Getting a tough horse into water

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8847926]
See, that’s different than what you said above, which is that the horse was being disrespectful by not having a ‘Go’ button.

Again, with young/green horses and water - it is not a “go forward” problem - it’s a “I can’t see the bottom of that and I don’t know what it is” problem. Teach them it’s okay to listen to you and it won’t be a problem.[/QUOTE]

No, I’m being consistent. OP has even admitted she has a go forward issue in later posts, although she’s managed to eliminate it in most situations. She also can’t get the horse in the wash stall, although the horse can “see the bottom” of the wash stall. It’s simply a go forward problem, and you use the same method to cross water, go into the wash stall, load in the trailer, etc. But that’s just how I do it, it works for me all the time and very very safely and very quickly.

OP, you don’t need to be a ground work expert or an expert rider to get your horse to go into the wash stall or into the water. You just need to be able to time your cues right, patiently wait for the right response, and be consistent.

[DJohn]

Ground work goes a long way.

My horse will cross anything I ask, because he understands to move away from pressure. I would recommend checking out Warwick Schiller’s website. Most of the stuff I do with my horse is along the same lines. It’s a combination of trust and obedience. Start with a tarp folded up very small, and gradually (not always in the same session), open the tarp up and ask her to walk over it. Once she is very calm about walking over it, have her stand on it for a bit. It can take a while, but be consistent. I also always have my buggy whip with me for added length of my driving arm. I can longe my horse over a small tarp, and he will go over it rather than around.
Once she masters the tarp, try it with small, shallow puddles and work your way up.

My horse doesn’t even notice puddles. When other horses go around them, he goes right through the middle.

[ItchyRichie]

[QUOTE=BEARCAT;8848477]
Have you tried backing her in?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it was a hard no. She threatened to rear. When I had trouble getting her into our wash stalls I did that and it worked one time and she never fell for that trick again lol.

[neversaynever]

One thing that I had success with is lunging them, if you can do that where you are. After a rain and with large puddles in your ring, start lunging at a controlled trot, slowly edging closer and closer to the water. If your horse is hesitant about the water, don’t go any closer until it Has settled down some, then go a little closer. If your horse is paying attention to you instead of its surroundings, it will keep on a circle and step in the water. It takes patience. If they just step in and out that’s okay, and build on it. Once it goes in, let it stand and rest in the water. Once it is comfortable lunging through the water, try it while riding in the ring.

[ItchyRichie]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8848641]
No, I’m being consistent. OP has even admitted she has a go forward issue in later posts, although she’s managed to eliminate it in most situations. She also can’t get the horse in the wash stall, although the horse can “see the bottom” of the wash stall. It’s simply a go forward problem, and you use the same method to cross water, go into the wash stall, load in the trailer, etc. But that’s just how I do it, it works for me all the time and very very safely and very quickly.

OP, you don’t need to be a ground work expert or an expert rider to get your horse to go into the wash stall or into the water. You just need to be able to time your cues right, patiently wait for the right response, and be consistent.[/QUOTE]

She didn’t refuse to go in the wash stall, she was just difficult about it. She goes in fine now, haven’t had an issue with that in about a year.

Also, our wash stall is SUPER uninviting, pretty much every horse that comes to our barn has an issue with it at first.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-wlCj_zVmD/?taken-by=ponyzardx
idk if you can tell there but it’s in a narrow space and it’s low and dingy and makes a lot of horses feel trapped.

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=ItchyRichie;8848952]
Yeah, it was a hard no. She threatened to rear. When I had trouble getting her into our wash stalls I did that and it worked one time and she never fell for that trick again lol.[/QUOTE]

@ItchyRichie;8849852

She didn’t refuse to go in the wash stall, she was just difficult about it. She goes in fine now, haven’t had an issue with that in about a year.

OK

[ItchyRichie]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8850220]
OK[/QUOTE]

Those two statements are not contradictory. Notice I said WHEN I had trouble, as in past tense. I backed her into the wash stalls one of the first times I got her in and that only worked once, the next time I tried it she didn’t fall for it again. I spent a couple hours one day working on that with her and she walks in and out fine now.

[ItchyRichie]

Also like I said, our wash stall sucks so I’m not going to hold that against her and it’s not a good evaluation of her character because nearly every horse has an issue getting in there when they come, whatever age and experience, because it’s a scary space for a horse.

[ItchyRichie]

Also lunging she w/t/c and stops on voice command, she moves off your leg great while riding as long as there’s not a puddle in front of her, and she follows me on the ground so idk what else I could do in terms of “go forward”. She’s the easiest shipper I’ve ever had lol she loves the trailer and gets on and off w/ or w/o other horses on there and is a great buddy for the ones who do have a bit of shipping anxiety. Idk, some people say that horses that don’t like trailers have a “go forward” problem and she’s fine with that.

I’m not saying I think it’s impossible that she has a go forward problem, but I really just think it has to do specifically with water because I haven’t had a non-water related go forward issue with her in over a year.

[Palm_Beach]

She picks and chooses when she goes forward. It only shows up once in a while because basically she’s a really good horse, but that’s her problem. What changes is the trigger (wash stall, water, etc).

