swimming with horse

[momofsix]

Has anyone been swimming with their horse? Abby's previous owner told me that she used to ride Abby into a river and swam with her all the time. I did not witness this but Abby clearly loves water. I just don't know if I have the guts to ride her into the water. Is this safe? How do you do it?

[laura jeanne]

Someone recently posted some pictures of swimming with their horse but I have forgotten who it was.

[jUmPingIsLifE]

as long as you can swim and you have someone on the ground to catch the horse when it comes back to shore (if you fell off) then i think its safer then regular riding if the horse has done it and enjoys it like you say your horse does!

swimming is smooth, you glide through the water. tie a leadrope around your horses neck if you go so you can hang onto that because your legs will float behind you and you dont wanna be holding onto your horses mouth! and falling off in the water is fine because it doesn't hurt! and if you can swim you just swim back to shore and your horse will swim back to shore and someone will grab them and you can pop back on.

we go all the time with the camp horses, tahoe is a champ with it!

[galadriel]

Just make sure that you're not actually sitting on the horse in the water. You can sink them! If the horse's feet lose touch with the bottom, grab a hold (I've just grabbed mane) and take your weight off the horse's back, and "swim" along just above the horse's back. You can stay approximately in the same spot on his back, just take your weight off him. When the horse approaches solid ground again, you can swing your legs back forward so you're sitting up on his back again.

[Just.Jump]

Makes me want to go swimming!

[Slewster05]

My horse is anhidrosis so he loves to go swimming. I definitely agree with taking the weight off of the horse otherwise they will sink in the mud/sand and then generally fall forward with you not too far behind. Also, make sure you know what the bottom condition is. Not wise if there are bolders, large rocks or any debris.

[alwaysfallingof]

If the horse likes it then I guess it's fine, but I was on a hack once on holiday on a horse I didn't know, and there was a really high tide that made a river swell up so that we couldn't get back without swimming it. Horse got a bit panicked, and reared up and fell backwards halfway across the river and I ended up underwater in full riding gear with a panicking horse on top of me.

[Jessey]

My donkey won't go near the sea and I haven't found a river that looked inviting enough yet. I have heard though that you have to be careful as horses can only swim in (almost) straight lines (because of the way their leg joints work, only front to back) so if you take them in the sea you have to be careful they don't just keep on going :eek: same person told me that when the Queens horses come to Holcome for a swim they take them out then get off, pull them round by the tail, hop back on and come back to shore :eek: :D
Another frield of mine has taken her mare swimming and just said you have to be careful if you fall off to swim away from your horse asap or else you can get tangled in their legs as they try to swim.

J x

[Bacharel]

I go swimming with Sassy all the time!!

[artemis]

Iused to swm in the sea with my horse many years ago :D

[momofsix]

It's been so hot here (over 100 degrees) but I think right now I just don't have the confidence to do this yet. Maybe next summer.

[augermoon]

Just a quick word of caution, My friend's horse was out on loan many years ago. The girl who was loaning her took her swimming in the sea, in a place she'd been to many times before. However, on this occasion, they were out of their depth swimming and the mare's legs got caught in some fishing net or something on a rock in the sea. She became very tangled and almost drowned but was freed at the very last minute. I think it was horrific for all involved and the horse had an inherent fear of water until she died. Don't want to put anyone off but thought I'd mention it.

[Tharg]

How long can a horse swim out of its depth. How wise is it for a horse to swim out of its depth, I would be very concerned over what could happen.

[griffytayherb]

i guess you just try to stay away from the hooves :p

[ponylover88]

...

[jUmPingIsLifE]

i have never been in the sea swimming. i would think that would be scary for me a little.

i go in a boat launch on a river so there is no current. but the water gets deep (15 feet or so, maybe deeper...its deeper then a 17.2hh horse we took swimming haha) and we swim out and swim back it. so hte horse doesn't swim straight for a couple minutes!


I read somewhere though that swimming for 2minutes is equal to 30 minutes of ringwork. (working properly).

[buster]

i take my horse on the beach every may bank holiday and end of august and we go swimming with just a bridle cos salt water destroyes leather he'd never done it untill last year and on his first time he loved it swimming is natrual 2 horses, just as long as u can swim its okay. :p

[sarshapebbles]

riding in a river / sea is fun i had to do it onces we got stuck on a firends place we had to get home by swimming, no horse float at that time, good thing we where riding bareback just make shore that the ranes dont get caut arond the leags of the horse and you will be fine. :D

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people dont know how lucky we are to swim with our horses,