a minute before they both re appeared (she didn't fall) but they are both lucky to be here now! So only go when it is safe and check the tides before you go and keep an eye on the time so you don't get stranded by the tide turning or arive to see no beach available

At 11:10:04 on 18.08.11, Part Arab wrote:
The last time I rode Sienna to the beach (leaving Piper at home) she really acted up :/ Actually riding on the beach towards the water's edge felt like I was pushing S%*t uphill - not my idea of a fun ride at all. The old girl even put in a few sharp bucks in response to me urging her forward towards the water. I don't know if we were going into the wind or what but she canter/skittered sideways for about 3 kms on the dunes, again not very relaxing :P She wasn't interested in her apple or resting before we went homeward and she set off at a snappy little trot all ears forward in alertness. She's like "Muuuuuum, I wanna go back to my friend!!!!"

At 07:59:08 on 31.08.11, Flicka wrote:
I've also found my horses aren't keen on going in the sea, it's the waves breaking on the sand that scares them-something that moves!! Which makes it seem strange that a horse that has thrown it's rider would seek to escape by swimming out to sea. However another horse has just done exactly that. This one was in Wales and was obviously on it's way to Ireland-probably better than Ryan Air lol
http://tinyurl.com/3eka5m9

At 12:49:40 on 31.08.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I think it is odd too, unless it is just fear but acted out differently, grenville gets there and plants or spins away trying to go the other way, but maybe these horses see it as the sooner we get to the other side the better and bolt into the see after losing sense of where they are? Like when some horses don't like jumping so the bolt into it and over it and people are like awww they love jumping they are very strong but really the horse hates it. I don't know, i know horses that love the sea and they are calm when they are in the sea they dont swim out to sea as fast as possible and they dont bolt back away from the sea

At 04:45:27 on 01.09.11, Wngdwolf wrote:
When I first started reading these posts, I thought it was a load of rubbish about horses heading out and not turning back, but now you all have me convinced. What Bee20 wrote about horses not being able to turn makes sense, because it doesn't make any kind of sense that they'd just head out and never make an effort to turn back. Unless horses just get mesmerized or something..... wow - thanks for sharing your stories! I learned something today! I live near the sea, and have never had a chance to ride on the beach (been here only a few years). I love the sea, and I love snorkeling and have done a little SCUBA diving. I can't imagine how terrifyng it would be to get in trouble with a horse in the sea.

At 04:30:49 on 13.09.11, Adimarie1997 wrote:
Actually if the Greek mythology is correct the horses were made by Posiden who is the ruler of the sea and he created them. Meaning they were born in water therefore they love the ocean more then we can explain.