A Hot Sunday Afternoon

bathing suit and bridle

In the middle of summer, riding can be hard on rider and horse.  The weather in parts of the US climbs into the 90s and the bugs are breeding and biting.  If you want to do something different that is fun for both of you and your equine friend, try a swim.  It is best to remove a good saddle and keep some kind of rubber shoes on.  Aside from those items you and your horse can strip down to a bathing suit and a bridle.

In my experience if the hack is some distance from your point of origin the back of the horse will get sticky from the sweat. So bareback is pretty easy. Its nice to find a handy log from which to mount if you have an animal over 16 hands.  Of, course if you had vaulting experience as part of your pony club, way back when, you will just be able to pop up onto the animal.  I also discovered that I was glad to have a full mane.  Moving around in the water is steadied with a grip on the mane.

entering the swimming hole

The experience is refreshing and lots of laughs for you and your human friends.  My horse laid down which meant a quick dismount.  This is where the boots came in handy.  The bottom of the swimming hole had slippery rocks, making walking a challenge.

After the lay down I walked back to the log and remounted my horse.  There was no way I wanted him to think this laying down business was part of the fun.  We went into the water again and bobbed around wondering why anyone was at a horse show or jumping fences when the fun is a refreshing dip in the pool on a hot summers day.

getting deep in water