Water Crossing I NEED HELP

[HowDoYouLikeMeNow]

Please help me! My horse won't cross water. For all I know, he has never had experience with water.

[spurgirl]

For starters, make sure where you want to cross is safe-meaning you, the rider, KNOW it's safe-not too deep, good footing, etc. The next thing is to go with one, or even several riders, whose horses do not hesitate to cross water AT ALL. I've also had good luck if the crossing area is on the way BACK to the barn. I am very lucky in that our property has a nice little stream, near the house-and the barn;). The last piece of advice is for you to visualize what you are doing, successfully, and moving forward with total confidence, looking beyond the water, not down...Drive him forward-loose, open reins, urging with your legs, if he hesitates, a good quick whack with your crop. Be prepared for the first stride to be a leap forward-and go with it!! Repeat as often as you can on the next few rides, and soon a water crossing is no big deal.

I don't train them to cross water from the ground-I know someone who got their ankle broken when the horse stepped on her, as it leaped/spooked across water.

Good Luck!

[ponygrl25]

I have done the on-the-ground thing and it can work if done right. The crossing needs to be large and clear so you have enough room to move out of the way if the horse leaps. Said horse usually tries to get all 4 feet in the one square foot that YOU happen to be standing in because they feel it is THE ONLY safe spot:rolleyes:.I would use a solid halter and 10-12 foot long rope and don't be afraid to get your tootsies wet. Some horses do better when they see the water is not going to eat you if you wade in. Having your horse trained so it will move away from you is a big part of doing this safely, keep a safe distance and try to ''send'' your horse away from you into the water. If this doesn't work (it's never that easy, is it)then try leading him to the edge and step in. Don't let him back away, let him know it is safe and encourage one foot at a time using praise to reward. This may take some time, I have found this usually takes less time than fighting him while on his back, But I also try to work on this during ground work rather than out on the trail. It is as important as loading on a trailer without a fuss and can be annoying when your just trying to enjoy a nice quiet ride. Just remember to watch where the horse is all the time and try to keep the escape routes open. Good luck!!

[Sentry Chick]

First off, you have to be prepared to take your time and not rush things. My mare was a show horse and didn't have to do too much water crossing. She has been out trail riding prior to me getting her but I don't know how much water crossing she did. When I took her out the first time and wanted to cross water, she refused. I didn't push the matter that day.

The next time, I was prepared to take my time. I chose a nice flat area going in and out with no deep water. And it was only a few feet wide. What I did was bring her up to the water nice and straight. I had to keep my legs on her to keep her forward and also to keep her straight. I had her right up to the water when she stopped. I would not let her back off it or try to turn around. When she did, I brought her right back. Or I would back her right up to the water and turn her around. I would push her forward with a loose rein and let her have her head. When she took a step forward, I stopped the pressure and gave her a pat. Then I'd ask for a forward step again, if she gave one, I would release the pressure, if not, I kept the pressure up until I got the forward step. She eventually got a foot in the water and even played with the water with her lips. All I did was remained calm, took my time, released the pressure when I got forward motion and eventually she crossed the water. It took 15 minutes. That same day, we crossed water 3 more times and she didn't even hesitate. The other crossing were more difficult with a hop down, a hop up or a criss cross across the water.

The next time I took her out, she hesitated at the water again. But this time after just a few minutes, she crossed it. And each and every time she is getting better. I don't cross water every time we go out so we don't get to practice every ride. I have to keep it positive each time I do so it's not a bad memory for her.

[twofatponies]

Unless you are nimble and athletic I recommend *against* doing it from the ground. I know a couple people who stood on the other bank holding the lead rope or reins and the horse tried to land on them! They got hurt!

Just ask for one step forward at a time, praising for each step, and requiring that even if they don't step forward they keep facing the water (if they turn left, bring them back to the right, if they turn right, bring them back to the left). Let them take a good long while to get the courage if necessary, rather than beating on them. And be prepared if they try to jump over or in the first time, and don't grab the bit - just hold onto some mane or the saddle. Another horse leading the way helps tremendously, too.

[HowDoYouLikeMeNow]

Thanks everyone! :winkgrin:

[pines4equines]

One thing that helped me IS to look DOWN. When you look up and across the water, I found the horse thinks he has to jump. If you do look down, it slows the process which is what you want. (Think western trail classes, the rider is looking down as they go over boards or whatever.)

I agree with Sentry Chicks response and just keep the horse's face facing the water. And, if the horse puts his head down, consider that a step forward. Let him sniff and play with the water provided he doesn't lay down to roll.

Also start with a low flat area with low flat water, even a large puddle. Large enough that he can't get around it easily. Also don't start with a place where the mud is very deep.

This process will take about 45 minutes or more but if you do it carefully, patiently the first time, then the next time it will take half the time.

