Horse Shocks Rider by Taking Bath in Middle of Beach Ride

Riding a horse on a beach is a dream for many equestrians, as well as many people who have never so much as gotten in a saddle. There’s something so romantic about the idea of galloping along a stretch of pristine sand, breathing in the sea air and feeling the salt spray as your horses’s hooves slap at the waves.

The reality, however, can be somewhat different, as this woman in the video found out. All she wanted to do was ride her horse along the shore. But the horse had another idea.

In this video, a woman riding a horse on the beach is unable to stop her mount from lying right down in the surf. When it appears the horse is about to roll over she leaps off just in time, shrieking and trying her best to keep the animal from getting on their back and covering the saddle with sand. She taps the horse on their bum, trying to make them stand, but even once the animal is upright, it has ideas about how it would like to interact the water. Every time the rider comes close, the horse energetically paws at the surf, splashing water everywhere.

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The woman might think they are here for riding, but it’s clear the horse just wants to play.

Best Riding Practices on the Beach

Though many beaches do not allow horses, there are enough that not only can people take their own horses for a spin, but there are also facilities that will rent horses and even guides to people wishing to take a beachside trot atop a noble steed.

Of course, if your horse is not used to the ocean, there may be a bit of a learning curve involved. In fact, they may either be scared of the ocean or so eager to get in (as this one was) that there’s no stopping them.

Bringing horses to the beach requires extra forethought when it comes to packing—the horses will need fresh water, for example, as well as food to replace their usual forage.

And then, of course, there’s the attitude.

What To Do With a Recalcitrant Horse

The horse here may have been warm and wanted to cool off, or maybe they were just overwhelmed but he potential to go swimming. Judging from the woman’s behavior, she was not interested in getting wet, and it seems as if this horse very much was. It’s like the animal is thinking, what is even the point of being here if we’re not going in the water?

It’s not uncommon for horses who get hot on a ride to try to lie down and even roll in the water or even on sandy trails. It’s obviously a dangerous proposition for any rider who could be easily trapped and crushed under the horse’s body. Most riding instructors recommend immediate correction for any horse who attempts such a move with a person on their back, and you can see the woman here trying to correct her horse by spanking them on the flank and trying to get them to stand up again.

But it seems as if the horse knows who is boss.

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