Tips to get my horse to go in water?

Question

He doesn't mind being hosed/sponged off. But when I try and get him to walk through a small pond near the barn, he wont have anything to do with it.

I don't push him too far cause he'll get frusterated and start backing up etc etc. Any tips on slowly getting him comfortable with this? I know he would enjoy a cool wade through the water on a hot day.

I bought him about 6 months ago, but he's been really bonding with me lately. We're pretty much buddies for life. Haha. Anyway... Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

hmm..... i've never had this problem, but i'll try to help.

try leading him through the water. if he refuses, splash a little on his legs/hooves for him to get used to it.

here are some links for better help:

http://www.wikihow.com/Train-a-Horse-to-...

http://www.myhorse.com/training/western/...

http://www.ehow.com/how_2321414_get-hors...

i hope those sites help you :]

Answer 2

Spray your horse's feet with water. Stand next to the pond and splash water on the horse. Use a cup and pour the water. Every time you splash him him gently or bring him to the edge, maybe take another horse and bring it into the water or go in yourself to show him there is nothing to be afraid of. Also you could take his bowl of food and place it near/over the water so he has to go to eat good luck!

Answer 3

Put  a tarp out and lead him round and round it.  At first start far away where he is comfortable.  Gradually get closer and closer as long as he is comfortable.  then start cutting corners so he has to step close to a corner.  Eventually he will step on it.  after he gets used to that have him walk over it.  Then do the same riding.

When he is completely used to the tarp, take it away and make a large puddle.  Then start over.

That works well.  

However I have to admit I seldom have the time (I already work two jobs) to use that method (It would be difficult anyway wince the sandy soil drains very rapidly here).  What I typically do is use a pony horse to pull it across.  Which really is not as harsh as it sound since I am following a large group of horses and they only need a small tug of encouragement to get moving anyway.  Never had to really pull hard on one yet, just get them to take one step.

Answer 4

Put on a halter and lead him slowly into the water, and encourage him. Bring a few carrots/apples and trick him a little. If he is in the water once, he will not be afraid anymore. Horses think that puddles are holes, so he probably scared to walk torwards the pond. I hope I helped~

Answer 5

What I would do is listen to my horse.  Going into a pond is not like crossing a stream or a small puddle.  Animals, especially horses/mules know if there is quick sand or something else that they should avoid...there is no valid reason for you to ride your horse into or across a pond, either with a saddle or bareback, both have their drawbacks and not many positives...wait until you get back, remove your tack, put a halter on and give your horse a nice cool rinse...I'm not trying to be an 'ole fogie...been a teenager myself and gotten myself in lots of messes (could have cost me my life and the soundness of my horse) due to lack of plain ole common sense....if you have ever ridden a horse across a pond or a large body of water, you will realize just how dangerous it is.  Yes, I agree, your horse should learn to cross small creeks and puddles, as a matter of discipline and getting from one point to another, but through a pond, no...there is no valid reason that is good enough to justify what the negative results could be.

Answer 6

Use the hose to make puddles and start with those.  Once he's walking calmly through puddles, get someone who's horse goes through water to ride through ahead of you...most horses will do it rather than be left behind...he may take a big jump the first few times, so be ready for it.

I've trained this many times. You do this while riding.

It takes very little time to teach this.  Use your legs and steering to force him into and through the puddles, and don't let him rest until he does it.  Do it relentlessly with rests in between, for up to 30 minutes or so.  If you can make 3 good puddles to use, even better, although one will still do it.

Answer 7

First, make sure that your pond has good enough footing for it to be inviting for your horse to enter.  I know my horse, who is older and having some sight problems, won't enter water unless she trusts the footing.  Make sure the entrance to the water is shallow, firm, and gradually sloping, and that the ground under the water is firm and not too squishy, mucky, or uneven.  

If you have another horse who likes water and who is your horse's buddy or your horse's superior (a more dominant horse than yours), ask if you can borrow him from his owner.  Let your horse stand nearby while you lead the other horse in and out of the water, praising the other horse and giving him treats if he's not nippy when he goes in the water.  Then, try and lead your horse into the water.  If he refuses to go in, stop.  If he does go in, praise him a lot and let him leave the water.  

If your horse refuses, back him up.  Lead him towards the water, but stop him intentionally before the point at which he'll refuse to go farther.  Praise him a lot, and just spend a minute loving on him.  Back him away from the water, and praise him again.  Ask him to move forward again, and take a few more steps towards the water this time.  If he does, stop him again and spend some more time telling him what a good boy he is.  If he refuses to go forward, manually pick up his feet and move him forward a foot at a time, and praise him even if you only get him to move a few inches.  Once you get him a good distance and he'll go willingly, call it a day, praise him a lot, and take him back into the barn.  You might only get within ten feet of the pond the first day.  

Each day, try to get him a little closer to the water.  If the other horse's owner will let you, continue to stand the other horse in the water to encourage your horse.  Eventually, you should be able to get your horse into the water itself.  