You might want to practice walking your horse over a large piece of plywood at home first and once you got the cues, responses down pat, then proceed to the water.

[Shadow14]

. I know a couple people who stood on the other bank holding the lead rope or reins and the horse tried to land on them! They got hurt!

.

I know a girl who was holding the rein while the owner was behind and hit the horse with something. The horse made a big leap and landed with a steel shod hoof right in the girls forehead caving it in.
I much prefer to be on the horse out of harms way.

[pj]

For starters, make sure where you want to cross is safe-meaning you, the rider, KNOW it's safe-not too deep, good footing, etc. The next thing is to go with one, or even several riders, whose horses do not hesitate to cross water AT ALL. I've also had good luck if the crossing area is on the way BACK to the barn. I am very lucky in that our property has a nice little stream, near the house-and the barn;). The last piece of advice is for you to visualize what you are doing, successfully, and moving forward with total confidence, looking beyond the water, not down...Drive him forward-loose, open reins, urging with your legs, if he hesitates, a good quick whack with your crop. Be prepared for the first stride to be a leap forward-and go with it!! Repeat as often as you can on the next few rides, and soon a water crossing is no big deal.

I don't train them to cross water from the ground-I know someone who got their ankle broken when the horse stepped on her, as it leaped/spooked across water.

Good Luck!

I'm with spurgirl on this one. Your best bet is to have a friend with a good steady horse who is willing to cross, come back to you and cross again if necessary. Sometimes it helps to let the lead horse appear to be leaving once they cross. I would do without the "good quick whack" but that's just me. My horses don't train that way but some might have to have that whack. Depends on the horse I guess. To me hitting is for a horse who is not afraid, knows and says "I won't" not for something new and scarey with green horses. I do let them think about it for a min. if they want, too. Down the line when they have more confidence in you they'll do new scarey stuff right off just cause you ask them to and they trust you.
Have fun. I LOVE training. :)

[spurgirl]

The reason why I mentioned a quick whack with a crop is....Many times, the horse is going forward, down the incline to the water, and suddenly-brakes go on, there's balking, rider tenses, horses' body says 'no way', you then have spinning and whirling, or back pedaling, and a horse that won't go into the water (and a nervous-about-crossing-water rider). I have seen water crossing, more than once, over the years, become a huge issue, when, at the very beginning, some FIRM, quick urging gets the job done. The first crossing, if done surely and quickly, sets the rider's confidence up for the next crossing, and so on. I don't normally go to the crop either, as a training tool, BUT, if a quick tap to urge the horse forward will save me a lot of problems later, I will go for it.

Again, Good Luck to the OP!!

[Zu Zu]

Back him through it then turn around and back through it again - start with small amount of water and work your way up to stream. This has always worked for me. Search this as there was a thread about this about 30 days ago.

[cloudyandcallie]

[quote=twofatponies;4112136]Unless you are nimble and athletic I recommend *against* doing it from the ground. I know a couple people who stood on the other bank holding the lead rope or reins and the horse tried to land on them! They got hurt!

You are right about being careful! My horse, who always jumps water (we call it fear of landing in the liverpool and don't know what would happen if we ever had to cross a river.) always jumped a flooded area when we moved to a barn out of town. I quit using the lead rope as he always jumped right behind me, landing right on top of me but he was always careful not to step on me or knock me over. We just started coming in from the back pasture and he would free jump the flooded area, and still land right on top of me.
On trails, he will wait and wait and let all others go thru streams, then he jumps the streams. No faults!

[rainechyldes]

I concur, stay on the horse.

Horses panic, leap about and next you know you are eating dirt, and possibly more like a hoof.
Find a steady horse to help yours with the issue, and yes, it takes a lot of work on some horses.

find a safe/good footed spot to work on it, where the horse can see the bottom clearly and has good place to walk. Try to avoid the black water, (muddy areas) when teaching them. Sometimes the black/darkness of water/mud makes them queasy also when first learning.

You can work on the 'not so' great place to cross water after horse is comfortable with the idea of water.

[InstigatorKate]

Can you start by riding outside when your arena is truly sloppy, like puddles everywhere? Driveways are also good for puddles. Get the horse so he'll splash through those happily. Scout out some storm run-off streams on the safe/quiet roads where you can be sure the footing is very solid underneath.

I agree with the above poster who said this IS NOT a problem to attempt to handle by leading across. I have another story of a woman who was VERY seriously injured attempting to lead her boss's horse across a creek. When faced with sketchy footing, the horse will prefer YOU as footing :no:

Also, it helps to know your horse's learning style. My 3yo is a thinker who's very curious. He found his first water jump and stream crossing today. With him, I just kept him pointed in the direction we were going. He could back up and then go forward again, but he needed to stay looking at the stream/water. Eventually, his curiosity got the best of him. Once he was curious, I just relaxed totally and let him figure it out.....which he did, beautifully. Had I whipped him at that point, I would have totally ruined it.

