Puddle jumping

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claireelizabeth

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Our welsh sec A has decided she is far to posh to put her delicate hooves in the muddy puddles. Sadly for her mud and puddles are everywhere. She jumps the puddles or jumps on the spot when she see's something she doesn't want to go through.

The kids get a bit scared when she does it and the little one can't really sit to it yet as she's only starting out. This doesn't help and she's a bit too small for me she's only 11.3. The pony is usually very gentle and ploddy so it is a shame.

Has anyone got over this problem, I can take her for walks and lead her from my horse through it all which I thought might help but any other tips?
 
I'd be interested in the answers here as foalie has decided she's too posh for puddles
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My youngster didn't like getting her feet wet either but some of ours are now too big to jump so she has had to go through them
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She is a bit reluctant but her belly wins every time
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Might not be possible (in fact very unlikely) but a yard we used to be on had a grazing field split into two by a river flowing through it, if the horses wanted more grass, they had to cross to the other side (it was about a foot deep)
All the babies got chucked in there and just followed the older horses through.
Any chance you might have a yard nearby with something similar?
Or find somewhere where there's a strip of water like a ford or stream to cross, as then she can't go round/jump over it and with a bit of coercion/lead from anotehr horse she might accept it with a bit of patience and practice.
How is she with having her legs hosed etc, could be worth trying that to get her used to the water sensation if she doesn't like that either.
 
LOL I do have a river bank but atm its too deep and foalie would be washed away, also she follows the older boys and they don't go down there this time of year.
 
I think it's just a case of lots of practice. Do you know a competent child or an adult who's smally enough who could get on her and encourage her through?

The other thing that might help is finding some clear puddles to go through first, where the pony can see the bottom, as sometimes they can't tell how deep it is if it's muddy and that's why they're reluctant. If you can get them used to water first and then introduce murky, muddy puddles it can help.

This worked with my first loan pony who was just broken in when I got him and hated puddles. We just went to the beach week after week and walked through clear puddles on the estuary. Don't know where you are, but is that a possibilty?
 
Only thing you can do is puddle proof the pony and the only way to do that is go in every single puddle you can find, minus the little rider of course.

Grab your wellies or some waterproof boots with some steel toecaps in (in case they jump on you) and get them in as much water as possible, leading them through it or on the longlines.

Its not about your daughter being able to sit the jump, its about re-educating the pony not to jump but to walk calmly through them.

The one I’ve got on loan at the moment wouldn’t even dip a toe in any water when I first started riding him, he’d either plonk or jump, not great fun on a 17.2 on the roads but I made a point of making him go through as many puddles as I could find (when it had rained) till he realised there were no sharks in, now he’ll wade through anything and I can safely ride him through gutter puddles without him shying around them or jumping the whole lot, only a took a day with lots of patience and encouragement and of course praise.
 
Ha ha - my Sec D is also 'too posh for puddles' or mud and will jump them (or try and go round) if narrow enough. If they are too wide to jump, he will go through with a bit of huffing and puffing. I try and catch him at the right moment to stop him launching himself over it but it doesn't always work and I've just learned to live with it to be honest :-)

Not much fun for your kids feeling like they're on a rocket launcher though, hope you manage to puddle proof her.
 
It must be something about welshies - mine was a Sec B. My Sec D could be a bit hit and miss with them as well. It's probably all the rain we get here in Wales, some of those puddles are 6 foot deep you know
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LOL you'd think in that case they'd have an inbuilt tolerance to them
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funnily enough I had another sec A who was the same.

If it was me on her I'd just make her go through as many as I could until she was used to them but not so easy with the kids on board. She prob would take my weight if it was just for puddle proofing but my feet may touch the floor!

We're in the New Forest so lots of streams and deep mud so she's going to have to get used to getting dirty, although she is on trial still!
 
Not just sec Bs, my ISH is the same. She is 12 years old and came over from Ireland 2.5 years ago, how on earth did she get that old over there and not be used to puddles and mud? I did notice on Saturday that she was happy to canter through a river hunting, obviously selective fear!
 
They get better with practise!

Drama Queen Welsh cob X was quite adamit he'd dissolve if he so much as touch a tip of a toe to a puddle. After months of just insisting he walked though them he's fine with them. He'll still skirt round them if it's not too much trouble but otherwise he just plods through them.

However making a fuss about it and being forceful just made him worse. Instead I'd just insist he kept facing the right direction (i.e into the puddle) then gentle ask him to walk on every now and again. He's quickly get bored and chose to go forwards of his own choice. Tyring to drive him forwards into the puddle would just have make him even more wary of them.
 
My old girl doest do puddles and at 18 I doubt she is ever going to learn. She gives sharp intakes/gasps of breath if the ground is even squelchy lol. She is very much a lady though and, for example, wont ever ever ever lie in poop in the stable and only poos in one corner so she can lie down and stretch out without touching it. I havent had to clean her rug for 3 years cos she likes to keep it so immaculate (although I will this year as it needs a bit of freshening up lol)

Here is what her stable looks like before you start mucking out - one neat (big) heap and thats it
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Whoops when its wet like it is now theres nothing more fun than taking my boy puddle jumping in the woods up the lane
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although I have the best of both worlds because he will walk through a puddle but at trot its a puddle jumping game
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so I dont think hes too post for it but a game
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