# How to teach a horse to cross water ALONE!



## humnbass (Oct 20, 2009)

I have a 4 year old TWH mare. she's a great horse and up until 3 days ago I thought she was to the point where she would go where ever you pointed her. Well on all of trail rides that she's been on she's been phenomenal. Even in instances where another horse wouldn't cross a ditch or water I could move her to the front of the pack and she would cross without hesitation. We ride alone about 2 to 3 times per week and I came to a ditch that was about 2 feet wide and it had rocks in it. She would not cross for nothing. after trying repeatedly, I got off and tried to lead her across and she wouldn't go. I can't figure out why. She could have just stepped over it but she wouldn't budge. I would back her up and approach it again and she would stop further back from it. I don't like letting her think that she won at anything because she will try to use it to her advantage. However, I feel like I just don't know how to teach her to cross the proper way. Please help

thanks


----------



## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

not sure if its the right way.. but with my twh cross if he is nervous about something and i can't get him to move on the trail i dismount and walk him past the object to or three times then ride him over a few times. its helped him and it usually is a water crossing, mudd or puddle :/
goodluck


----------



## humnbass (Oct 20, 2009)

kait18 said:


> not sure if its the right way.. but with my twh cross if he is nervous about something and i can't get him to move on the trail i dismount and walk him past the object to or three times then ride him over a few times. its helped him and it usually is a water crossing, mudd or puddle :/
> goodluck


_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## humnbass (Oct 20, 2009)

I dismounted and tried to walk her over it but she wouldn't budge.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

hmm... i don't know then.. i ride with a crop even in western and tap on the shoulders right before he stops to keep him going... so if that doesn't help i am absolutely useless sorry..


----------



## humnbass (Oct 20, 2009)

LOL! you're not useless you just gave me a bit of advice. I have a crop. I don't ride with it but that gives me something else to try.

thanks


----------



## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

no problemo its worth a try. if not there is def someone more experienced than i, who can help  goodluck


----------



## Endurance Chica (Oct 1, 2010)

Well first question is she being fearful or stubborn? If she is being fearful maybe start with something more simple she can do, lots of praise then work up to the rocky ditch. She is only 4 which is still a baby. They can have off days so dont be too worried. Now if shes just being stubborn then time to bring out the crop to let her know you mean business. Ask her to approach it and check it out. If she starts backing up give her a tap telling her that is the WRONG direction. If she just flat refuses to go make it uncomfortable for her. Tap her harder, do circles. Most of them hate that. You cant force her, but you can make it the easy choice. 
Hope that helped.


----------



## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Not sure why but I've found my horses have a much harder time stepping across a trickle of water where they don't even have to get their feet wet then larger streams.

Unfortunetly you have already lost an important battle in crossings. Don't take her back and try to fight her across alone, you are likely to lose more ground. Go back with your riding partner, stick her on their horses butt and cross. Watch for a hesitation, just as soon as you feel one, give her a poke as a distraction. Since she has already been crossing with no issues she should go right back to her old ways in short order.

You'll find that young horses often take a step backwards in training. The key here is to be patient, don't lose your cool and work them through the rough spot. By the time she's in the 6-7 year range these backward steps will disappear. Of course, since she's a mare you'll then just have to put up with attitude issues.

Go by gelding!


----------



## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

I have learned it is better to send a horse than to lead one, I have taught my horse to go where i point. standing a bit ahead and off his shoulder I point where I want him to go, like in a trailer or over a log or across a ditch. You start with a very short lead line so you can kinda pull him while ointing, wack him in the withers till he moves forward. Teach him than left and right. Work at it alot in the round pen, add some logs and distractions. I did this alot with a horse that refused to load in a slant load trailer with a rear tack room, worked like that daily for a week without even looking at the trailer. Wen to to the trailer and pointed,,, "Go That WaY!" and in he went. I have no doubt I can do the same thing with the ditch. Dunno maybe I should try it. He does still balk occasionally from the saddle but at least he doesnt rear spin around and run the opposite way,, baby steps baby steps.


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Unfortunately, she just won a major battle and she is not going to forget it. 
I wouldn't try the creek alone for a while. 
Riding with a partner and crossing the creek many, many times is a good start. 
If she won't go with the partner, you might want to attach a lead rope to her and let the other horse pull her across. 
It is pretty interesting how a terrifying creek or bridge that leads away from the barn becomes less scary on the way home. I would try to get her to lead the way when you cross on the way back home.


----------



## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

The man that trained and owned Sarge told us the way to get a horse to do something they are refusing to do, ie cross this little batch of water, walk onto a bridge, etc. is to turn them around and BACK them into it. 

It works! My friend and I were riding in the woods one day and came to a water crossing. Not deep but had roots in it. Her huge gelding is a ranch trained horse and is amazing. He took one look at it and I think decided one of those roots was a snake or a horse eating Lock Ness Monster. She kept urging him to go forward. He was going back and forth blowing like a dragon in the cool air - snorting so loud he sound like he was going to blow a gasket. He was some kind of ****ed off. This went on for about 5 minutes - she was calmly spurring him and not letting him back up or avoid the water. He was going back and forth back and forth. She spun him around and backed him up. He obeyed that command without hesitation and backed into the water.

