Where to See Horses Swimming in Barbados

If you’ve never seen horses swimming before then you are in for a treat when you visit Barbados

When I was researching beaches in Barbados I came across these beautiful photos of horses on the beach.  Not just walking along the beach, either, but actually swimming in the water.

I had never seen such a thing so I knew I had to witness this in person while we were in Barbados.

The Garrison Savannah is one of the oldest horse racing tracks in the Americas.  It is located just outside of Bridgetown, across from Pebbles Beach.  Every morning horse trainers walk their racehorses over to Pebbles Beach for an early morning swim.

By early morning, I mean early. You’ll have to arrive right at sunrise to witness this beautiful sight.  When we were there in February, that meant arriving right at 6:00am.  Sure enough, the horses were there right at 6am and only stayed til about 6:20am.  So if you want to see them you only have a short window.

If you’re staying at the Radisson or the Hilton, no problem.  The horses swim in the section of beach right in between these two beach hotels.  In fact, if your room faces the ocean, you can probably watch them right from the comfort of your own hotel room.

 

Actually, you don’t even have to travel all the way to Barbados to watch the horses.  You can catch them on the live webcam (you just have to watch a few seconds of the ad first before the live webcam loads).  Before traveling to Barbados I actually watched them online a number of times to check if they were actually there every day of the week.  They were!

I’m not actually sure why the horse trainers bring the horses swimming?  Someone mentioned it helps their muscles.  I’d love to find out the real reason why.  The trainers seemed serious about their training, though, so we didn’t want to bother them and stop them to ask why.

If you are up early to see the horses, might as well enjoy an early breakfast on the beach while you’re at it!  There’s a little beach shack called Lefties if you walk towards the Hilton Hotel.  After the horses walked back to the Garrison around 6:30am, we walked past Lefties and they were open.  We sat on the beach enjoying a local Bajan breakfast: a fish cutter.

If you’re looking for a unique thing to do while in Barbados, this is a great choice!

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Want more info about Barbados?  Check out:

Barbados in February: An Ideal Itinerary

Things to Do in Bridgetown, Barbados

Best Place to Stay in Barbados On A Budget

Driving in Barbados

Best Cheap Eats in Barbados

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