Playing in the Water with Horses..?

[jazzrider]

So my SO and I were riding last weekend by ourselves, and it was just so gorgeous we stopped and hung out at a creek crossing. My new boy Luke seemed keen to walk down the creek a bit to a deep spot. Usually we pause for just a minute or two to give them the opportunity to drink and splash a bit, but we've never "hung out" around water. So I let him take me to the deep spot (to the bottom of my feet) and he drank and splashed around a bit, and I got the impression he really wanted to go deeper. If I had a lead rope with me -- I might have been tempted to take his saddle and bridle off, and let him do what he wanted -- though it's something I've never done before.

For those of you who swim with your horses or let them "play" in the water out on trail -- what do you do, and how do you do it, and how do you keep them (and yourself) safe?

( I should add that Luke is a sweet, smart horse that takes good care of his people, and is pretty much dead broke -- so I'm confident he would be a good and deserving candidate for the treat).

[jazzrider]

Very fun pictures! But you let your saddles get wet? :eek: My new Tucker?
I would love to really swim like that -- but that's way more water than we have. The creek I would let him play in is only about 12 feet wide, with some deep (maybe 6 ft?) water pools. I was thinking more that I would get off and let him do what he wanted (roll, dunk, stand there and look at me in confusion).

But while we're talking about it -- does anyone know of a place to swim like A2 did in the NVA/MD/Eastern WV area? (and NOT the Potomac, because if you put one toe in there you'll drown.)

[Shadow14]

For the first time I always wear my flippers. I need the mobility that the flips give me and I swim beside the horse with a lead rope and a halter. I am a strong swimmer and I go down a boat ramp the 1st time.
The first time the horse usually panics and his head and front legs come out of the water and he thrashes around splashing everywhere. I swim beside him with fins again and encourage him to move out. In a few minutes he stops panicing and drops his head and front legs and settles down. I like the boat ramp and lots of open water of big river for the first time.
I practice a few times that day and from then on don't worry about it.
When our group would go riding on hot days we went to the swimming hole, a secluded ones and stripped off our riding pants and swam in underwear.
WE would take a stirup leather and put it around the horses neck, strip off the saddle,, I would boost the girls up on their horses and then lead off into the deep. The horses would level out in the water and we would grap either mane or the stirrup leather and hover over the horse steering with the reins and as the horse came out of the water he would rise up under you.
I often would slid back if it was a long swim and grap the tail and steer with the tail and as the horse started to reach the far shore move forward so he rose under me.
It was alot of fun, view was great after and we dried off in the sun, resaddles and rode on.
Loved those days.:D

[jazzrider]

The fear with creeks is sink holes. Soft sandy bottoms full of muck that suck the feet down. A local girl here sunk her horse up to it's neck in quick sand in a seemingly shallow and harmless creek. I won't go in a creek unless it has a rock bottom! I'm more afraid of dinky creeks than I am the river.

Very good info. I may need to ask some of the other folks that ride that land (it's private) if they've gone in the deep, and if it's safe. It's not rocky. I'm not sure quick sand like bottoms are an issue in this area though. Guess we'll stay in the shallow part on Saturday!

[jazzrider]

It's definately a good cautionary tale. The deeper area we were headed for definately was clear of the rocks that were in the low area -- I remember thinking that that would make it safer. But now I'll think twice. Maybe I should make my hubby get off and wade in, rather than Luke? :winkgrin: :lol:

[Shadow14]

Shadow mentioned that his horses always panic the first time they're in the water. Hmm, that wouldn't be a good way to introduce water, I wouldn't think. Geeze. Mine didn't panic and I guarantee if she did, it would be a looooooooong hard road to then convince her it was okay. Ig.


