horse would not walk through puddle

JoAnne · 08-29-2007, 08:05 PM

help!

I have been schooling and training my 5 year old since I bought him at four and a half. when I bought him he had 60 days training. ( western) I switched him to english, took him on trails etc. tonight was the first time I had a real issue with him . he would not walk though a puddle! acted like there were monsters in there. I kept circling and driving him forward. he would either stop or sidestep around it. then I tried leading him trhough it. exepct for my feet getting muddy, same thing. I did not want to fight with him so gave up. what can I do different next time? he is a good boy, only issue is occassionally spooks at things. any suggestions welcome!

Dusty's girl · 08-29-2007, 08:12 PM

My 5 year old was doing this too.... must be in their rule book or something (at age 5 develop crazy fear of standing bodies of water)

What I did ( not sure if it was right or not but it worked) was back him into it. I let him go around then just made him back into it, he didn't know where I was backing him and by the time he did he was already in the puddle (tricky)

Once he was there it was a lot of petting praising and good boy. Then I lead him into it, then riding.. been about 3 weeks and we are doing so much better. He may hesitate but a little leg pressure and he moves on.

JoAnne · 08-29-2007, 08:14 PM

Dusty- did you back him into it mounted or leading?

Dusty's girl · 08-29-2007, 08:17 PM

leading first, safer for both of us (that and we had just started riding again after a nasty hissy fit of his a few weeks prior so I wasn't pressing my luck)

We upgraded to backing with me in the saddle about a week ago, after lots practice and with trainer present (and helmet)

Luvpaints · 08-29-2007, 08:19 PM

What we do on the mounted unit is the buddy system. If we have a horse that isn't as strong with obstacles, we pair them up with a strong horse that does the obstacles. Kinda like follow the leader. Don't over due and push your horse too much if he won't do it. Baby steps. Walk around it and slowly make your circle smaller and smaller. Don't push for 100% at first. One foot in it is an accomplishment....tell him he is a good boy, rub and apt him......tiny baby steps. Mud puddles are a big voo-doo for horses as it looks like a hole to them. They perceive a hole and falling in. Don't push the horse to the point he is totally frazzled. You are getting know where. Buddy system works great, but if that is not possible, then try what I mentioned - baby steps.Walk around the obstacle and slowly close in. That goes for any obstacle. We do alot of sensory and obstacle training and the buddy system works the best. Keep the horse calm and not frazzle them. Spurring and pushing isn't the answer (however to some it is!!).

JoAnne · 08-29-2007, 08:23 PM

good point re buddy system and backing. I did not take it to next level with whip or pushing him. I can see where they think it is a hole or maybe very deep. i was more upset he ignored my "forward" request. I did keep circling him and we got closer and closer and his feet went in mud. will try again. weird, cause in paddock he goes through puddles in the grass! but this one was on brown dirt so looked different.

Equine Kneads · 08-29-2007, 08:30 PM

This may sound crazy but my gelding was afraid of puddles also..
I hosed his legs with the water near the puddle and slowly introduced him to it..he kind of went in it himself and now is fine..
I think I had more water on me than him

HorseMomToSage · 08-29-2007, 08:42 PM

Guys it must be something in the air. My very stable (no pun intended)

10 year old gelding will not go through a puddle. I tried leading him through tonite and he did that crazy sideways thing (although very calmly) but managed to avoid it. He also will stand out in the pouring rain and eat but last Saturday did not want to go through water-crazy equine!

Meanwhile I'm covered in mud because "Look Mom, will show you-it won't hurt you" Who's got the smaller brain here?

Dusty's girl · 08-29-2007, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HorseMomToSage

Meanwhile I'm covered in mud because "Look Mom, will show you-it won't hurt you" Who's got the smaller brain here?

Lol... I tried that with the fly spray once, I didn't have a bug bite for days and no matter how much I showered I smelled like it for awhile, I got really funny looks at work

SunnyKS · 08-29-2007, 08:53 PM

To me its always been easier to teach them to go through big water than puddles. Puddles can be side stepped and stepped over. Like trying to push two magnets together!

Make yourself a shallow long muddy hole (or use a folded tarp) say 3 feet accross and six feet long with one end against the fence and get out the lunge line. They will duck and dive and sometimes jump it but they will get the idea after awhile.

With the tarp you can unfold it to make it where it's too big to jump after they have mastered the over part but you do have to take care that they don't get tangled in it. That's why I just make a muddy spot.

