Saw something on fb... would you take your horse in the sea??

MrA

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Feb 8, 2012
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Saw a tragic story on fb of a horse who went for a swim with his rider in the sea. The rider slipped off the side and lost control of the horse (who was quite deep in but not swimming at the time)

The horse then swam out to sea, got exhausted and sadly drowned. Has made me think twice about it, sounds like an awful situation and something I never really thought about. Guess I just assumed the horse would swim back to land but I guess its a very confusing situation for them to be in.

So do you swim with your horse, or would you still despite this incident?
 
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Yes it happened in Cornwall a few days ago.

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Hor...sea-Marazion/story-19562058-detail/story.html

Poor horse :( I love a good splash in the shallow water but can't imagine ever thinking that riding my horse OUT to sea would be a good idea. Aside from the risk of disorientation and panic you are also at the mercy of waves and currents. Absolutely tragic and IMO totally avoidable.

ETA to answer your last question. I have swum on horseback before - in Portugal we used to take the ponies swimming in the river when there was enough water - but that was in still water, no current or waves, very little distance from one bank to the other, and we took them where the ground dipped here and there so they'd only be swimming for 10, 15 seconds at a time before they had a footing again. Even in short bursts they found it physically demanding and got tired quite easily. I wouldn't dream of taking them in the sea to swim.
 
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I wouldn't as I am not a particularly strong swimmer myself and you just don't know what undercurrents there are. I've paddled in the sea on the beach with a horse and had a little canter across the sand, that was fun.
 
I would, during the summer at home we'd take the boys swimming each week. Or if not the beach then a dam.

However, the beaches were more steep and tidal range not so big as it is in the UK so you could swim a horse within a shorter distance to the beach than the average beach here (from what I have seen anyway) and if you had to go out a decent distance from the beach on horseback in order to swim then I can see how the poor horse lost his bearings. :(

I have taken my horse swimming in a deep lake on the forest and he'd obviously never done it before and it was quite comical the first time.

I would swim my horse of the beach here still.
 
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Saw this too :( so sad :( I'm all for beach galloping and wading around but would not let my horse actually swim in the open sea. I have, however, swum in deep rivers and small lakes with horses back in Germany, which was brilliantly fun.
 
No I wouldn't. I have paddled to horse's belly depth but no deeper in the sea. I have taken a horse in a deep cut out in the river and swam....but very similar to the instance that Joosie describes, no current and short distances in the deep water to shallower areas.

I have to say that recent advertising on swimming with horses in this area did sound rather risky...no need to be a rider or swimmer etc. No hats, no previous bare back riding or ANY previous riding experience come to that:eek: - sounds like another tragedy waiting to happen to either horse, rider or both IMO.
 
As was said, the horse wasn't swimming when the rider came off and the horse then took it upon itself to swim away from the land. The owner posted on Facebook that there is nothing so heartbreaking as trying to swim after the horse and encourage it to return only for it to get too tired and sink beneath the waves with your child watch it all from the shore.

It's still less risky to swim or ride on the beach than to hack on the roads or a multitude of other horsey activities or ways of managing our animals yet we think nothing of that.

This was a rare incident so I'm nothing except incredibly sad for the family and horse.
 
I once got cut off by the tide with a friend, I didn't sleep for a week and I trembled for days.

We went back to the beach just to deal with our fears, I have a more respect for mother nature nature now.

So answering the op most defintately not, I have had my shock, horror wake up call thanks.

Eta, the paper reads it as she was swimming to cool to call off and the horse panicked and swam the wrong way. I put it down to a sad tragic freak accident. Lots of people swim with horses everyday, you just don't think either if you could drown.
 
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The army and the kings troop swim their horses - awful freak accident IMO and must have been absolutely awful to see your horse drown.

Poor lady and poor horse.
 
That was such a sad story - as far as I can see, the rider was a child, or a young teenager, and it was a brave friend who swum out and tried, in vain, to rescue the pony... Heartbreaking.
 
Oh that is just so so sad and that poor kid will blame itself and the pony must have been terrified :cry:

No I would splash about go in a little but not too far as be too wary of currents etc :frown:
 
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