If your horse won’t go through water

[exracehorse]

As per the title. My young mare is doing brilliantly under saddle. Lots of hacking for strength and stamina. After being turned away for the winter She has gone past anything I’ve ever asked of her. I’ve only had to lightly tap with the crop if she’s backed off a scary tree monster. Went out with other riders today and we went on a new route. And we came to a small half dried out pond. Others went through. Six strides and your on the other side. She was absolutely petrified and refused. Tried sitting it out. Tried pony club style kicking. I even got off and tried to lead her. My new boots will never be the same ?. I will never ever force a horse to do something. And there is a big difference between being naughty and being scared. But .. it’s sooo embarrassing to be the one stuck on the other side So .. others turned back. And we exited onto another field. Has anyone had a horse that’s super scared of going through water? How do you even practice for something like that.

 

[Carrottom]

What is she like with puddles? That is how I worked with one of mine, looked for bigger and deeper ones.

 

[exracehorse]

What is she like with puddles? That is how I worked with one of mine, looked for bigger and deeper ones.

Avoids them. To be honest .. I’ve sort of let her go around them. I’ll try her going through them now. And to be fair …. That pond was probably not the best first introduction to water. We didn’t realise you had to go through it until we turned the corner.

 

[Zuzan]

Make the ask smaller .. and increase incrementally... also start in less pressurised setting .. Wait until it's warmer and it doesn't matter if you get wet!

 

[cauda equina]

What is she like with puddles? That is how I worked with one of mine, looked for bigger and deeper ones.

I agree with using puddles, especially on the road where you have a good firm footing

 

[dixie]

My boy was the same. I ended up getting off to get him through a flooded road when I first got him !

I now take every opportunity to walk him through puddles and streams. I’ve also taken him to the beach a couple of times, trying to let him know it’s actually fun.

 

[stangs]

Ditto the puddles, leading her through them with no pressure if she's stressed, R+ if she's really anxious. Then slowly working upwards from there. Riding out with a friend who likes water and is happy to stand in a pond while waiting for her to get in would help reassure her too.

 

[TPO]

Groundwork. Once it's spot on horse will go where you qsk. Introduce things like a folded up and secured tarp to step over and gradually unfold it until horse has to step on it and then walk across it.

After that shallow puddles then small streams etc

 

[Flame_]

Get someone to hit her from behind with a tree branch

Yep, get off and lead, if you've company then get others to stand in the water, start with water you can see the bottom of, with firm ground on the approach and in the water, and with a gentle slope in. When you've chosen the right water to tackle, leave yourself plenty of time and persist, don't give up unless it's to move to an easier obstacle - but you should try to start with the absolute easiest to begin with and build from there.

Then, overall work on building the sort of trust with your horse that you can basically tell her " it's fine, do it" and she (usually!) will.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

The problem with getting off and trying to lead a worried horse through water is that he may decide that the best way to tackle the problem is to launch him/herself in/over it , and they invariably aim to land on the spot that you are standing on because , obviously , that appears to be safe ground !
I would usually be prepared to just sit it out but I did once turn a very stubborn horse round and backed him through a body of water spanning the lane that I couldn't get round any other way - and no way am I going back on myself ! He was absolutely flummoxed to find himself on the other side of the puddle and facing the water again ( not the brightest lad !) .

 

[exracehorse]

Get someone to hit her from behind with a tree branch

Yep, get off and lead, if you've company then get others to stand in the water, start with water you can see the bottom of, with firm ground on the approach and in the water, and with a gentle slope in. When you've chosen the right water to tackle, leave yourself plenty of time and persist, don't give up unless it's to move to an easier obstacle - but you should try to start with the absolute easiest to begin with and build from there.

Then, overall work on building the sort of trust with your horse that you can basically tell her " it's fine, do it" and she (usually!) will.

Yes. Did get off. Hence the new ruined Spanish riding boots ?. But she wasn’t budging and was starting to lift her front feet off the ground. Even with the other horse standing in front in the water .. it was eyes on stalks. Pounding heart rate. I think you just have to make that decision. Battle on .. but could end in disaster. Or say ok. Let’s go home. To be fair. It wasn’t the nicest looking pond. The floating twigs probably looked like snakes.

