Horses can be fairly unpredictable around water, as I learned while scanning through videos of horses splashing in streams, falling into icy lakes and serving as unwilling participants in the “ice bucket challenge.”
I got started looking at horses and water after viewing the first video on this page, which shows rider Anna Paterek patiently coaxing her horse Magic into the water. As you can see, when Magic would not carry his rider into the stream, Anna dismounted and demonstrated that her horse had nothing to fear — and Magic responded in kind.
From this first video, I found some others that I thought you might be interested in seeing. While I don’t have much information about the next video, I love how the rider manages a broad smile as she goes to retrieve her horse.
The third video shows what could have been a tragedy in Reykjavik, Iceland, where a group of horses and their riders fell through the ice on a shallow pond during a horse show in 2009. Fortunately, all the horses and riders were able to get out without serious injury, although some horses needed to be warmed to avoid hypothermia. Horse Talk magazine had a written account of the incident.
Here are three more videos for your amusement:
- “Total Recall Videos” compiled a collection of steeplechase clips, in which you’ll see horses and their riders having trouble getting through the water jumps.
- In a comedy video, bystanders are caught off guard in a gag that involves a police officer, a horse and a river.
- Last but not least is a woman who decides to do the popular “ice bucket challenge” astride her horse. While the woman only flinched when hit with the icy water, her horse was roused into motion.
