I'd keep them away from the pond! If they should slid in, or get stuck in the mud, you could lose them! It's always best to use a water troth! I know, I've had horses and we also had a pond! :)

You could use a water testing kit to determine how safe the water is. It will check for things like pH level, ammonia, nitrogen, etc.

Unless you can send the water away to a lab and scuba dive...while looking at everything, you really can't determine whether it is safe or not. You are best to fence off the area and keep them away from the pond.

Horses have been drinking out of ponds and streams and pools of water for eons. What feeds the pond? Is it just runoff or is it ground water welling up? If it has a good constant source, they water should be fine for them. But you could ruin the pond itself by allowing big hooved animals around the edge of a pond as the shore is a delicate area. Most farms with cows fence off fresh water sources to avoid getting them contaminated and ruining waterlands. Even rivers and streams can be destroyed from constant walking by large animals. Fence it off to keep the wetlands safe if you must. As to swimming in it, most farm ponds that have an underground source and have depth to them are safe to swim in. My SIL has a great pond next door that we swim and fish in. You can't touch bottom anywhere and it rarely gets low except in sever drought years. We however have a huge pond but it is from beavers damming it up. At it's deepest it's about 9 feet but most of it is around 1-3 feet. There are beavers, muskrats, waterfowl, snakes, turtles, fish, everything lives in it. The bottom is really murky and muddy, not anything I would swim in. It's great for canoing but not for placing my body in:-) Photos, first one is our pond in the fall and the second is friend canoing in swim pond next door.

Hello. The pond won't hurt the horses, but the horses will destroy the pond.

ever since horses have been on earth they have been drinking from ponds and lakes so it would be o.k. to put a pond in.Just if you do you should make sure it is not slippery so the horse cant slip and break its leg or fall in and drown.it cant be too deep.there shouldn't be rocks in a pasture either because a horse could injure its self bye tripping on one and breaking a leg.i have a pasture and a natural lake so if you make one test the water for oil or any poisonous chemicals in the water too so the horses don't get sick

take the water and have it tested. You local county agricultural agent should be able to help with this.

I don't think the pond will be dangerous for the horses at all, i have 2 lakes and a river on my property and the horses love them not just to drink from but also to play and swim in. As long as the water is stagnant i cant see there being a problem but as previous members have stated the horses will ruin the pond - depending on the size - as they tend to drink at the same rough point all the time (well mine do anyway). you could also maybe fence to pond off with an opening allowing the horses access but so they don't ruin the whole rim of the pond? just a suggestion. :-D