7 horses got scared, ditched their riders and took off running on a Florida causeway

Bradenton police say that a guided horseback ride along Palma Sola Causeway went wrong over the weekend when a group of horses got scared, tossed off their riders and ran away.

The beach horseback rides are a popular yet controversial tourist attraction offered by several local businesses.

But on Saturday morning, a ride led by Carousel Sea Horses didn’t go as planned, according to the Bradenton Police Department.

Police say that the company set out on a ride with seven horses when the guide’s horse got frightened, causing the other horses to get scared, too.

Several riders were thrown off by their horses, and the other riders jumped off, police said. Then the animals bolted.

Officers were called to the causeway just after 11 a.m. after someone reported seeing horses running east on Palma Sola Causeway, the agency said.

Police said two riders were taken to a hospital for “possible neck and arm injuries.”

The horses were rounded up a short time later behind a home and loaded into the company’s trailer, police said.

The police department said officers helped control traffic and documented the incident.

“This is not a criminal investigation,” the agency said in a news release.

In December, a horse owned by a different business that offers horse rides in Palma Sola Bay was killed and others were injured when the trailer they were being hauled in was flipped in a crash, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.

Palma Sola horse rides remain controversial

The horseback rides are a popular attraction in Manatee County, but they’ve also frequently stirred controversy over their potential link to water pollution in Palma Sola Bay.

Bradenton officials have considered banning the rides several times due to water quality concerns, as Pinellas County did in 2019, but ultimately allowed them to continue.

Last year, environmental advocacy group Suncoast Waterkeeper said it had DNA evidence linking the horses’ poop to water pollution and called for the city to impose stricter regulations on the tour businesses. City officials said they would continue to monitor the issue.

This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 2:48 PM.