Horses and ponds

[Somewhat Off The Way]

Are natural ponds safe for horses or do they ideally need to be fenced off? Pond is belly-deep for the horses at its fullest in winter.

Any thoughts/experiences/advice gratefully recieved. Thanks in advance

 

[Timelyattraction]

i have a pond in my field and I’ve never fenced it off. It has like a walk way ramp down to it but they don’t go in it x

 

[SpeedyPony]

If there's a slope to the bank I wouldn't worry, but if the bank has a steep drop I'd fence, to save any falls into the pond or difficulty getting out.

 

[HopOnTrot]

I've had 3 ponies in a field with a natural pond and no issues, same field has housed everything from TB's to cobs to mini-shetlands without anyone having issues.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

I’m interested in this too OP, as we’ve bought a house that has a fenced off pond in one of the fields and we were thinking of taking the fence down

 

[Tiddlypom]

If the footing in the pond is good then it should be safe.

You don’t want to have to call the heavy mob rescue teams in to winch a stuck horse out of a boggy pond. It happens all the time round here when horses get trapped in ditches and waterways . Does not always have a happy ending.

 

[Skib]

We used to ride our RS horses into the ponds in summer. There was a sandy shore with no reeds and they loved it. You just had to be sure they didnt try to lie down or roll in the water with tack on. Then there was a health scare may be about listeria. Boards were put round the pond and at my present yard we don't let the horses go in the water.

 

[rabatsa]

We used to rent a field that had a moat in it and the horses used to wade through it to eat the grass in the middle.

 

[ycbm]

I would be very wary. I have seen a cow which had drowned in shallow water at the edge of a pond. I've seen two sheep which had walked out on the snow covered ice and gone through. Summer is one thing but ice on it on winter could cause serious injuries.
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[HollyWoozle]

Ours is fenced as the ponies would wade in and stuff themselves with reeds and weed and whatever other tasty morsels they could devour until they looked like true hippos.

 

[Spirit7]

I have a pond, more of a hole but a large one. It’s called Smugglers Hole, but it’s fine, I have 3, a sec A and 2 warmbloods, it’s fine. They know it’s there, they don’t go in but might drink from there.

 

[spotty_pony2]

Mine have been in the field with our big pond/lake before and there wasn’t a problem, they could get in but never did, just went to the edge to drink. There is a path all the way around and my boy used to go for a wander and an explore!

 

[BurntontheoutsideTurkey]

Someone I worked for lost a polo pony in one. They were outwintered in a field in the next village and it was fairly clayey so the pond edge had got slippy and boggy. They were checked daily but that wasn't enough in that instance.

 

[Melandmary]

I filled my pond in when moving soil for a ménage as mine were constantly in it eating weeds and reeds and I worried about that as they both have ems

 

[Sleipnir]

If the footing is safe and horses can safely enter/exit the pond, then they are a lovely element of enrichment!

Here's my hippo tax.

 

[Lois Lame]

Ours is fenced as the ponies would wade in and stuff themselves with reeds and weed and whatever other tasty morsels they could devour until they looked like true hippos.

That reminds me, one year when we had had a lot of rain (not flood rain, but rain whenever we needed it) we had a lot of growth in the lower end of one of the local paddocks. There was a lot of that water-loving grass there - Cyperus - and the horses loved it. They looked very well on it.

Regarding ponds, if you mean a pond which has no gradual slope, I'd be wary of it. How would you get a horse out if it fell in?

 

[Lois Lame]

I have a pond, more of a hole but a large one. It’s called Smugglers Hole, but it’s fine, I have 3, a sec A and 2 warmbloods, it’s fine. They know it’s there, they don’t go in but might drink from there.

I think that's the thing, isn't it. Do the horses know it's there? And it's layout?

In a place where I used to agist my horse (before it changed hands and went to the dogs) one of the paddocks had rather treacherous looking ground, and it was treacherous, but the horses and us people could tell that. No problems ever arose. My kids were youngish then and often went exploring while my horse ate. (And I'd join them as quick as I could because I'm a worry-wort.)

 

[limestonelil]

Ponds are fine until they're not, iyswim. Bit like gazing shod horses in fields with wire sheep fencing. It's a known risk.

 

[BurntontheoutsideTurkey]

I filled my pond in when moving soil for a ménage as mine were constantly in it eating weeds and reeds and I worried about that as they both have ems

Filling in seems a bit extreme when you consider their value for wildlife and the fact that a fence would suffice.

 

[YourValentine]

From the perspective of pond health and birds and other animals using it as habitat it is best fenced off, to allow reeds and other plants to grow and create a safe haven for insects, frogs and ducks, herons etc.

If there is a shelving entrance that you'd like you horses to have access to for water you could create an indented fence to allow them some access, but if its not sandy/gravelly will very quickly become a poached mess, which could lead to injuries.

 

[Gloi]

My first pony used to stand in the middle of the pond when he didn't want to be caught, the little *****

My current pony goes in the pond if he is in that field but hasn't learnt that trick.

 

[GinaGeo]

We fenced ours off. It has steep sides.


In the past my old pony was known to swim in it across to a small island. The good grass was there. The big horses couldn’t get to it. And she knew we couldn’t get to her to bring her back and we’d have to go and fetch a better incentive (bribe).

But the sides weren’t so steep then, as we have since had to reinforce them as the horses broke the banks down drinking from it, and it was growing exponentially.

It’s a wonderful habitat, and we have ducks, frogs, newts and countless insects that call it home.

 

[Spirit7]

Mine has duck currently

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Depends on the horse. We never had a drama until we got a thoroughbred who must have been swum as part of his training. We could not keep him out of the dam/pond at home. He would go in mid-winter with his rug on as well.

When he went on a summer holiday the livery centre called after a week and asked us to come and get him as he was “fouling the dam” every day by getting in, splashing around, digging out all the natural pond weed, pooping in it and generally having a good time.

 

[teacups]

Filling in seems a bit extreme when you consider their value for wildlife and the fact that a fence would suffice.

If you’re digging out a manège there is a lot of spare soil which has to somewhere, and disposal can be expensive. If the pond happened to be more of a nuisance than anything else, I can see why this solution was arrived at.

 

[exracehorse]

The yard near me, rents out a separate field and stables. Four years ago one of the horses drowned in the pond. No idea what happened as the pond has been there for yonks.

 

[Somewhat Off The Way]

Thanks all for the replies, plenty to think about.

I think it would be excellent enrichment for the horses but I'm going to fence it off initially until they get used to it being there and I can see what wildlife it is home to year round. I'll decide further down the line whether to let the horses access it or not.

Thanks again