About 20 times so far.  It's fun, but I actually prefer swimming horses in lakes.  Be aware that most horses are terrified of the waves and especially how the water receeds back and forth.

 It's bes tif you have a good beach horse teach the other horses not to be afraid and you gotta go at low tide.  they hate to get water in their ears, so you gotta be careful of that.

    I had one QH that after 5 different trips to the beach, I decided he just wasn't going to be a beach horse.  Then we went to Va Key and there aren't waves, so he was good about going in. 

    I know movies, etc make it look so exciting, etc but reality is it's fun but very hard work to get your horse used to it and lakes are really better.  - gotta watch out for gators down here, though...

I kept my horses by the beach for over 20 years. It's fun but you have to pay attention to things.

1) Don't gallop your horse down the sand like in the movies. It's hard work and many a horse has bowed tendons, tied up, or worse in deep sand.

2) Treat it like any other new thing to your horse. You don't decide to go for a trailer ride w/o training your horse to load. You don't try to rope if your horse isn't accustomed to cows. Waves are big scary monsters that make lots of noise and keep coming back!

3) If you're going to try to swim, don't use a tie down. It won't allow your horse to use his neck to swim and he'll drown! I've seen it. Very sad.

4) Have fun. Take it slow and easy. Smile.

I live about an hour from Myrtle Beach and have been taking horses to ride there for several years now. Last year the permit was $25 if I remember correctly and it is good for the riding season (3rd Saturday in November to the last day of February). Access to the beach is from Myrtle Beach State Park  which is on Hwy 17 between Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach.

If you're going for the first time try to arrive before 11:30 or after 1:30. The park office where you get your permit is closed sometime around there for lunch and you will stopped at the office until you get the permit.

It's a lot of fun and I highly recommend going.

Edited for clarity.

The great Pacific Ocean !!!

Our trail club at Montana De Oro State park. We live in the high desert, so the cool weather and beauty really are nice. The park is in the central coast of Calif. and has a lot of different terrain to ride from the mtn tops, to the surf.

Our club goes at least once a year, and this year will be over the Thanksgiving week.

White Oak area is 2hrs north of us. we are at the tip of Md between the Chesapeake bay and Potomac river. Here are a few web sites that may help ya out....Good Luck

www.theequiery.com

http://www.bcpl.net/~gharris/

http://www.landandfarm.com/lf/asp/search_results.asp?landstateid=28

Mingiz... thanks for the info.

I'll do some research and we'll see what develops...

When we lived in S. GA I  used to trailer to the beach in Fernandina FL (Amelia Island) on sunday mornings  and ride early as the sun was comming up.   It was great conditioning for the endur. rides since we didn't have any  hills.   all we had was FLAT, heat and humidity.

It takes a long time to get horses conditioned to the deep sand tho.  years.  Also you want to make sure they drink enough.   I was lucky a couple of the residents had hoses they'd let me walk up to and fill a portable water container for my horse to drink.  by 9 am it usually was too hot to ride. 

Amelia Is. is a pretty ritzy area w/ lots of hi $$ condos and hotels, and lots of wealthy people .. some of whom love to see horses and some who don't.    I always tried to be considerate and slowly walk by people.    Remember a lot of folks are nervous around horses and feel intimitated by a horse looming over them, esp. if they are lying half naked on a beach towel in the sand.     that's part of the reason I rode early in the morning just to avoid them, even tho it meant getting up at 4 am to be at the beach and riding by 6.