Horse Diving - The Cruel Forgotten 'Sport'

Your link is not working.

It is random that they seemed to just keep doing it! There's a recent video of a park somewhere in the US with a small chestnut pony and a smaller park
 
fourshiresrambler said:
I know they wouldn't do it if they didn't want to ...
Click to expand...
Did they select horses for diving by giving them free access to the ramp and seeing which ones climbed up to the top and jumped off?

If not, then I rather think that coercion was involved and the horses didn't want to do it initially. Indeed why would they?

Whether they subsequently discovered that they liked it or at least weren't bothered by it is another question. Presumably the ones that did like it would happily dive unbidden...

I certainly know that I have made horses do things they didn't want to do on many occasions over the years.
 
Wow I can't believe someone ever had that idea! :O

The width of the pool in that video looks so narrow too
 
The story goes that one of the performers in the buffalo bill show had a bridge break under him and his horse and the horse did a pretty good dive into the river below so he wondered if it could be added to the show. I think it was a travelling show for quite a long time before it was at the steel pier.

I don't think we will ever know what if any coercion was used, those that know have no reason to really say. I still find it fascinating that any coercion could get them to go up a ramp that high and narrow (given the number of loading issues) let alone jump off the end.

you will often read 'no injuries' but from what I have read there was one that had an accident at the top of the ramp, one that didn't swim out and was rescued (they didn't try it again) and one that drowned when they tried to do it out into the sea and it did that typical horse thing of swimming in the wrong direction. There were certainly more human injuries/deaths and they reduced the drop because of that.
 
fourshiresrambler said:
I mean, I know they wouldn't do it if they didn't want to but Jesus, look at the height of some of the jumps :/
Click to expand...

Awful. I also dont agree that a horse wouldnt do it if they didnt want to, if a horse is pushed enough then it can be forced to. They probably shoved it or whipped it until it fell off the first few times - a horse wouldnt willingly jump off something that height, absolutely no way. Im surprised some of you think a horse would willingly do this...
 
I remember reading the book a long time ago, I think they were coerced up the ramp with treats and only a select few would jump off. Apparently they were never forced/whipped/bullied up the ramp
 
When people fall on to water from a great height at the wrong angle it can be very painful, even fatal. Belly flopping from just a couple of metres hurts. Even with the right angle, landing head first can cause concussion. Horses have dived from heights up to 60ft (about 18m).

So how certain can we be that horses don't get hurt diving from such heights? It's true horses have thicker skins and tougher frames; on the other hand, they can't present a streamlined profile to the water like we can.
 
I think we can be sure it hurt at least some of the time.
For me that only increases the intrigue that they still went and did it and I think they must have been very special horses. There's many you could beat to do something one day, but that wouldn't mean at all that they would casually walk up the ramp the next. For many if you'd done it like that the problem would just have moved backwards- you wouldn't have got them anywhere near the ramp instead.
 
Must be very kind horses - think about it, horses want to protect their legs don't they, I feel like an awful lot of force must have been used behind the scenes.
 
Yes it must have hurt just as a belly flop hurts us.

I wonder if they get the thrill of the adrenaline like humans though? Maybe that's why they kept doing it?
 
I have no idea but the idea is there. I mean, that's why people do daft things. Plus it's adrenaline that causes the fight or flight in horses so there may be some scientific basis there?
 
It's possible - I even find it bizarre that my horse genuinely, really likes jumping. That a flight animal would voluntarily choose to expend energy just seems odd to me :D
 
fourshiresrambler said:
I have no idea but the idea is there. I mean, that's why people do daft things. Plus it's adrenaline that causes the fight or flight in horses so there may be some scientific basis there?
Click to expand...
Well, people are daft - full stop! :D I do think your suggestion is an interesting one though, and hormones (both adrenaline and noradrenaline) are certainly involved in "flight or flight". I'm just a bit dubious about horses actually enjoying the feeling of an "adrenaline rush", considering that most of the time, and in terms of innate responses, it would be associated with real or perceived threats to their survival. Maybe the reason some of us enjoy it is because we can rationalize that we're probably going to be okay - something a horse can't do.

Of course, a horse could become habituated to a situation or act such as diving off the board once it learns that no harm comes to it as a result (and it may get a reward for doing so). But then would it still even have an adrenaline rush that it could enjoy? Not sure, but I tend to think not.
 
fburton said:
Interesting suggestion! Are there examples of horses doing things for an "adrenaline rush"? I can't think of any offhand, and I'm not sure how you would know anyway.
Click to expand...

I don't like watching it, although the chestnut pony doing it from a smaller height and without a rider on its back seems slightly more appealing. As for the above, I don't know about most people but I hate running, my horse however loves a good burn and gets excited when we go to our local gallop spot and is keen to go, I can only imagine because it offers a kind of adrenaline rush to her and she finds it enjoyable?
 
Floxie said:
It's possible - I even find it bizarre that my horse genuinely, really likes jumping. That a flight animal would voluntarily choose to expend energy just seems odd to me :D
Click to expand...

Yes, lots of people say their horse "loves jumping" and often that is questionable (ok so they are excited but is that enjoyment or nerves). I have known one horse that genuinely seemed to love it though, left in a field with jumps up in it he would jump over them by himself. He was a nightmare to keep in a field too, and would happily jump from the field with grass and company into the bare, empty one next door - apparently for no reason but the fun of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top