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If you are preparing to take your horse on a trail ride there is one lesson he must know: That is to cross water. A horse that refuses to cross water, whether a puddle or a pond is not merely inconvenient, but can be very dangerous to its rider.
So how do you teach your horse to willingly cross water? First try to understand why the horse won’t. In the wild horses are the prey, and water sometimes held predators, so unless the lead mare thought it safe and crossed the others would also refuse. When taking a horse out by himself there is no lead mare to show the other horses the way. When taking a horse out in a group if the first shows fear and will not cross, and the others are not properly trained they will likely refuse also.
Have no fear, though, because in your relationship with the horse you will take the place of the lead mare. In every herd of horses there is a ranking system and if you watch them you will soon learn who is boss, and who is second and third. It is very important that when you interact with the horse he knows that you are the boss. Most horses learn this as soon as they are broke. Be consistent in your demands for correct behavior from your horse, and also be kind and watchful of anything that may harm your horse. If you do this the horse will know you are in charge and learn to trust you which will make training him to go through water much easier.
So now for the lesson. Begin by riding your horse in a familiar area that has a puddle. Walk your horse straight toward the puddle as if you fully expect him to go through it. If he stops let him, and if he tries to walk around the puddle stop him. Face him toward the puddle and sit quietly at a distance that he is comfortable with. After several minutes ask him to walk again. Keep him facing the puddle at all times. He may only take a step or two and that’s fine. Pat him and let him stand. Continue doing this until you are right next to the puddle, it may take a half hour or more.
When you ask your horse to go again he will probably try to jump over the water or run through it as fast as he can. That’s fine. Pat him and put him away. It’s very important to end the lesson on a positive note.
If it is a bigger body of water he will probably very slowly put one foot in then another. He may back out a couple times. If he does just let him stand facing the water for a minute then encourage him to try it again. Don’t ever force him, because if it comes to a battle of strength, he’ll win. Eventually he’ll put all four feet in and go through, probably at a run, but that’s okay.
The next day begin again. It will probably only take about half the time to get to the water. Today you can go through the whole process a couple of times. Just make sure your horse is calm before you go closer because then he’ll consider it a positive experience and will soon be going through water with little hesitation.
This method takes a lot of patience, but in the end you will end up with a trust worthy and dependable horse that will cross any type of water just because you asked.
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