Why do horses paw the water? My Gelding does that?

Question

My 7 yr old gelding always does that. I want an actual reason. Some ppl say to cool them down. Not true, he does it when its 30 degrees outside. Some say for fun. Or to get ready to roll. What is it???

Answer 1

both my horses do this, it can mean several things, may mean he wants to drink, it can be to cool off, it can mean hes fixin to roll (my horse did that to me the first time she pawed) and it can be just for fun. but if he does it in 30 degree weather he probably just likes to play.

Answer 2

My Haflinger gelding is a water horse.  He does love to play in water, but I know if he paws at water, he's just about trying to go down to roll.  Which is not fun when I'm sitting up there on his back.

Maybe other horses paw water for other reasons, who knows.

Answer 3

maybe its hard to see

i think they make the water move so they can drink better

or there freightened by water and need to be desensetized to it

Answer 4

clean there hooves

Answer 5

I think the honest answer is that we don't know for sure.....maybe different horses do it for different reasons????

ADD....if it's instinct, why don't they all do it??????????????

Answer 6

I would say its entertaining him... and he could possibly love the water... put both together if you loved watered and it entertained you wouldn't you want to be in it or play in it? Same thing, horses are very funny they get bored extremely fast. Get a ball or hanging ball for him, something he can enjoy playing with. I have an older gelding that loves water... when I spray him with the hose he will turn in courters to get every part of himself wet... while turning if it is not enough water he will paw the ground how funny, like he is telling me "more water lady"!

You just have a good personality horse

Hope this helped!

Answer 7

I have horses that paw at the water in the water trough before they drink. I don't really know why they do it. I also have horses that paw their feed dishes and spill their feed. I think both are instincts buried in their brains, but I'm nut sure exactly why they do it.

Answer 8

If you mean he does it when your trying to get him to go across it, it is probably because he's testing it to see how deep it is or if theres anything dangerous about it. Horses often paw things when faced w/ anything they aren't sure about.

If you mean he does it when he's already in the water, then it probably is just because he likes the water. I have a mare that picks up speed everytime she sees water and once she's in it she just stands in it and paws.

Answer 9

horses paw the water because its there instinct to swim.. when i take my horses swimming they paw and try to lay down in the water........ sometimes horses just like to play in the water too... no matter how cold it is out

Answer 10

Most horses paw at the ground when tied up because they are bored so they should only really do it after being tied up for a while!!  at my riding school we did a safe hacking course where we went out and got told all the stuff we need to know about hacking and one of them was riding your horse through a stream. my riding teacher said to always check the water doesnt suddenly go deep at some point but your horse can pretty much tell anyway because they paw at the ground sometimes to feel whats down there and if its safe to step forwards! so there is your answer however my riding teacher said if they paw at the water and lift their head down they are getting ready to roll so pull your geldings head up and send him forward, you dont want to end up being rolled on!! :)

Answer 11

The horse you see as my avatar paws water. He does it because he loves to play with it. He will also take the  garden hose and flip it all around. He loves to be squirted with it, and just generally loves to play in it. Some horses just love the water, and love to see it splashing around.

Answer 12

To see how deep it is.  It's instinctual.  He has no idea if it's 2" deep or 50' deep!  Once he determines it's not deep enought to suck him in and drown him, he'll probably paw a couple of times in prelude to plunking down and rolling (though usually not when it's cold out)

Edit:  The fact that it's instinctual behaviour would not indicate that all horses would engage in the behaviour.  Over time and with experience, and training, horses abandon many instinctual responses, such as bolting and running away from dogs (obvious predators).  A horse's instinct is to buck and bolt to remove any living creature that jumps on his back.   Obviously we are able to retrain a horse to abandon this instinctive response (hopefully).  Horses who have had a lot of experience with puddles and rivers learn to trust the rider and do not stop to check the depth.  Does this make sense?

Answer 13

some people say that it is to clear the water but I've seen them do it to running water as well. All horses do this and it could be for many reasons.I have heard from quit a few people that they do it to try and scare off things in the water, fish, snakes, you name it..now if thats true or not idk but it would seem to make sense. I have also heard its to cool off but honestly I think its just a horsey thing??...lol who knows

Answer 14

Its because either he is bored and now since he have found something fun to play in. Because its splashes moves and gets him in wet. Or he maybe checking the water to see how deep it is, is it going to hurt him or is there anything in the water.

Answer 15

there are two main reasons why horses paw water.

1

horses lack depth perception even more so under their nose. water can be confusing to horses  because the water catches light on angles that the earth does not. to a horse this can be daunting so in order to follow through on the riders commands. he paws it to test that it really is safe. and to feel the density, and smell the earth beneath, you normally see a horse either do the flehman reaction after he has paw at the water or see him snort. this is his way of using his well tuned senses, to inform him of everything from the top of the water to the very bottom.

2

shear entertainment. some horses love the feel of water all over them, i've known many who if not stopped from pawing will continue until they are rolling. you'll see a horse do this especially on a hot day after a long ride.

Answer 16

The guy above me had some good answers that could all be a good possability. But I think that he probably wants to get in the water and roll.

Answer 17

It is instinctual.  Horses don't like to drink stagnate water.  So they paw at it to break the surface tension and clear away any scum that might be on the top of the water.