Any animal the first time it has to swim panics a little. Try a dog in the water and watch it try to lift it's head high to keep it out of the water and the front feet splash alot but in a few seconds it settles down and learns to swim with it's head craddled in the water and the front feet kept submerged.
Being a strong swimmer myself I just guide the horse through this rough spot and off we go for a long swim down the center of the river.
I don't mess around with tons of playing in the water. Today is the day the horse learns to swim and he does. I do the other peoples horses first for them to train the horse.
It depends on how you face panic?? I am strong confident and the horse quickly settles down and accepts. No pussy footing around.
Maybe that is why Shadow and Strider will do anything I ask, anything. They have learned to accept.
Vickey you need me to work that mare a while for you and you wouldn't have to pussy foot around either.
A horse doing a long swim comes out of the water steaming, hot, blowing. It is work swimming a distance.
I don't just splash around in the water like a kid.
A trained swimmer enters the water and just sets off for the far shore, no splashing around, trying to turn back and again I will slide off and grab the tail to steer.

[Shadow14]

We have some quicksand near us but we stay away from the area. Horses have gone down there along with a dog one time. I avoid it like the plague

[jazzrider]

Okay guys, don't start. ;)

If there was a place I could swim with my horse here out on trail, I'd take the chicken way out and take Luke first the equine swim center out in Middleburg. I used to take my OTTB there to swim (in a pool with a ramp, they walk in, you walk around the edge of the pool holding the lead rope) for recovery. That way he'd get the feel of it (and the initial fear of it) over in a nice safe environment with "experts" on hand. And it would give me a good sense of whether he liked it or not. My OTTB loved to swim -- but 2-3 times around and he was done. Then some little Arab would come in and do 10 laps without a problem :rolleyes:. My poor old guy...

[Griffyn]

Auventera II that looks like a swimming hole around Coloma? In a public riding/camping place- I have pics of my gal getting her toes wet. No swim for her yet. Im ok with that b/c wet tack and wet pants make riding a little less enjoyable for me!

[Auventera Two]

I'm not sure where Coloma is? This is at the Wolf River near Shiocton at the public boat launch.

[jumpingpercheron]

Klein turns into a sea horse when we go to the beach, she LOVES the beach. As soon as a hoof hits the sand she wants to go straight in the water. The first time I ever took her over to the beach she was a little cautious. You never know, *maybe* the waves eat horses. After I got off and got in the water and the waves didn't eat me then it was game on for her.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/rallycarskickass/45.jpg
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[jazzrider]

You live there? That must suck. ;)

Great pics! I would think waves would add a whole new dimension to the experience for a horse that they wouldn't get with creeks and small rivers. Great that she enjoys it!

[jumpingpercheron]

LOL, yeah I live there. :cool:
I was kinda worried about the waves at first. But she could care less, they smash right into her and she doesn't even flinch. It's pretty funny when you take them for their first time. I've taken 7 or 8 horses t to the beach for their first time ever and they watch the waves way too much. When the waves go back into the water the horses side step like they're sliding with them into the water.

[sublimequine]

It's pretty rare that I get a chance to take maresie through any kind of water anymore, but I used to be at a barn with AMAZING trails. Only problem? To access the trails, you had to cross a road AND a creek basically all in one shot. The creek ran parallel to the road, and was like 10 feet off the shoulder. A bit scary, especially for timid or inexperienced horses. :eek:

Luckily first time I took her out, I was with my mom and her very seasoned and quiet trail horse. She walked him across, and I basically just asked my mare to follow. Well we got all the way in with four feet... then decided we didn't want to LEAVE the creek. Apparently the water grass stuff that grows in it was far too delicious to pass up. :lol:

Now at a new barn, the only water I have is dragging out the baby pool into the arena and fillin 'er up. Maresie walks into the pool just fine when it's empty.. we're gonna wait until a nice hot day to try it with water in it. ;)

[katarine]

For those of you who swim with your horses or let them "play" in the water out on trail -- what do you do, and how do you do it, and how do you keep them (and yourself) safe?

I don't do it with good gear on, saddle wise; we'll strip 'em down to BB and go right in :) I don't do this is places I don't know, muddy waters I can't see in as around here, it'd be submerged trees/logs we'd be getting tangled in. I don't get many chances to do so, but it's great fun. If you use split reins be careful you don't let one slip loose, I'm always alert to them getting it wrapped 'round a foreleg and jerking them selves silly in the mouth. If there's no mane to grab, fashion a grab strap so you have an oh crap handle, LOL.

