katie

I was just wondering, do horses actually like water? I saw a movie about a horse and rider who would jump off of a platform into a pool of water. Do they ever go into the water just to swim, like dogs do sometimes?

pickles

I've never seen a horse jump in because they were hot, they are much more likely to seek shade and a fly swatting buddy than water. Horses will swim though and many do on a regular basis for many reasons. In the movie you're thinking the horse was all about the jumping, it just happened to be into a pool of water.

MizzRibbon

I would think it would be uncommon for horses to actually get in water just because they wanted to. They sure like to drink it, but I think that generally a horse would only get in water if they were in a flood and were trying to swim to safety.

alexis

That would be my guess as well since I don't think I have ever heard of a horse swimming before. I think it would be a little odd but its possible just not highly thought of.

katie

The reason I asked was because I saw it in a movie "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken". It was about a girl and horse high dive act. I know horses will swim to cross the water but i just wondered about actually liking it.

pickles

Ranch horses swim often. As do the Assateague Island/Chincoteague Island ponies yearly during the roundup where they are brought from one island to the other. Horses are pretty good swimmers actually. Cross country jumpers also have water obstacles they have to jump in and out of, although not deep enough to swim they do come up above the horse's knee.