My 6yo needs a whip and a good loud "HUP!" or "GIT!" to give him some bravery. He's not naturally curious about things, and the longer I give him to think about something, the more he makes up scary stories in his head. He was introduced to water by ponying him off my older eventer and literally trotting/jumping him right over small streams before he really had a chance to think about it. Once he had done it a few times, he realized it wasn't so bad. 2 weeks ago he schooled his first water jump in a year and was a royal turd, requiring probably 15 attempts to get his toesies in the water. Once in, he was fine, and today returned to the same water jump and **gasp** actually offered to jump DOWN a small bank into the water (wasn't paying attention to the girl who's leasing him, and turned around to see him take the big leap in!)

Anyways, my advice is to start small in familiar surroundings like the arena, even a stream of water from the hose running down the driveway. If you have access to a quiet, experienced lead horse and rider, ask if they'll pony across for you a few times. And then don't forget to adapt your technique to your horse's learning style, and make sure you are able to lavishly reward the moment they take the plunge (with praise, and/or treat if he's food oriented).

[foxrider]

I don't know where you live, but you might try to find out if there is a trail challenge course set up anywhere near you. This is a great place to desensitize and train your horse for all sorts of trail obstacles, including water. Generally there is a pit of water that has been dug in the arena with plenty of room to train from the ground if you wish.

With a horse just learning, I would try not to do any hitting. It may get him through the water at the time, but it's just a short term solution... it's not going to make him comfortable doing it at a safe and relaxed pace every time.

[Simbalism]

I also trained my horse from the ground. My mare had also been a show horse and was no longer showing and was finding a new career as my old lady horse. I was lucky to have a couple of nice shallow streams in the woods behind the barn with good footing, easy access in multiple spots. I put on some rubber boots very long lead on horse, some treats and prepared for spending some time at it. My mare is very well trained to lead with voice commands. So we just went to the stream and hung out, letting her eat some grass and generally just meandering closer to the edge. When she realized she was near the water, she kind of sniffed it. She still was hesitant to get in it, but I made the whole thing a no confrontation deal and just let her stand there until she kind of looked/acted bored and then asked her to step enticing her with a treat. She finally did step in, got the treat and some pats and then I just let her stand there. Another step in, another treat. Finally, after much bribery, she had all 4 feet in the water. After standing for a few minutes, I asked her to walk in the stream, back and forth. It took several sessions of this and still if I hadn't been on a trail ride that had a water crossing for a while I had to lead her across. She never jumped or did anything but politely and hesitantly step thru. She has become great at crossing water. She sometimes still likes to look first for a minute, but will always cross at a walk with no lunging or jumping.

[Auventera Two]

You got some really good advice but I wanted to add a couple things.

1. Don't try to cross water that is narrow enough for him to jump. :eek: :no: I got my arm in a cast for 6 weeks (dislocated thumb and torn soft tissue) when my horse leapt 4 feet in the air over a tiny little cavaletti.

2. I would start at home with a black tarp then start adding water to it. You can put cavaletti poles under the edges of the tarp to create a lip and add a little water in the middle of it. That way you know its safe, you're at home on the horse's turf in his comfort zone and you can add just a tiny bit of water then add a little more, etc. and work up to it.

[pandorasboxx]

It only took a couple of rides with very experienced endurance horses to not only get my girl to cross water but wade into lakes to cool off. I couldn't even get her up to the waterline before without fighting, spooking, backing up etc.

Once the other horses went without hesitation, she followed right along. And has been ok ever since.

[meupatdoes]

Along with what everyone else said, try to find an "easy" water crossing. Many water crossings involve a sharp descent and a narrow space, which makes life exponentially more difficult.

If you can find a wide, flat water crossing where the bank seamlessly meets the water for a little while, you can ride ALONG the water rather than AT it, go back and forth a couple of times and eventually leg yield one side into the water and then all four feet.

If it is the sort of stream where you can then ride upstream instead of just crossing, do that until you find a nice easy place to exit.

My (dressage) trainer and I have a specific place where we'll teach water -always in pairs, with a more confident lead horse. Sometimes even with a lead horse the green one will not go over the "difficult" crossing, so then rather than fighting we turn around and go the loooooong way around to the easy crossing. The shallow flat one has never been a problem for more than five minutes, and then we quickly ride over to the more difficult one and go home over that way while it is still fresh in the horse's mind.

If you have to trailer somewhere to get the easy water I would do it. We are lucky to have one about a half hour's ride away, but I would think that an eventing course should have something where the entry is flat, spacious and shallow.

It is important as well to remain calm, patient, and not overly emotionally invested in the experience. The last thing you want to teach your horse is that water = drop down drag out fight.

Another trick that can help is to do 30 minutes of canter work on a warm day and then trundle off to the shady stream to see if anyone wants a drink. ;)