Swimming with your horse - safety precautions?

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Ranyhyn

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Went for a lovely hack today with one of the kids from the yard (ah felt so nice to be reminded of the simpler pleasures of riding!)

We ended up swimming the horses in a little pool just off the main river. Now, this young lady presented a faultless argument for why we had to take our hats off - apparently (and I wasn't going to take on the brain of a 15YO, I was hungover!) if you fall off into water, your hat will absorb the water and become heavy, which is fine if you are conscious...nuff said.

Is this true? I thought a hat had polystyrene in it, and polystyrene floats...right?...

Am I being mugged off by a 15 year old lol?
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but apart from this any other good safety precautions we should be taking?

Kitty
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dont know the answer, but when my friend left her hat attatched to her stabe overnight and it rained, her hat absorbed all the water and became really heavy....
 
Fell off in the sea and can't say I noticed a difference. In river I would be more worried about cracking your head on something too. I think, wear one and have someone else with you who can drag you up!
 
well if there are vents on the hat, surley the water would seep through? unless its and older style hat
 
I've given this some thought and I'm not sure......but..... I think if I weighed up the risk of a bang on the head if I fell off in water and caught a stray hoof or something else, without a hat and the risk of sinking IF my hat got too heavy I would say more chance of risk from getting hit, especially if I was with others. Not sure that makes sense, but think I would stick with the hat.
I am prepared to listen to the argument though as this is only a guess.
 
Well this is it QH, my hat never comes off when I am mounted, you have to surgically remove me from it, but, it was a very interesting debate anyway.

I swam in my hiviz, I'm so safety conscious...!
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kitsune it really is very simple.

wear a point 2 air jacket aswell and you will float, hopefully not head down, arse up though if your head is heavy!
 
Can do an experimental test for you tommorrow as have several old hats at home I am happy to dunk and weigh!
 
Glad to hear you were wearing hi viz! I suppose theres not the risk of your head hitting the floor in water.
Hi viz would be useful if you were swept away by the tide. Perhaps inflatable hi viz is the way forward.
 
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How about, inflatable saddle that when you part company, turns into a dinghy?

Or maybe I just shouldn't swim lol

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Good idea about the saddle!
Enjoy the swimming, I wish I lived somewhere where we could swim with horses.
 
2 things you should think about before going for a swim with your horse. Their steering isnt so good in water so you could find yourself heading for France if you're not careful. Secondly, do your best to stay on board. I knew someone whose leg was broken by her horses leg when she came off in deep water. Having said that, swimming with your horse is great fun and something I really miss since moving away from the coast.
 
I would have a neck strap to hold on to because the motion of the horse swimming can make you come away from the horse (when bareback). Do you people swim with saddles? Doesn't it wreck them? When we used to take our horses we went bareback with no bridle as when they were swimming it was only the haed and part of the neck above water!
 
I didn't swim in my saddle, no but I know some people have done before. Neck strap is an excellent idea, as I did find myself holding onto mane!
 
Used to swim with mine regularly as a child - no hat, no bridle, no saddle! The biggest challenge was returning across the sand without pony going down for a damn good roll - had to do that at top speed! Looking back, with the modern perception and awareness of H and S, it was a nightmare of "what ifs". The ponies were used to the great big,slippery stones you had to cross to get to the sand - left them on a long rein/leadrope, and they picked their way across - but it wasn't SAFE. The ride from field to beach was only about 100yds, without hat or tack - but it wasn't SAFE. The tourists in the summer loved patting the ponies and putting their babies up for a cuddle/sit on - but it wasn't SAFE. The seawall was only fifteen feet wide, and unfenced on the beach side - and it certainly wasn't SAFE. However, it was bl**dy good FUN, and I think we sometimes lose track of why we do the Pony Thing. Of course there were mishaps, but actually, not that many, and generally we accepted that if it went wrong,we were responsible and no one else. Just had to be more careful the next time! I don't advocate irresponsibility, far from it, but leave some room for fun and adventure, even in today's climate. When my pony ended up in a garden, munching prize roses (he particularly liked yellow ones!) I got called "a very stupid girl" - or words to that effect! Today, I would probably be sued, so, everyone, make sure you have adequate 3rd party insurance cover, just to cover the roses! (Preparing myself to be yelled at......!)
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