If a black horse could blush, Cub turned bright red with embarrassment over acting like a sissy over stepping in water. He calmly walked through and my gelding couldn't wait to walk through. He went through water fairly easily but she had been his former owner and he wasn't getting his butt busted over crossing water!

Give that a go and see if that helps.


----------



## humnbass (Oct 20, 2009)

thank you so much. I will definitely try that and I will keep you posted on how it goes. thanks again.


----------



## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

if a horse wont cross a ditch i like to ride them back and forth in front of it so they can see it out of each eye. riding them back and forth along it also keeps them moving and thinking forward.


----------



## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Your welcome. Hope it helps. Ray got Sarge to go across a suspended bridge that way. Sarge had refused facing it. Ray turned him around and backed Sarge 1/2 across the bridge. After that Sarge just cross it with no problem. Barry (hubby) tried to get Sarge to walk into the surf at the beach one day. Sarge wasn't so sure about the white foaming waves. Barry backed him into it and then he was fine so I have seen it work. I have tried it on Biscuit and got him to go forward after backing him up and turning circles.


----------



## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

Horses have no need to fear water since because of their conformation and their large chest cavities, they can float easily. Their four hooves are an ideal shape to form a paddle and as a result horses can swim well naturally. If you have not yet swum with your horse, then if you have a nice flat calm lake nearby, then try it. If locally there is a beach - one without breakers or a strong current - then try paddling in the sea.

However with streams or shallow rivers the horse may merely be inexperienced, in which case the answer lies in training. You should devise a training schedule under which the horse follows you in hand through water. If a stream is deemed safe for you as a human to cross, then dismount and direct the horse to follow you. After a few visits to the stream, the horse should carry you without hesitation when it is familiar with the spot and knows how deep the water is. 

In such matters we get to the nitty gritty question - "does the horse trust you its rider enough to follow in your footsteps? Is your judgement safe to obey?”

Some riders believe that all of their obstacle training should be done from the saddle. Personally I mix saddle training with in hand training including lunging. Recently I have been long reining my mare with the idea of introducing her to various obstacles although not, as yet, water All I use to persuade her to go forwards are my hands through the reins and my voice. Whenever I work her she must, perhaps after a slight hesitation, go forwards and we work on the issue until she does. Usually when in serious doubt she wants to watch me go first, just in case the bogey man is hiding nearby. I suspect that with a fast running but shallow stream, she will want to first see if I drown. However when I show her I can walk on water, hopefully she'll follow with just a light touch on the lead reins.

Whenever out on a trail ride if I come by a stream I shall have the option of jumping it or dismounting and walking through it. Sometimes I will do both as training.

Nearby to our stable yard we have a tarmacced country lane which in the winter months regularly floods to a depth of three feet or more. It is an ideal training opportunity. There is no fear of sinking but the horse has no means of judging how deep is the water, so it will hesitate. With experience my old horse, Joe, would automatically wade through the water for 50 yards or more. This year I suspect my picky mare is going to be more problematical but wade through the water she must, even if I have to jump off and show her the way.

But swamps and bogs are a different matter. If your horse refuses to enter a patch of muddy ground, then ask yourself if your horse knows something you don't. Never think to force your horse into a swamp and if you can't recognize soft ground, then follow your horse's judgement and find another route. On a couple of occasions, a Welsh Cob called William saved me whilst up on the ridge tops from dangerous deep bogs. He could smell them. If he baulked and said: *"no, we'll find another way*" then I learned to listen to him. There's nothing like standing up to one's knees in a soft sticky bog to make one cautious.

There is little difference between water and any other unfamiliar obstacle. You must build confidence in your horse to obey you. If the animal comes to trust you then it should follow you. Just make sure you know what you are doing.


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

One of my friends pushed her horse to go into a bog and if she had been alone, they would have both died. He sunk down to his belly and sunk in the mud. Her husband helped her get to safety. The horse got so stuck that the husband had to ride his horse home and get a tractor to pull him out.


----------



## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

Barry Godden said:


> Horses have no need to fear water since because of their conformation and their large chest cavities, they can float easily.


They fear water because they can't see where they are putting their feet. It is fear of slipping... or of something jumping out of the water to attack them. It has nothing to do with how well they can swim.


----------



## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

Ponyboy - I agree about horses being careful where they put their feet and rightfully so - but alligators, crocodiles and hippos don't frequent this green and pleasant isle. The only wild meat eater hereabouts is a fox.

Anyway I reckon the biggest problem I'll face when eventually I find a place to practice crossing a stream is that my mare won't want to get her feet wet.


----------



## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

I was going to say this.
Sometimes they won't cross because they sense something you don't.

I was exploring trails I had never been on once and came to what appeared to be a small stream with mud around the banks. Horse should have been over and through in 3 or 4 steps but she wouldn't go. I even attempted to lead her across. On the ground I got looking at the plant life around it and realized that the stream was probably a deep bog. The trail was a snowmobile trail and they don't open here until January so it's frozen very solid by then. Doesn't present a hazard in winter but in summer it's a different story. 

I trusted that old mare's judgement about things.




Celeste said:


> One of my friends pushed her horse to go into a bog and if she had been alone, they would have both died. He sunk down to his belly and sunk in the mud. Her husband helped her get to safety. The horse got so stuck that the husband had to ride his horse home and get a tractor to pull him out.


----------