I wear regular tennis shoes or such- no need for fins, we are not reallly swimming as others have described, we're dinking in farm ponds or along the river's edge, not really getting after it, swimming wise...I could see wanting them if I did. Horses are powerful swimmers.

[jenm]

If there's no mane to grab, fashion a grab strap so you have an oh crap handle, LOL.


What do you use for this?

[katarine]

a lead rope will do fine- snap it to horse's chin ring on halter, leave enough slack for it to not restrict but not flap around, then tie the rest around the next, cavalry style, so again it's handy but not floppy/tangly....

google that and you should find what I mean- think Canadian Mounted Police and how their lead ropes are done 'round the neck while riding..

[BaileyTW]

I used to swim my paint in the pond where I used to board. he wasn't too sure about it at first, but then he got the hang of it and enjoyed it. Now where I'm at the creek doesn't go quite to his belly... so no swimming, but on hot days we ride down and chill out in the creek for a bit and he splashes around and relaxes.
Hang on though if you go bareback, they get SLIPPERY and you float a little! When Jasper would swim, I would just grab the reins in one hand and grab a fistful of mane in the other and let him swim, and hang on and enjoy the dip in the water!

I think Baloo would have a conniption if I made him swim. lol. Hes terrified of puddles the size of a CD!

I always try and watch where we are going. I have a personal paranoia of not being able to see my feet under water, so I always try and be able to see the creek floor. Especially when I ride in the park, my friend and I joke that there could be ANYTHING under the water there, lol. The creek is right outside downtown Lancaster, I've seen tires, we think it wouldn't be too shoking if a body part floated by. But for the most part, creeks etc. around here normally are pretty rocky, so I don't worry much about any type of quicksand. we have pebbly/gravelly creekbeds, with some larger rocks and lots of little clam shells.

[Beverley]

In my youth in Houston, we often took the horses to the beach in Galveston- they all enjoyed it, some jumped the waves going in which made for One More Fall, often. Have also swum them in watering holes on ranches. Just bareback. Way fun, not concerned if I slide off. Well, okay, the one time at Galveston that when I came up from the crashing wave the horse managed to stand on my foot so I couldn't get back on- that took some sorting out, though his foot on mine in that case didn't hurt a bit, much less painful than when the crabs nip your toes!

PS I have a Luke too, 5 yo appendix qh. I think that he and my Great Dane are in fact twins separated at birth.

[jeano]

Sadie took an unplanned dive into a swamp once and got comprehensivley mired to her belly. She will go into just about any mud, muck, or water. In this case it was entirely her idea. I had ridden her to the edge of this bog trying to see just how wide it was, and she decided she could make it to a solid looking area a few feet away. I was hauling on the reins screeching NOOOooooo! and in we went. Took a good bit of heaving and hauling on her part to get out. (I was off her and on dry land by the time the mud started slopping over the stirrups.) At one point we had to dig with our hands because one of her front legs was pinned under a log that was in turn wedged UNDER the bank.

The most nervewracking moment was when a submerged tree limb under her broke. Couldnt tell until she heaved out onto the bank, absolutely covered in muck, that it wasnt her leg we heard breaking.

Although I still do cross swampy ground, I look for sandy/gravely places that are narrow enough for the horse to pop out of if it heaves hard enough.

One more tip for those unused to riding into water. If the horse starts to paw and you dont want to swim or at least get reeeeaaaly wet, boot it outta there because its fixing to roll with you on its back, leather saddle or no leather saddle. Heed the voice of experience here!

[jazzrider]

One more tip for those unused to riding into water. If the horse starts to paw and you dont want to swim or at least get reeeeaaaly wet, boot it outta there because its fixing to roll with you on its back, leather saddle or no leather saddle. Heed the voice of experience here!

