Posted 2014-03-03 1:45 PM Subject: RE: Introduce horse to swimming
Expert
Posts: 1440 Location: Texas
If you go to a swim facility they will be able to gauge how many laps to do with you horse. I would be very nervous about just going to a pond or lake. IMHO.
Posted 2014-06-06 8:32 PM Subject: RE: Introduce horse to swimming
Expert
Posts: 4766 Location: Bandera, TX
I've had my horse swimming for a week and a half. He was in pretty good shape going to the facility as I work him on an incline treadmill and love to long trot. He had a great HR recovery prior to going. He is still only able to do 2 consecutive laps of a 40 ft pool. He laps the first time at 30seconds, the second lap at 35-40 seconds. He comes out and catches his breathe and recovery heart rate for about 1.5 min then goes for a third lap. I really like the bulk he is adding and I'm quite surprised that his TB build is getting toned so well so quickly. I didn't notice that on the aquatred. The incline gave him nice hamstrings and loins but not the overall muscle definition. The inside of the hind legs and the outer thigh are building nicely as well as the shoulder muscles.
Posted 2014-06-06 8:43 PM Subject: RE: Introduce horse to swimming
BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352 Location: Bastrop, Texas
I have used a lake for my horses for about 12 years. It's one thing to walk and run in water that is 3-4 feet deep, and another to actually get them swimming. You have to slowly get them acclimated to swimming and maintain their confidence. I think any work in water is an excellent conditioning tool and it can help to build confidence between horse and rider when you are talking about real youngsters. My actual real "swimming" on my horses consists of arcing out in deeper water and circling back around. They seem to love it. It's easy to tell when you hit the deeper water and they are actually swimming, because you can feel their power surge when they start to swim. For some reason I find it almost impossible to keep from laughing when we are swimming.
Introduce horse to swimming