HorseMomToSage · 08-29-2007, 09:02 PM

That's a really good idea. I've heard to do that to teach them to walk over a tarp (which he does now but did not like initially) He does have a lot of "try" and you can tell he wants to do stuff but can let his nerves get the best of him. And I've only had him since the end of June so we are still working on our relationship

Lady_MCSE · 08-29-2007, 09:02 PM

I had this problem with my clydemonster, and he was a teenager not a 5 year old . . .

Unfortunately for me, the mud puddle in question was situated right between the barn aisle he was coming from and the indoor arena I wanted to go to (hole in the roof, obviously).

I'm a natural horsemanship fan, so every day for about a week, we would tackle that puddle together. I would lead him up to it, and let him have some time to think about it but not back up away from me. He had the rope halter on, so I would just use consistent increasing pressure until I would get a foot forward, and immediately release. So he knew that every time I asked, the only way to get release was to go forward. The first couple of nights all I asked for was to get a foot in. Eventually we worked up to the front two feet. Then within a week or so we were up to crossing it, no problem.

Then the puddle dried up.

Then a few weeks later it came back.

We did it all over again. But it was faster this time. Now when it comes back, he doesn't even bat an eyelash at it. He trusts me.

Whitehorse · 08-29-2007, 09:29 PM

I'm having the same lesson with my 3 year old gelding. Some days the puddle or stream is not so spooky and other days it is. I was recently in a situation where there was a small ditch with water crossing over the trail (I had to dismount) and he refused to walk or even gently hop over it, instead he made a big leap over it and nearly ran me over. My hubby was riding our 17 year old seasoned horse so I let him go first because I knew our older gelding would walk over it nicely. Once our older gelding reached the other side and kept walking, our 3 year old panicked and leaped. He does do much better on the wider streams that he can't jump. He's even stood in them before with no problem, it's just the little ones we need to work on. I will try backing him up in the water and see how he does. Thanks for the tips so far and it looks like I am not the only one working on this lesson.

JoAnne · 08-30-2007, 02:38 AM

glad we are not alone! that was the problem this was a small puddle maybe 18inches wide and 3 feet long. there was plenty of room around it, so I don't blame him for thinking, why go through it when I can go around it? but he needs to go thru it in case there is one on trail etc. I will try leading him on lunge line thru puddles and backing him through them and taking advantage of puddles now. I guess at some point he will go through one....

**gbarmranch** · 08-30-2007, 04:21 AM

When we moved to TN from the dessert in AZ, our horses had never seen puddles and we had the same issue. We just worked back and forth and would not quit until they did walk through them ..

Remember, to a horse, with his depth perception, that hole is bottomless.. so the more trust he has in his rider, the sooner he will walk through it.

We made some to practise with and eventually they got over the issue..

beckyp · 08-30-2007, 04:49 AM

My 12 year old TB has had problems with puddles,he wants to jump them and I don't. Now after reading posts,plus an article in Horse and Rider mag by Clinton Anderson,I have a few ideas to draw from,of course we haven't had any rain till last night and no puddles to worry about.

Nynx · 08-30-2007, 03:09 PM

One of our QHs thinks puddles are the end of the world on his bad days. They can't tell how deep it is, and perhaps they have heard of people shooting horses when they break a leg in a hole.

Anyways, I saw CA on TV and he just trotted circles around and around the puddle in both directions like thats what he wanted. Not to plow straight through the puddle, but to keep trotting around it. When his horse would accidentally stick a foot in, which is inevitable at a nice fast trot, he just kept going. Every now and then he gave the horse a chance to look and sniff the puddle, while near it and eventually standing in said evil puddle. That's just one persons way of doing it though. Now, I on the other hand, have to keep my dumb horse from drinking out of muddy, mosquito larvae infested puddles. He likes him his puddles.

JoAnne · 08-30-2007, 03:32 PM

nynx- maybe I'll try trotting next time. I was circling in a walk, and of course at walk the horse could easily sidestep and avoid going in. may also try bribing with treats from ground one day too!

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08-29-2007, 08:05 PM
JoAnne Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 2,442	horse would not walk through puddle help! I have been schooling and training my 5 year old since I bought him at four and a half. when I bought him he had 60 days training. ( western) I switched him to english, took him on trails etc. tonight was the first time I had a real issue with him . he would not walk though a puddle! acted like there were monsters in there. I kept circling and driving him forward. he would either stop or sidestep around it. then I tried leading him trhough it. exepct for my feet getting muddy, same thing. I did not want to fight with him so gave up. what can I do different next time? he is a good boy, only issue is occassionally spooks at things. any suggestions welcome!

