There were many comments on my post last week about the sand Pounders coastal patrols. Here is some more information .This is taken from an article in Horse Canada magazine, November 2014.

Jarman, a World War II Coast Guard beach patrol veteran, just before he passed away at the ripe old age of 40 in 1974. He served as a patrol horse with the Coast Guard’s Beach Patrol in California. He is proudly wearing a blanket that bears his Coast Guard insignia.

Imagine standing at the ocean’s door in 1942 and seeing one of your favourite show jump riders, jockeys or polo players galloping along the beach scanning the horizon for enemy ships. In World War II, this was a very real possibility.

As far back as 1871 American beaches had been patrolled on foot by the Life-Saving Service, the predecessors of The Coast Guard. Their job was to watch for ships in distress, but they did use horses to haul boats from sheds to launching points before tackling the seas and going out to the floundering ships, and sailors.’

During WWII there was understandable concern amongst American regarding their coast lines. The beach patrols became increasingly important as they upheld three important functions: they looked out for suspicious ships, they reported and prevented any enemy landings, and stopped communications between ships and people on shore. In doing these three duties, while they were not expected to repel a sea invasion, but they certainly provided reassurance.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in WWII on December 7, 1941, the mounted beach patrol and Dog Training Centre in Hilton Head, South Carolina leapt into action. There was a call out for experienced riders, and all those who could handle a horse enlisted to become part of the Mounted Beach Patrol.

The horses involved came from the U.S. Army and Army Remount Service and they provided all the riding gear while the Coast Guard offered the uniforms for all the stunt riders, jockeys, riders, show jumpers, rodeo riders, Army Reserve cavalrymen and others who volunteered. Their training took place at Elkins Park Training Station in Pennsylvania and at Hilton Head, South Carolina where dog training schools were already established.

This photo shows the horses and patrolmen on the beach with the well trained dogs walking alongside.

Within a year 3,000 horses were assigned to the Coast Guard, and in using the horses, radios, equipment, and rifles were more easily carried than by a man by himself. Horses were also much faster at running down a suspect. Mounted patrols worked in pairs and often a dog was included in the team fitted out with canvas shoes to protect paws from oyster shells on the beach.

Fellow Blogger David of “Through the Viewfinder” Also gave me some information.

The US Army was making the transition from horse cavalry to armored cavalry and had lots of horses and mules in their inventory. Shortly after the the American entry into WWII, the question arose how do we defend the coastline. We knew German submarines were patrolling off the eastern seaboard, attacking maritime shipping from the US to Europe and Russia. Suppose the Germans were to land raiding parties, how would we cope with them? USCG came up with the idea of beach patrols. They would use the horses and mules being furloughed from military service. A lot of the vet techs and cavalrymen who worked with military horses transferred from the Army into the USCG. 

So for all the readers who had not heard of these Sand Pounders before I hope this post will fill you in a bit more.

   

The Sand Pounders: The U.S. Coast Guard Mounted Patrol

The U.S. Coast Guard has not used mounted patrols since WWII but the fact that they chose horses shows that they were better suited for the job.

   

Jarman, a World War II Coast Guard beach patrol veteran, just before he passed away at the ripe old age of 40 in 1974. He served as a patrol horse with the Coast Guard’s Beach Patrol in California. He is proudly wearing a blanket that bears his Coast Guard insignia.

Imagine standing at the ocean’s door in 1942 and seeing one of your favourite show jump riders, jockeys or polo players galloping along the beach scanning the horizon for enemy ships. In World War II, this was a very real possibility.

As far back as 1871 American beaches had been patrolled on foot by the Life-Saving Service, the predecessors of The Coast Guard. Their job was to watch for ships in distress, but they did use horses to haul boats from sheds to launching points before tackling the seas and going out to the floundering ships, and sailors.

During WWII there was understandable concern amongst American regarding their coast lines. The beach patrols became increasingly important as they upheld three important functions: they looked out for suspicious ships, they reported and prevented any enemy landings, and stopped communications between ships and people on shore. In doing these three duties, while they were not expected to repel a sea invasion, but they certainly provided reassurance.

After the attack on Pearl Harbour in WWII on December 7, 1941, the mounted beach patrol and Dog Training Centre in Hilton Head, South Carolina leapt into action. There was a call out for experienced riders, and all those who could handle a horse enlisted to become part of the Mounted Beach Patrol.

The horses involved came from the U.S. Army and Army Remount Service and they provided all the riding gear while the Coast Guard offered the uniforms for all the stunt riders, jockeys, riders, show jumpers, rodeo riders, Army Reserve cavalrymen and others who volunteered. Their training took place at Elkins Park Training Station in Pennsylvania and at Hilton Head, South Carolina where dog training schools were already established.

This photo shows the horses and patrolmen on the beach with the well trained dogs walking alongside.

Within a year 3,000 horses were assigned to the Coast Guard, and in using the horses, radios, equipment, and rifles were more easily carried than by a man by himself. Horses were also much faster at running down a suspect. Mounted patrols worked in pairs and often a dog was included in the team fitted out with canvas shoes to protect paws from oyster shells on the beach.