A Day At The Beach

We are blessed with an almost infinite range of options to explore with our horses in this area, one that always seems to rate highly with both riders and horses is spending time on the beach.

Our horse, Bella, LOVES to splash a hoof in almost ANY kind of water, be it a stream, a pond, and yes, especially the sea.

We first took her to Hayling Island a few months after she came to us, we knew she loved water and had been taken by her previous owner to the beaches of Devon, not far from where they lived, quite regularly. We worked out when the tides would be right, arranged transport and got Bella ready for her day out.

Once we arrived at Hayling, parking up in the West Beachlands area to the west of the shoreline (what3words location - ///inherit.centrally.sour), we took her along the path until we had easss to the beach, keeping her in hand to ensure all went smoothly without too much excitement.

Bella and Maja, gingerly at first, walked and trotted along, gaining confidence with Maja stopping to allow Bella to take in her surroundings. Soon they were cantering along, splashing up and down the empty beach (it was November, so no worries with disturbing others!).

After a while we took her back onto the scrubland for a walk back to the horsebox and a clean down before travelling back for a proper wash.

Other places that are well worth a visit include The Witterings in West Sussex and Studland Bay in Dorset, but please check for local restrictions and permit requirements before you plan your day out.

This link here - https://www.horseandrideruk.com/expert-advice/articles/beach-riding/ - could also help.