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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 306
Location: Albany, Georgia | We are building a pond to swim our own horses for exercise and also possibly offer services to outside horses. I'm curious if anyone else has one they've built. How wide? How long? And how did you do your dock? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 372
| if you insist on doing this you need to build long and narrow.
150' x 35'ish.
Concrete ramp on one end. I would never pay to have my horse swam in a pond simply because I would never want my horses to be exposed to the funk that grows in ponds.
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| arion - 2015-08-31 7:09 AM
if you insist on doing this you need to build long and narrow.
150' x 35'ish.
Concrete ramp on one end. I would never pay to have my horse swam in a pond simply because I would never want my horses to be exposed to the funk that grows in ponds.
Agreed! Sounds like a lot of work and a LOT of cleaning!!! I would also imagine that liability insurance would be through the roof. |
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 Guys Just Wanna Have Fun
Posts: 5530
Location: OH | HHHHMMM---where to begin. My favorite ones to use are about 60 feet across and Have an island in the middle and the horses swim around you. They sunk a big metal beam in the ground and poured it in concrete----I am guessing the pond is around 15 feet deep. The dock went out to it and then has a cantelever ramp---you walk down it and it goes down then has a weight underneath that lifts it back up. When taking the horses in they had rubber hanging down the dock on both sides so that horses could not get up under, PLUS when going in they had railroad ties down on the ground and they were not all the same height so that the horses can get good footing when going in and coming out so they don't suck shoes off---very critical. |
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Guys Just Wanna Have Fun
Posts: 5530
Location: OH | Futhermore---I prefer a pond over a pool if it has a good fresh water feed to it. I think it stays cleaner than a pool where they are pouring all the chemicals into. When swimming---we have them on a sttick, usually around 10 feet long, just like a 1 inch plastic pipe---put a rope down through it and a snap on the end. You have a lot more contro with this, where you can push the horse away if they get to close to the dock. I have swam a BUNCH of horses so if you have any questions feel free to ask. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 306
Location: Albany, Georgia | The pond will be filtered and have fresh water supply. It won't be some murky swamp water, and I prefer it over chemical swimming pool. We plan on putting a dock down the center with a lift gate in the center so they can swim laps before coming back out. If anyone has pictures that would be great! |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| I would definitely be looking for someone to properly train me in swimming horses, what to do if they flip over, and stuff like that. I would also buy at least a million dollar insurance policy. Just me. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 306
Location: Albany, Georgia | I will definitely go about it the right way when offering it to the public, and I'm going to spend a couple of days with a friend who does this same thing in Florida before I even swim my own. |
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Guys Just Wanna Have Fun
Posts: 5530
Location: OH | It can be a trainwreck at first---hence having the stick on them. First time in they will generally get about knee deep and then lauch. At this point you want to be WAY out in front of them on the dock. If a horse goes under and gets water in their ears they lose all sort of equilibrium. You have to pull them to get them moving forward and swimming, they will sometimes just want to tread water and try touching bottom and this is when they flip over backwards---just keep pulling and they will catch on. First time I just take them in and one time around and back out---they will be whipped. Let them catch their breath and go back in---most will get to where they really like it. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | I think I'd rather haul to a facility.....that's gonna cost some BIG $$$$$$$, plus the cost to maintain it.....but thats my opinion |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 306
Location: Albany, Georgia | The pond is coming along nicely and I will post pictures when it's done. Thanks for the advice! Swimming is a great way to rehab horses which I have one with epm, and also good exercise! I will make sure to do things the right way and always have someone else there just in case |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 428
Location: God's country | This is very interesting! I wish you the best of luck with this. I'm in the southeast as well and the swim facilities are practically nonexistent. I'd love to see pictures when you're done. |
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Expert
Posts: 1409
Location: Oklahoma | How is your pond coming along??? |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | We had a swim pond and several creeks that were narrow enough the horses couldn't turn around in that we swam in. The pond had a dock that was about 40' long. I used a stick as my tow line. We would do one and sometimes two trips on our horses. The pond was on the creek that ran thru the ranch. Super clear water.
I'm discussing the possibility of building a swim lane at our ranch like my husband and I saw in the middle east. Our ponds on our current ranch we can't dig deeper. The lanes in Middle East are 6-8 foot wide and about 80-100' long. Some facilities have multiple lanes in a row. Longer ones for the fit horses are in the middle of a row of say 6. The horse would start on a shorter lane and then work the longer lane then back to a shorter lane. They walk between the swim laps about 30 seconds to a minute then dive back in.
I prefer the natural setting myself. Can't wait to see what your pond produces for you! The Dube girls would kick everyone tails back when they didn't weigh even a feed sack because Jack swam those horses in the pond and kept them superfit. |
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