08-29-2007, 08:12 PM
Dusty's girl Weanling Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 269	My 5 year old was doing this too.... must be in their rule book or something (at age 5 develop crazy fear of standing bodies of water) What I did ( not sure if it was right or not but it worked) was back him into it. I let him go around then just made him back into it, he didn't know where I was backing him and by the time he did he was already in the puddle (tricky) Once he was there it was a lot of petting praising and good boy. Then I lead him into it, then riding.. been about 3 weeks and we are doing so much better. He may hesitate but a little leg pressure and he moves on. __________________ All I pay my psychiatrist is the cost of feed and hay, and he\'ll listen to me any day. ~Author Unknown

08-29-2007, 08:14 PM
JoAnne Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 2,442	Dusty- did you back him into it mounted or leading?

08-29-2007, 08:17 PM
Dusty's girl Weanling Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 269	leading first, safer for both of us (that and we had just started riding again after a nasty hissy fit of his a few weeks prior so I wasn't pressing my luck) We upgraded to backing with me in the saddle about a week ago, after lots practice and with trainer present (and helmet) __________________ All I pay my psychiatrist is the cost of feed and hay, and he\'ll listen to me any day. ~Author Unknown

08-29-2007, 08:19 PM
Luvpaints Yearling Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW Florida Posts: 590	What we do on the mounted unit is the buddy system. If we have a horse that isn't as strong with obstacles, we pair them up with a strong horse that does the obstacles. Kinda like follow the leader. Don't over due and push your horse too much if he won't do it. Baby steps. Walk around it and slowly make your circle smaller and smaller. Don't push for 100% at first. One foot in it is an accomplishment....tell him he is a good boy, rub and apt him......tiny baby steps. Mud puddles are a big voo-doo for horses as it looks like a hole to them. They perceive a hole and falling in. Don't push the horse to the point he is totally frazzled. You are getting know where. Buddy system works great, but if that is not possible, then try what I mentioned - baby steps.Walk around the obstacle and slowly close in. That goes for any obstacle. We do alot of sensory and obstacle training and the buddy system works the best. Keep the horse calm and not frazzle them. Spurring and pushing isn't the answer (however to some it is!!).

08-29-2007, 08:23 PM
JoAnne Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 2,442	good point re buddy system and backing. I did not take it to next level with whip or pushing him. I can see where they think it is a hole or maybe very deep. i was more upset he ignored my "forward" request. I did keep circling him and we got closer and closer and his feet went in mud. will try again. weird, cause in paddock he goes through puddles in the grass! but this one was on brown dirt so looked different.

08-29-2007, 08:30 PM
Equine Kneads Weanling Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 224	This may sound crazy but my gelding was afraid of puddles also.. I hosed his legs with the water near the puddle and slowly introduced him to it..he kind of went in it himself and now is fine.. I think I had more water on me than him __________________ "The mind is like a parachute, it works best when open"- author unk www.EquineKneadsLLC.com

08-29-2007, 08:42 PM
HorseMomToSage Coming two Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: A Whole Other Country-TX Of Course Posts: 1,501	Walking Thru Water Guys it must be something in the air. My very stable (no pun intended) 10 year old gelding will not go through a puddle. I tried leading him through tonite and he did that crazy sideways thing (although very calmly) but managed to avoid it. He also will stand out in the pouring rain and eat but last Saturday did not want to go through water-crazy equine! Meanwhile I'm covered in mud because "Look Mom, will show you-it won't hurt you" Who's got the smaller brain here?

08-29-2007, 08:53 PM
SunnyKS Greenbroke Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Kansas Posts: 3,517	To me its always been easier to teach them to go through big water than puddles. Puddles can be side stepped and stepped over. Like trying to push two magnets together! Make yourself a shallow long muddy hole (or use a folded tarp) say 3 feet accross and six feet long with one end against the fence and get out the lunge line. They will duck and dive and sometimes jump it but they will get the idea after awhile. With the tarp you can unfold it to make it where it's too big to jump after they have mastered the over part but you do have to take care that they don't get tangled in it. That's why I just make a muddy spot. __________________

08-29-2007, 09:02 PM
HorseMomToSage Coming two Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: A Whole Other Country-TX Of Course Posts: 1,501	That's a really good idea. I've heard to do that to teach them to walk over a tarp (which he does now but did not like initially) He does have a lot of "try" and you can tell he wants to do stuff but can let his nerves get the best of him. And I've only had him since the end of June so we are still working on our relationship

