Bradenton May Ban Horses From Palma Sola Causeway

Horse surfers may no longer be able to hang ten at as the city considers banning the animals from the Bradenton waterway.

City council members — excluding stiff opposition from Councilman Bemis Smith — said Wednesday they are worried about the health, safety and environmental impacts of horses at the park, a popular spot for swimmers and families along Manatee Avenue West at Palma Sola Bay.

At least one Bradenton company offers patrons a chance to go horse surfing, in which a rider stands on the back of a horse as it navigates the bay's waters. The unique activity has garnered national attention and has been touted on the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau's website and in a CVB-sponsored promotional program about Bradenton that aired on TV in February.

"We have no problem with horse surfing," said Councilman Harold Byrd Jr. "That is not the issue. ... We have to do what is environmentally safe for the citizens of Bradenton and the area."

Councilman Gene Gallo has spent months pushing for a ban after fielding calls from residents complaining about the horses and the presents they leave behind.

Public Works Director Claude Tankersley said although it's "unlikely" swimmers would get sick from horse manure — only about 1 percent of which can contain E. coli, salmonella or other harmful bacteria, he said — the manure contains other nutrients that can harm the environment.

The state recommends keeping horses away from natural water sources as much as possible to avoid bank erosion and water pollution, Tankersley said.

Manatee County tests the causeway waters weekly for fecal coliforms, indicators of hazardous bacteria, and three times in the past year the tests showed levels that would be considered unsafe for swimmers. Horses can contribute to those fecal coliforms, Tankersley said, although it would cost the city up to $12,000 to perform individual tests that prove horses are to blame.

Vice Mayor Patrick Roff said having the animals at a busy park is a safety risk.

"I still have an issue with 1,000-pound animals next to children, and I think it's only a matter of time before there's an accident," Roff said. "And I would hate to see especially a child get injured because there's someone horse surfing."

The council voted 4-1 to have the city's attorney draft an ordinance prohibiting horses at the causeway. A public hearing will be held before a final vote.

Smith provided the lone opposition, calling his fellow council members "dead wrong" and saying if they really were worried about health and safety at the causeway they'd ban dogs, people and parking there, too.

"Short of that, you're becoming nitpicking old men and women who constantly intervene in government and figure, 'Oh, everybody else is too stupid to take care of themselves, so we, the five mighty up here, have to come up there and tell them their kids are not safe going to the causeway,' " Smith said. "If they think their kids aren't safe going the causeway because of horses, they drive two miles farther and go to the beach. That's the way rational people think."

Councilwoman Marianne Barneby pointed out that the county doesn't allow horses on its beaches. But Smith wouldn't back down, calling himself a "small-government conservative" when issuing the lone "no" vote.

"We can nitpick and nitpick and nitpick away with anything that possibly hurts anybody, and we can make this world so unenjoyable that there's no reason to leave your house," Smith said.