 

[Highmileagecob]

I had more success with my cob once I had managed to clear his chronic thrush. I can only assume that water made his heels sting. He would still hesitate if he couldn't see where he was putting his feet, but that did get better with time. I can remember a lot of backing away, head down with eyes on stalks, snorting, pawing....Good luck, I hope you get her over it - loads of wither scratches when she succeeds!

 

[Highmileagecob]

Have you got a small area where you could create a shallow walk through, so that she can see where she is putting her feet? If that helps it will give you something to build on.

 

[Follysmum]

One of mine wouldn’t go anywhere near even with a lead. What I did which actually worked was to go in reversing. Took a few attempts but now he just walks in fine

 

[humblepie]

My old one wouldn’t but didn’t stop him being a super star so I never really worked in it. Strangely when he retired to a wetter part of the country and has to walk through puddles he did.

 

[mariew]

I never managed with mine so am interested to see how people would solve it. When days were sodden and wet everywhere she would go through anything but would she go through a puddle or near water when the rest was dry? Would she heck. I didn't have brave pants enough to sit out massive leaps.

I have a feeling it came from a lead horse teaching her puddles were to be feared when she was young.

 

[paddy555]

ours have to go through streams otherwise we would never get anywhere. Patience is the key, you can't rush. I would take someone out in the car with my wellies, lunge rope, bucket of feed and flask of coffee. Ride there, try to lead in and then prepare to wait it out for as long as it takes. I would try to make sure it was wide enough not to be jumped then stand in the water with the feed, lunge rein on to a headcollar and reward every tiny step. I would have someone on the far side. If the horse leapt and charged they could then grab it on it's way out. The horse would most likely try to back away once it had put it's foot in so the lunge rope would be long enough to allow it to.
Then we would repeat and repeat. By the time we had finished it would be pawing the water and drinking and leading through calmly. It would take as long as it takes but most give in pretty quickly if you have set it up correctly and they have chance to think and work it out..

Last time I did this I had no preparation with a horse I knew disliked water and had not yet been trained. Got soaked up to my knees, had to unfasten one side of the reins to get any length. Took 20 minutes with OH waiting to grab him on the other side. I was a bit keen to get on with it as we were forced into this situation as we had clashed with the MOD dog section who were training with GSDs and Malis chasing and apprehending people. We were rather keen to get out of their way and there was no way we were going to go back through them with a young horse so through the stream he had to go and he put his brave pants on. .
Took 5 days to dry out my poor boots which were never the same again.

 

[Horseysheepy]

I once stood a scared of water horse parallel to a large puddle and got him to do a turn on the forehand. He didn't realise his back legs were crossing over each other through the water as we completed the manovere. I then kept doing it and adding rein backs until he was fully in the puddle. Then facing towards the exit of the puddle, I asked him to calmly walk on please and he did. Ok he was exiting the puddle, but at least he was walking forwards through it! It took a few goes and he finally happily walked through water after that.

 

[laura_nash]

Mine spent two years in a field with a stream down the middle he had to wade through to get to the grass on the other side. He no longer has the slightest concern even in deep fords. A suitable field might be a bit difficult, but can you create a scenario where she has to walk through some water regularly?

 

[SusieT]

Break it down into stages. Find somewhere with a water jump, bring a confident patient friend, bring lunge rope + feed. Take time and lead her through, pressure headcollar may help. Lunge beside the water. Essentially prepare to spend several hours making her think water is not scary

 

[magicmoments]

I have managed to get my horse through water, that her previous owner couldn't. Previously she would lead through on foot, but not ridden. Strangely I found starting with larger shallow easier than small puddles which it was easy for her to side step at the last minute. Initially I got her as near as she would go, and relaxed providing she faced it. Gave it a couple of minutes, and then would ask for another step, if she moved forward I would let her relax, and graze there. Would probably leave it there for that day. The object was to change her mind set, as she was quite shut down when I took her on. Gradually it has worked, she will trot through small puddles now, and take me to water on occasions. I'm careful what I ask, and would never overface her. Important not to be in a rush, and become impatient. It's one reason I prefer to hack on my own, so we're not under pressure from someone else. I think in general I reward trying, even if we don't get all the way that day.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

As per the title. My young mare is doing brilliantly under saddle. Lots of hacking for strength and stamina. After being turned away for the winter She has gone past anything I’ve ever asked of her. I’ve only had to lightly tap with the crop if she’s backed off a scary tree monster. Went out with other riders today and we went on a new route. And we came to a small half dried out pond. Others went through. Six strides and your on the other side. She was absolutely petrified and refused. Tried sitting it out. Tried pony club style kicking. I even got off and tried to lead her. My new boots will never be the same ?. I will never ever force a horse to do something. And there is a big difference between being naughty and being scared. But .. it’s sooo embarrassing to be the one stuck on the other side So .. others turned back. And we exited onto another field. Has anyone had a horse that’s super scared of going through water? How do you even practice for something like that.