08-29-2007, 09:02 PM
Lady_MCSE Greenbroke Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Shytown, IL Posts: 3,642	I had this problem with my clydemonster, and he was a teenager not a 5 year old . . . Unfortunately for me, the mud puddle in question was situated right between the barn aisle he was coming from and the indoor arena I wanted to go to (hole in the roof, obviously). I'm a natural horsemanship fan, so every day for about a week, we would tackle that puddle together. I would lead him up to it, and let him have some time to think about it but not back up away from me. He had the rope halter on, so I would just use consistent increasing pressure until I would get a foot forward, and immediately release. So he knew that every time I asked, the only way to get release was to go forward. The first couple of nights all I asked for was to get a foot in. Eventually we worked up to the front two feet. Then within a week or so we were up to crossing it, no problem. Then the puddle dried up. Then a few weeks later it came back. We did it all over again. But it was faster this time. Now when it comes back, he doesn't even bat an eyelash at it. He trusts me. __________________ A little self-deprecating humor from time to time can be healthy. Just be cautious -- make sure it doesn't turn to self-defecating humor. --LadyM

08-29-2007, 09:29 PM
Whitehorse Weanling Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 360	I'm having the same lesson with my 3 year old gelding. Some days the puddle or stream is not so spooky and other days it is. I was recently in a situation where there was a small ditch with water crossing over the trail (I had to dismount) and he refused to walk or even gently hop over it, instead he made a big leap over it and nearly ran me over. My hubby was riding our 17 year old seasoned horse so I let him go first because I knew our older gelding would walk over it nicely. Once our older gelding reached the other side and kept walking, our 3 year old panicked and leaped. He does do much better on the wider streams that he can't jump. He's even stood in them before with no problem, it's just the little ones we need to work on. I will try backing him up in the water and see how he does. Thanks for the tips so far and it looks like I am not the only one working on this lesson. __________________ "If your horse says "no", you either asked the wrong question, or asked the question wrong." Pat Parelli

08-30-2007, 02:38 AM
JoAnne Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 2,442	glad we are not alone! that was the problem this was a small puddle maybe 18inches wide and 3 feet long. there was plenty of room around it, so I don't blame him for thinking, why go through it when I can go around it? but he needs to go thru it in case there is one on trail etc. I will try leading him on lunge line thru puddles and backing him through them and taking advantage of puddles now. I guess at some point he will go through one....

08-30-2007, 04:21 AM
gbarmranch Administrator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mayberry Posts: 29,575	When we moved to TN from the dessert in AZ, our horses had never seen puddles and we had the same issue. We just worked back and forth and would not quit until they did walk through them .. Remember, to a horse, with his depth perception, that hole is bottomless.. so the more trust he has in his rider, the sooner he will walk through it. We made some to practise with and eventually they got over the issue.. __________________ Quality Foundation Quarter Horses http://home.earthlink.net/~vpgann As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.

08-30-2007, 04:49 AM
beckyp Seasoned Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: utica,ky Posts: 4,122	My 12 year old TB has had problems with puddles,he wants to jump them and I don't. Now after reading posts,plus an article in Horse and Rider mag by Clinton Anderson,I have a few ideas to draw from,of course we haven't had any rain till last night and no puddles to worry about. __________________ If not at home try the barn.

08-30-2007, 03:09 PM
Nynx Yearling Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 600	One of our QHs thinks puddles are the end of the world on his bad days. They can't tell how deep it is, and perhaps they have heard of people shooting horses when they break a leg in a hole. Anyways, I saw CA on TV and he just trotted circles around and around the puddle in both directions like thats what he wanted. Not to plow straight through the puddle, but to keep trotting around it. When his horse would accidentally stick a foot in, which is inevitable at a nice fast trot, he just kept going. Every now and then he gave the horse a chance to look and sniff the puddle, while near it and eventually standing in said evil puddle. That's just one persons way of doing it though. Now, I on the other hand, have to keep my dumb horse from drinking out of muddy, mosquito larvae infested puddles. He likes him his puddles. __________________ ~:>

08-30-2007, 03:32 PM
JoAnne Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 2,442	nynx- maybe I'll try trotting next time. I was circling in a walk, and of course at walk the horse could easily sidestep and avoid going in. may also try bribing with treats from ground one day too!