Sarawak lost a significant nature attraction when the iconic rock formation dubbed as the ‘Drinking Horse’ or ‘Horse Head’ at Tusan Beach, Miri collapsed on 20 February 2020.
Located about 40 minutes from Miri city, the geographical formation which resembles a horse drinking water was one of the major attractions of Tusan Beach.
The beach is also famous for the ‘blue tears’ phenomenon brought about by the bloom of tiny, bioluminescent creatures called dinoflagellates, causing the water to turn a luminescent blue.
Many mourned the loss of the sandstone formation, a landmark that had become so iconic that the government had been building various infrastructure like food stalls and a walkway around the spot hoping to leverage on its tourism pull.
Could the ‘Drinking Horse’ formation have been saved?
According to a study by Franz L. Kessler and John Jong, the development plans and actions to save the iconic rock formation came a bit late.
The study, which was published in 2020, stated that the Drinking Horse formation would have been nearly impossible to preserve.
“Only the placement of large boulders in a demi-circle could have prevented waves and longshore currents from scouring the monument, however there are no access roads to bring the necessary amount of rock.”
Kessler and Jong also stated that there was little consciousness and conservation efforts at the time when it came to the potential touristic values of geological monuments.
Furthermore, the researchers suggested the preservation of geological monuments would require a masterplan spearheaded by the Miri City Council.
They emphasised that the council also needed the collaboration and the support of the Sarawak government, tourism board as well as local private industries to maintain them.
In 2019, the government had planned to build an access road in order to bring rocks down to build a retaining wall to protect the formation.
By August 2019, the access road was reportedly 80% completed.
Any further effort taken to protect the ‘Drinking Horse’ formation proved to be too little, too late.
How old was the Horse Head formation?
According to Kessler and Jong, the beginnings of the Horse Head formation dated back only about 11 years prior to its collapse in 2020. A photo from as recently as 2009 shows that the ‘horse head’ was initially just a column, with no cave structure that would later form the ‘neck’ of the horse.
The caves, or the space where the formation joined with the cliff, began to take shape a few years later, forming what resembled a boar’s head by 2012. Continued erosion from wind, rain, and sea gradually carved out the base of the column, forming the high arching throat that would later be recognised as a horse head, shaped from the sandstone and clay composition of the cliffs.
From landmark to legacy: how it will be remembered
Although the original formation is gone, efforts are underway to ensure it is not forgotten.
In March 2025, plans had been approved to immortalise the “Drinking Horse” through an art gallery at Tusan Beach. It sits within a larger vision to develop Tusan Beach, where a viewing tower (Menara Tinjau) and other visitor facilities are also being introduced.
In this way, the “Drinking Horse” is transitioning from a physical formation into a cultural symbol, preserved through art, storytelling, and memory.
A changing coastline: the fall of the ‘Lion Head’
The loss of the “Drinking Horse” is not an isolated event.
Tusan Beach has long been home to multiple rock formations shaped by the same forces of erosion, including a so-called “Lion Head” formation which was discovered in late December 2020 but quickly collapsed due to erosion much like the “Drinking Horse” structure.
These repeated losses highlight a larger pattern: the coastline around Miri is highly dynamic and vulnerable to change. Geological features that appear permanent can, in reality, disappear within years, or even overnight.
Other formations once found along the coast, such as smaller “baby” horse head structures, further illustrate how temporary these natural sculptures can be.
Photos of Miri’s iconic rock formation, also known as Batu Kuda, taken in 2016.