My mare was the same, till her buddy loved it and would wander in and splash, gradually she learnt to splash too, so use another horse to help you.

 

[Lois Lame]

Groundwork. Once it's spot on horse will go where you qsk. Introduce things like a folded up and secured tarp to step over and gradually unfold it until horse has to step on it and then walk across it.

After that shallow puddles then small streams etc

I really like this suggestion and I don't know if I would ever have thought of it.

 

[TPO]

I really like this suggestion and I don't know if I would ever have thought of it.

It's how I taught mine to load when I didn't have transport. Once they have ground manners and then been introduced to different surfaces (& channels made of poles and cones etc) they will pretty much walk on a young if asked.

But yeah tarp is a cheap and easy way to practice for water.

Tristan Tucker does a lot with tarp iirc and Richard Maxwell is groundwork for everything before loading or water jumps etc

 

[Trouper]

I have never found having a lead or others waiting for you on the other side works with one who is really worried about it. What did work was giving her a bigger worry - asked the others to ride on and she crashed through the shallow stream in her eagerness to keep with them.
Repeated this every time until I felt she was happy enough with the water and then one day I put her in front to lead everyone else over - job done.

 

[Horseysheepy]

Talking of tarp, you can create a water tray buy getting 4 wooden rails placing into a square shape, and putting the tarp over it and squishing it down to create the tray and then grab a hose and fill with water. It's a great extension to tarp training and water training in one!!

 

[scruffyponies]

This will be of no use to you at all, but
I had one like this, and what cracked it was a morning at the local ford (18"). I had my daughter on her elderly pony as a lead, going backwards and forwards through it whilst I asked him to follow. We spent an hour and a half rearing and spinning, until he finally realised the only way I was going to let him go was into the water. Of course as soon as he was in it, life was much easier, he was able to follow JB, and we went on our way.

Same horse took a carriage through that ford yesterday morning without hesitation, having not been driven since last summer.

Prior to that I had tried various softly softly approaches involving puddles, reversing, groundwork, etc. etc. He wouldn't even step on wet tarmac if he could avoid it. With him it was all or nothing.

 

[Auslander]

Had a very similar situation with Alf in his younger days. He was absolutely not prepared to go through our local ford. I went there every couple of days, with company, without company, on foot, and under saddle - and he said a firm nope every time. If I put any pressure on, he'd run backwards and rear, and with his dodgy hind suspensories, I wasn't comfortable letting that happen.

I decided to sit it out, and not react. We hacked down there, and stood at the edge for long long periods of time. I kept my leg on, and gave him the odd nudge, but took the pressure off if he started going light in front, or trying to spin. Eventually, he got bored silly of standing by the waters edge, and started dipping his toes in. Then one day, we were standing there, and a horse appeared. Rider asked if I minded if she passed us, then she went through the ford and galloped off up the bridlepath (wasn't expecting that!) Alf grew about 3 hands, leapt into the ford, and then threw all kinds of shapes up the bridleway, wanting very badly to catch up with the other horse!

Next time I went there, he walked straight in, and now he loves it so much that I often can't get him out, as he likes splashing and making whirlpools with his nose so much! He is now our go-to horse for getting others to get their toes wet, although his enthusiastic splashing isn;t very helpful!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

We have a ford here which is really useful for training. In the summer it can be quite low if there hasn't been much rain, this combined with not having to worry about traffic helps a lot.

I train in hand with a long rope, so if they jump I won't get pulled over. I use a horse that's good with water as a lead and a helpful person to lead that horse. I basically use patience and repetition. Then they are ready for when the ford is deeper and the current is stronger in the winter.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Get her confidence in you up by getting her to walk over platforms/tarps/gym mats etc and then smaller puddles etc. mine are moor ponies so no issues but last two before that were kept in fields with burns which tends to get them over it as grass is always greener!