Waiting around with horses

I've seen police horses stand quietly for hours, but most horses start to get restless fairly quickly. I would probably be letting them graze on the dune grass to keep their minds occupied.

It depends upon the horse, and whether quietness is an issue.

Personally, my horses ground tie and in that sort of environment, I'd just drop the reins and let them graze. My horses would stay in about a 10 foot circle.

But the question is what are you waiting for? What is the culture (European horses were not commonly taught to ground tie)? What sort of threat level are we talking about? What's the consequence of losing the horse?

Also a big factor in that environment is bugs. Depending upon weather, you could have a big problem. Many horses in that environment will spend a lot of time in the ocean because the bug problem is so bad. And you'll be rushing to join them. OFF is a useless product in that environment.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Yup. We need a bit more info. A whole lot depends on the particular horse. For example, my endurance horse would NEVER stand still. She could have been bone tired, but she'd still be restless. Part of her nature. (Arabian). But I used to have an Apaloosa who was so laid back that he could fall asleep in the middle of a horse show ring if the judge had us on halt too long.

Horses sleeping or gnawing on grass. You, picking at yourself. I would just skip over this part and get to the next scene. Get on with the plot and don't waste time on picking scabs or going potty.

Yup, as others have said, depends on the horse and situation. My Quarter horse gelding spooks at his own shadow, but his mother is extremely mellow. (She's in my sig Pic below) She would, in the situation you described, cock her back foot, hang her head and snooze. I would simply sit on the beach and watch the waves.

If there's a breeze coming in from the ocean it will do wonders for the flies

Thus, an inland breeze will add conflict