Sooner or later Luke is going to roll on me. I let him paw and splash like a mad man -- he loves it. But so far I've managed to be quicker than him. But that's what made me start this thread. Last weekend I could just feel his desire to dunk himself, and was wondering how to let him -- safely. But now I realize that "playing" in a creek pool may not be safe, unless I really know what's under that water. We may walk the dogs there this weekend to splash around ourselves -- and check it out.

[Shadow14]

I don't agree with the word PLAY. That is something I will not let my horse do. He doesn't play in the water. Just because I walk him into a stream doesn;t mean he can forget his manners.
Pawing water would not be allowed. You guys are just asking for trouble. I walk into the water up to his chest, stop him, take my sponge and scoop and proceed to cool him off. No playing about it, no pawing, no movement whatever. Just stand quietly, patiently until I tell you you can move out.
If I have to swim the river then move out in an orderly manner and start swimming.
Again playing in water is not a good thing to teach a horse. It is teaching to have bad manners whenever water is involved.
How many feel just comfortable walking out into 3 feet of water, drop the reins and just sit and enjoy the coolness???
NO fuss, no bother.
Keep it strictly business and you will have a better horse becasue of it.

[jazzrider]

There are definately all sorts of riders out there, with all sorts of "rules" for riding and their horses. Different strokes for different folks, I say. I for one, allow my horses to chill and have fun now and then (hence this thread). Particularly if they're a well behaved, respectful horse that doesn't try to take advantage. Luke's a good boy, who lived a hard life before he came to me. He deserves a splash or two on a leisurely, pokey trail ride, and I could care less if someone else thinks he doesn't.

The point of this thread was to find out how to let a horse enjoy the water safely, from folks with experience. :rolleyes:

[katarine]

Eh, My SO has a horse I can't trust with water because Mr Kat is a softy and encourages lots of pawing and playing and lovvvve, and the horse learned to go on ahead and bellyflop w/o warning- I don't care b/c I don't ride him :)

My own horses know theres a time to play- lots of slack and a bump on their crest and a verbal "go on" and they can paw and blow bubbles and enjoy themselves- but not flop :) Same way I tell 'em it's ok to eat u/s if we're taking a break. If they don't get the ok, they don't do it. Horses are capable of having options and respecting which one they are advised is desired. No different from having a cue for a nice go somewhere trot and a fiddle fart trot. There's more than one on/off switch :cool:

There are SOME absolutes in horse training, and lots and lots of optional add ons :)

[jazzrider]

I'm jealous! I'm convinced Luke would take to swimming. I hope by the end of the summer we've found a place to try. Post the pictures if you get them!

[Shadow14]

We swam back and forth, back and forth, for about an hour! .

Wish I still had my old swimming hole but it is built up with houses now. No more skinny dipping for me.

[TheOtherHorse]

I took my horse swimming last summer, at a private beach on a smallish lake. As long as the footing is firm and consistent with no drop offs, it can be a really fun experience for the horse and rider. I went in bareback and just grabbed onto her mane when she started getting deep. When she couldn't touch anymore and was actually swimming her back dropped down and I just sort of floated along near the surface and hung onto her mane so she pulled me along over her. As she got back to where she could touch and her back came back up I just sat back down. It was very easy and stress-free. The one thing that surprised me is how slippery a submerged horse is. It was really fun though! :yes:

[fivesocks]

Oh boy! Playing in water is Adam's forte! Here he is rolling in a creek http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2844507330053774818AUKlyM?vhost=pets

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2498539580053774818ReGNsd?vhost=pets

That particular creek fiesta wasn't totally planned, so I ended up taking the bit out of his mouth and attaching one end of the reins to the noseband. (which allowed him to munch grass as well) I held the other end of the reins (they were fully stretched out, so I had control but didn't have to be super close to him while he splashed up a storm.) He was fully tacked up before this too but obviously I untacked him so he could roll.

BTW, I don't think that by allowing Adam to play I'm turning him into an unrly, rude, horse lacking manners. When it's not time to play, we don't. My horse is attentive and if he's allowed to have a good ole time in the water he will, but if not he follows my directions and proceeds through the water in a civilized manner.