If you have a logical and effective method to get the horse going forward when it balks, then for the rest of your life you can get your horse through/into anything. Each time your horse is presented with a situation in which she doesn’t want to go, and you work through it with her using the same techniques, she learns. Then the next time she is presented with something she doesn’t like and you start working through it with the same method, the light bulb will go off sooner and you will successfully get her going forward (into the wash stall or through the water or whatever) quicker. Plus she will gain confidence in you. But if you want to isolate each and every event and try to think of a solution to each and every event, that’s fine. It’s just easier, to me, to identify the root of the problem and tackle it from that angle.

[FranklinFulcher]

Taking her to small ponds could work.

[ItchyRichie]

I got her in today for the first time!!!

It rained last night and there was a big puddle in the ring and I took her out there. She was not into it at first and every time she took a step forward I petted her. When she got her front feet in I petted her and let her get out and graze for a few minutes. After that a few times she got all the way in and splashed and drank!!! I tried to set my phone up to take a video but she bumped the jump standard and knocked it into the water lol

[ItchyRichie]

Truthfully though I don’t subscribe to the belief that horses should just blindly follow us anywhere because we say so. Call me crazy but I like horses with some self preservation and I like them to figure things out for themselves. I’m also not convinced that people are smarter than horses lol

[Kyrabee]

[QUOTE=ItchyRichie;8851542]
I got her in today for the first time!!!

It rained last night and there was a big puddle in the ring and I took her out there. She was not into it at first and every time she took a step forward I petted her. When she got her front feet in I petted her and let her get out and graze for a few minutes. After that a few times she got all the way in and splashed and drank!!! I tried to set my phone up to take a video but she bumped the jump standard and knocked it into the water lol[/QUOTE]

Yeah!

I had a mare that would NOT walk through a puddle. River, pond, canal, lake…no problem but a 2 inch deep puddle NO way. I gave up. I don’t recall if I ever had a show where it had rained. I don’t recall any embarrassment from horsey not going through the puddle at B. It helps to live in the desert:yes:

[ItchyRichie]

[QUOTE=Kyrabee;8851916]
Yeah!

I had a mare that would NOT walk through a puddle. River, pond, canal, lake…no problem but a 2 inch deep puddle NO way. I gave up. I don’t recall if I ever had a show where it had rained. I don’t recall any embarrassment from horsey not going through the puddle at B. It helps to live in the desert:yes:[/QUOTE]

Lol the first show I took my horse to there was a puddle in the middle of one of the lines and I was like crap…
She just went around it luckily it was a long line lol by the second class it dried up

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=ItchyRichie;8851602]
T I’m also not convinced that people are smarter than horses lol[/QUOTE]

Nor am I.

[ecileh]

My mare behaved similarly as a youngster…with water and anything else she was not sure about. I learned pretty quickly that I could escalate it into a fight if I got annoyed with her and, instead, just started to insist calmly.

Basically, if she wouldn’t cross a puddle, I would sit deep and say “Ok, that’s fine. But when you are done being weird about this, we’re going to go that way.” and then not let her go sideways or backward by applying aids appropriately. If I had to, I would circle her in a small circle (not spin her–circle) and then point her at it again. It took a lot of patience and I had to sit out more than a few tantrums, but eventually, she would sort of blow a sigh and say “OK. FINE.” and do what I was asking. I just had to give her [enough] time to think about it.

The only obstacle this method has ever failed with is a coffin jump on an xcountry course…and I firmly believe that if I was willing to sit there for 12 hours, she would eventually go over it. I just gave up because I had to pee.

Your mare is still a baby emotionally–you will wind up with a better relationship with her for the long haul if you can be the mature one in the short term.

[ItchyRichie]

Yeah I am very anti fighting with horses. I’ve seen the end result of that too many times they’re usually unhappy horses and they’re not usually good for everyone

[quietann]

My mare is not a fan of going into water. However, she’s much better than she was before. It’s taken a long time.

I had to know when to say when. Went into it with the idea that she should just. go. through, and ended up with a tantrum on a quiet country road. My safety took priority and I left that puddle for the next day… It was much smaller and while she still went around, she got one foot in and didn’t spook.

OF COURSE she had my number. I knew that. She’s got her opinions. OP, sounds like your mare. Mine is also very protective of other horses, and me when I am riding. So some of her arguments arise when she doesn’t think it’s safe.

You just have to stay with it. Get a lead horse, spend time going through the tiniest puddles, try (horse safe) bridges over water, just keep doing stuff. Every body of water, every stream, every puddle is an opportunity!

Backing up? Just made her mad. These days I keep her pointed at whatever it is, and only push her if she starts backing away or trying to rear or spin. She will give in, eventually, and the more often she’s exposed to water, the better she is. I make a big fuss over her if she’s good, and occasionally give her a peppermint. She now likes going into ponds. Puddles are negotiable. Streams are a work in progress. She doesn’t like it if she can’t see the bottom. She sometimes tries to take a flying leap rather than stepping in… then we do more schooling until we’re both bored.

In general, a lead horse is really, really helpful.

That said, the mare did have a tantrum about going through a puddle, just yesterday. One she had already gone through in the other direction.

[SuzieQNutter]

One gelding I had quite a job to get him in the water. The next day it rained. I tacked him in a wintec and a plastic bridle and took him out. By the time we got to the water he didnt care one iota about it anymore.