It's been one of my dreams since childhood to go for a ride on the beach on my own horse. And on Monday evening it happened 
I went with one of our liveries, Anna, with her 4-year-old gelding Elton, and our friend Cindy (yes that is her real name!) who rides on her local beach regularly and had a nice sensible horse to accompany us. Annie and Elton had never been on a beach before so we thought it would be handy to have a guide horse who was used to it - I can't say I anticipated trouble with Annie as she's so good with new situations, but Elton is quite skittish and hasn't hacked much and we didn't know how he'd react.
We parked about 2mins away from the beach, tacked up and then rode down to meet Anna's OH who had come to watch. Annie was as chilled out as she usually is in a new place, although she did get very alert and looky once we were on the beach and she had spotted the sea! She has always made a big fuss about getting her feet wet and can be very awkward about stepping in even a few centimetres of water - we do not walk in puddles she says, we JUMP them, and the same goes for wet patches in the school, or a bit of water crossing the road on a hack, it is all very scary and we must avoid it at all costs So I have to admit I was more than a little surprised - and absolutely delighted! - when it took just a few minutes to coax her into the sea behind Cindy's horse. She was really unsure about the water coming towards her feet, so we did some really superb rein-back and halfpass and a couple of big jumps sideways when she accidentally got close enough for it to splash her but curiosity got the better of her as it usually does, and as soon as I'd persuaded her to get a foot wet that was it - she was in! I was so pleased!
Elton didn't take much longer and once all 3 horses were in we started making our way along the beach. We stayed for almost an hour and went up and down several times, just taking it nice and steady and giving Elton a chance to take everything in, with lots of long controlled trots to help him settle. Annie of course adapted to the new experience almost immediately and was a complete star, because, well, she's just like that She went along on a loose rein like usual and I rode most of the time one-handed as I was taking lots of photos and video clips. When we were ready to leave we finished up with a canter about half way along the beach - Cindy rode next to Elton to set a sensible pace, and I kept Annie at the back and at a bit of a distance so that Elton wouldn't interpret it as a race. She was perfectly happy to stay at the back, bouncing along in her usual lovely rhythm and not at all concerned about being "left behind". She even went back into the sea all on her own
Another thing to tick off the bucket list!. I had a lovely time and am so proud and pleased with Annie for how beautifully behaved she was. I have been on beach rides before with riding schools but an organised hack on a strange horse is nowhere near the same as doing it on one who's special to you. I'm sure I would have loved it even if she'd been an idiot but the fact that she was so fantastic made it 10 times better. Dream come true, the most magical therapy and it couldn't have come at a better time.
I went with one of our liveries, Anna, with her 4-year-old gelding Elton, and our friend Cindy (yes that is her real name!) who rides on her local beach regularly and had a nice sensible horse to accompany us. Annie and Elton had never been on a beach before so we thought it would be handy to have a guide horse who was used to it - I can't say I anticipated trouble with Annie as she's so good with new situations, but Elton is quite skittish and hasn't hacked much and we didn't know how he'd react.
We parked about 2mins away from the beach, tacked up and then rode down to meet Anna's OH who had come to watch. Annie was as chilled out as she usually is in a new place, although she did get very alert and looky once we were on the beach and she had spotted the sea! She has always made a big fuss about getting her feet wet and can be very awkward about stepping in even a few centimetres of water - we do not walk in puddles she says, we JUMP them, and the same goes for wet patches in the school, or a bit of water crossing the road on a hack, it is all very scary and we must avoid it at all costs
So I have to admit I was more than a little surprised - and absolutely delighted! - when it took just a few minutes to coax her into the sea behind Cindy's horse. She was really unsure about the water coming towards her feet, so we did some really superb rein-back and halfpass and a couple of big jumps sideways when she accidentally got close enough for it to splash her but curiosity got the better of her as it usually does, and as soon as I'd persuaded her to get a foot wet that was it - she was in! I was so pleased!Elton didn't take much longer and once all 3 horses were in we started making our way along the beach. We stayed for almost an hour and went up and down several times, just taking it nice and steady and giving Elton a chance to take everything in, with lots of long controlled trots to help him settle. Annie of course adapted to the new experience almost immediately and was a complete star, because, well, she's just like that
She went along on a loose rein like usual and I rode most of the time one-handed as I was taking lots of photos and video clips. When we were ready to leave we finished up with a canter about half way along the beach - Cindy rode next to Elton to set a sensible pace, and I kept Annie at the back and at a bit of a distance so that Elton wouldn't interpret it as a race. She was perfectly happy to stay at the back, bouncing along in her usual lovely rhythm and not at all concerned about being "left behind". She even went back into the sea all on her own Another thing to tick off the bucket list!. I had a lovely time and am so proud and pleased with Annie for how beautifully behaved she was. I have been on beach rides before with riding schools but an organised hack on a strange horse is nowhere near the same as doing it on one who's special to you. I'm sure I would have loved it even if she'd been an idiot but the fact that she was so fantastic made it 10 times better. Dream come true, the most magical therapy and it couldn't have come at a better time.
