Horse Surfing




(Manatee County, Florida) Horse-related water sports are popular with locals and tourists on the beaches adjacent to Palma Sola Causeway but there have been complaints.

Reportedly, the horses shoot out steaming flops of bacteria-laden manure to splash in the water and wash up on the beaches.

Claude D. Tankersley, the city’s public works director, said at the meeting that horses do contribute to the amount of fecal coliform in the Palma Sola Bay, which has been closed to swimmers three times in the past year because of high bacteria levels.

Tankersley said the measurements don’t indicate the precise contributor of the bacteria -- human, horse or canine. Still, he added, the state has recommended keeping horses out of natural waterways because of the damage their hoofs do to the shore and because their feces and urine can contribute to algae growth.

Tankersley’s report coupled with the state’s recommendation helped convince most of the city council to go along with him in asking the city attorney to write an ordinance banning horses on the causeway.

A proposed ordinance will be drafted for consideration at a future hearing.