If your horse is extremely reluctant to go towards the water, and the above method isn't working, try giving your horse his grain near the water instead of in his stall.  Every day, move the bucket further toward the water, so your horse must get close if he wants to eat.  Remember to take this gradually, though, a few inches per day.  Eventually, you should be able to stand in the water holding the bucket of grain, and your horse will enter the water to eat.  Food can be a powerful incentive for a lot of horses!

One more tip: when you've first gotten to the point where you're asking your horse to put his feet in the water, make sure you're standing in it yourself, so he knows that it's not dangerous.  Since it seems like he trusts you, that should help him be less scared about entering the water.

Good luck with your horse!

Answer 8

Well, if taken in steps it can be done. To understand why water bothers so many horses you need to understand their vision. Horses have monocular vision and have very poor depth perception. To better understand how a horses eyes and vision works vist here. It will greatly help to understand why horses react the way they do.

http://www.equusite.com/articles/safety/...

What I usually do is to start out on the ground as it is safer. Use a good stiff rope halter to give you more control, and at least a 12' lead so you can be safely out of any danger zone.

Start back from the ground making sure you have good control over all four of his feet from the ground...i.e. you can make go forward/backward/sidewards or stop from the ground.  Even if he knows this already it is good reminder course before starting anything new.

When you have the feet under full control, start desensitizing him to a tarp. Blue tarps are great as they feel different under their hooves and vaguely resembles water to them. Go slowly, even folding the tarp if needed.  Get wilder and wilder as he progresses. Once he is totally comfortable put it on the ground in a depression. Work on driving him between you and the tarp. Settle for just a foot at first even if it is an accidental step on his part. Reward for any bit of "try" not just success. Keep this up until you have him comfortably crossing the tarp and even stopping on it.

Once he is comfortable with the tarp. Add some water to it. Use the same process as before.

When he's comfortable with this water filled/covered tarp, move to the pond you were talking about. Use the same process. It he wants to sniff or paw at it just let him, that a good sign. Reward for any try. If, once he gets in the water and stops, he wants to paw or play, again,  let him. It's a sign that he's comfortable with it.

Once he's totally comfortable with crossing water from the ground mount up and see what happens. You might still have to work with him a little bit. Trotting circles next to the pond, letting him rest beside it ect. But before long he'll be crossing water like a pro.

Answer 9

id get him comfy going into puddles first then bigger or deeper puddles... but try not to suprise him wit one with a big hole in it cus then he'll never want to again....

also just let him stand by the pond however long he wants... if you splash him he might get scared and not want to go in... maybe try walking in yourself and show him how deep it is... i had to do that with my horse

Answer 10

well actually contrary to popular belief dont try to get him to walk through it by pushing him or circling and trying again because it would just make him lose his trust in you. hes scared of this and so pushing him toward it would be like having your mother tell you to step of the side of the grand canyon! so what you should do instead is put him on a somewhat short lunge line and lunge him in a trotting circle around you a little bit a way from the pond. slowly walk toward the pond with your horse still trotting circles around you. make it to where your horse will be not quite stepping in the puddle but just on the side of it.  if he doesnt want to go all the way toward tohe pond dotnt make him, just make sure he keeps trotting.slowly h**l start going closer making it more like a circle again and not so much like a cutoff round thing :)  

after he is sufficiantly trotting next to the pond take a step forward and see if h**l go in the water. note this could take a while. have the lunge wip to make sure he keeps trotting but do not!! push him toward the pond and do not try to make him go in it he has to find out on his own that its not scary. you can also put a bucket or something close to the pond so that he has to trot  between the bucket and the pond. as he gets comfertable you can make this space smaller and smaller.  hope i could help!!

Answer 11

maybe starting in a puddle would help and then a big puddle...if you do not find any solutions to your problem i suggest you get a professional to help you!!!

Answer 12

What I would do is ride/walk the horse up to water. when the horse stops ask him to go forward. IF he doesnt then keep asking. You don't have be mean about it, but make it, so he doesn't want to stay right where he's at. Then when he takes a step forward, release all pressure and pet him and tell him he is a good boy, then try again. Continue doing this until you get the results you want, even if the horse puts one foot in it thats good. What you are trying to do is make it the horses idea to go forward.

If you are trying to do it on foot then teach your horse to walk ahead of you like you would load him in a trailer without walking in with him. Stand at the horses left side and put your left hand out to your side to give the horse direction. You can apply a little face pressure to help then click if he doesn't move then maybe tap him with the end of your rope. If the horse backs up don't stop giving him pressure. You need to continue holding pressure on his face and clicking or tapping(you can decided on how hard you want to tap, but always start out soft and then get tougher. give your horse a chance) him on the rear until he takes a step forward. Even if he took ten steps back get him to take at least one step forward. Once your takes a step forward then reward him, this will show the horse he did the right thing and start to learn when he goes forward he gets praise. then start over. Once your horse is really good and you can send him forward then take your horse to the water and try it. When you are at the water and your horse acts interested in the water just leave him alone. If he is smelling it etc. then just let it be. He might decide to go in on his own. To many times a horse is acting curios and people get excited and want to rush it in and then the horse will back pedal out of there. This exercise helps so that you don't have to get in the water and/or your horse can do something independently(with support) and will hopefully transfer when you ride him. If you have any questions just ask