I saw that video a couple of times. He wasn’t as bad as the stallion, he wouldn’t try to kill you unless you wanted to ride.
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I have two horses that I’m 1000% sure would tuck tail and bail ASAP without a thought of kicking. They would fold and go. And I have another who is sweet as pie but in his interactions with the others, is quick to kick out and wildly athletic, too. He would dump and kick, I don’t doubt it, though all three are total pets and I trust them all equally.
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Horses absolutely can plan, and execute said plan. Anyone who says they can’t, hasn’t been around enough extremely intelligent ones. To say horses ONLY run off instinct and live in the moment is to say they are dumb, and they are not dumb.
Definitely not all horses are capable. And many do just “exist”. Those ones make for easy rides, but they aren’t the type I prefer.
Chiming in on the water issue here : I am a creature of the water. I LIVE to be in the water. Rivers and streams are my favourites. Hot springs are magic. Here in BC we are also blessed by stunning lakes as well. I will be in the water ALL DAY and still not have enough.
But… if something touches my footie… that I can’t see… my soul will leave my body instantly and I will thrash like i’m dying. I have a deep and unreasonable fear of inanimate objects in the water. Even if I can see them, it’s a NOPE.
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That was the young palamino colt. There is video of is somewhere on the interwebs. That horse was dangerous and should have been PTS. That lady did him no favors leaving him untouched for so long. Its a shame really.
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Off topic but I’d like to cruelly point out to those sticking to rivers that bull sharks love brackish water and can swim far up fresh water rivers. They’ll go for anything, the whites are a bit more picky. Just throwing that out there. 
I do love to snorkel though but admit to getting a bit weirded out in the deeper waters, peering into the quiet distance, knowing there’s so much more out there that I can’t see. I had a large crab grab my leg the other day when the surf was rushing out, that was a new one for me. Darn it, now I want to go to the beach right now! Wow, this is so far off from horses kicking, sorry!
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I thought the plan was for her to go straight to the vet to euthanize. Buck also talked to her about her emotional problem that was making her collect these horses. If I have time I’ll look for that video. I think he was kind but blunt to her about keeping all those colts intact.
Edit-
I’m pretty sure this is the video. I can’t watch it a second time, way too nerve wracking for me. (The video I saw the first time was much better quality than this one)
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From the BBC article
The researchers believe the fact the horses adapted so quickly indicates they understood the rule of the stop light the entire time, but had no reason to follow the rule when there was no consequence for getting it wrong.
This is key word is…“consequence.” Horses need to know there are consequences for bad behavior…and the earlier they learn the better.
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He told her to put him down. She cried. She took the horse home and kept him both intact and alive based on contemporaneous reports at the time from horse folks in the area.
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Egads!
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I take it you don’t live where there are alligators or crocodiles in the lakes or rivers, or ponds for that matter. I don’t either. 
If you live in Florida in the U.S. this can pop out of a pond on the golf course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fcFQhh7AYA
Some rivers and lakes are home to large snapping turtles. They won’t go after you (for me it’s just the thought that they are there and I can’t see them) but if you upset them they have a very powerful bite and sharp claws.
It just depends on what scares you. Everyone is different.
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Wow, that owner looked weirdly elated when she was apologizing, and when she stated she would have to put the horse down.
And to learn she didnt, eek! Creepy lady.
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I went to youtube and read the comments, someone on there knew her and said she had 18 stallions all loose together. She is very creepy.
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I am in Maine 
We do have snapping turtles in rivers, but they’re typically easy to avoid. Never saw one in my local lakes.
I’ve been to Florida…I wouldn’t even kayak there. Too many alligators everywhere!
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I tried to save a 2ft round HUGE snapper in the street in Ocala about 15yrs ago. And it jumped up and nearly bit me on the knee. I have no clue how I was going to get it across the street. I was hoping he would go into his shell and could just push him across.
I just didn’t want it in the road to either get hit or become someone’s soup!
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They are nasty. Around here, everyone knows how to push them off the road without getting hurt. Their neck has a looong reach and you don’t want to use your bare hands!!!
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My question would be how many times has a person actually fallen off of the horse? I know horses who have never had a rider fall off. The fact that it can happen is probably pretty alarming to the horse the first few times it happens. How did you end up down there, and so fast?
Of course, one of my horses had his tail touch his leg last week and it spooked him enough he kicked at it and tried to run away… from his tail. So….
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This is part of the learning process to “civilize” a horse. During training a horse is taught to have strange things around its legs and not kick out.
This was a hard-learned lesson for me when I got bucked off a horse that got his legs entangled in a mounting block. Since then, I teach all my horses to tolerate things around their legs. I buy young (yearling-2 yr olds) a lot of their first unridden experiences are to learn to be calm when things fall off their backs, get wrapped around their legs.
Edited to add…Before I ever sit on their backs, Mr. Effigy rides them to introduce a bouncing, flopping rider on their backs. Mr. Effigy eventually falls off in various directions. Mr. Effigy is a set of coveralls filled with straw and tied to the saddle. The horse is lunged with Mr. Effigy bouncing along and flopping forward and back, then falling on its neck, rump and eventually falling off its its hind end in both directions…rinse repeat.
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Unfortunately, I think the vast majority of folks (Western or English) have horses that fall under a combination. Riders that have no clue about lameness and riders that are lacking in training. That leads to a horse that is unhappy and frustrated and anxious. And that’s where you get the undesirable behaviors.
I see it plenty in real life too. In addition to social media.
You don’t know what you don’t know and a lot of folks do not seek to know more, sadly.
Yep. However, I know trainers who don’t do this part. Some don’t feel it’s necessary… and yeah, with some horses it isn’t. But then you find one where it is.
