VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – First came the debate to have dogs on the beach in Volusia County in recent weeks and now, a debate has sparked about allowing horses.
The county council is considering the proposal for horseback riding to give visitors and locals a unique experience on the coast.
The council is debating two, one mile-long stretches to try this out: one on the north end of the beaches and one on the south end. It does not have a specific spots yet, but both would be on non-driving portions of the beach.
Councilman Troy Kent recently proposed the idea.
“After I got dogs on the beach I thought ‘you know what, we need to allow our equestrian friends an opportunity as well,’” he said.
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He told News 6 as of right now, the proposal would be that anyone who owns a horse could trailer it to one of the locations and ride or businesses could even open it up for visitors. A few spots in Florida already allow this, like just North in St. Johns County.
Kent said as far as regulations, he hopes the sheriff’s office and beach safety would help with the boundaries and there would be rules to follow.
“The biggest issue is going to be the mess horses leave behind which is why I’m going to say every horse on our beach has to come equipped with a bag behind them so there’s no mess left behind,” he said.
Kent was able to get the majority of the council on board to discuss this further. They’ll be adding it to an agenda within the next month or two.