Fear of Water

eddie12

Hi Folks,
I'm new to the forum so my apologies if this has been brought up before.
I have a five year old Irish Draught mare who is absolutely terrified of water and I was wondering if any of you have any advice on how to get her over this. Any horse I've owned before were "made Hunters" who loved the water, were generally unflappable and all I had to do was point them at obstacles and hang on . This girl is a different proposition altogether. She's an easy going sort in every other way, a bit green naturally but nothing mad. Even little puddles cause her to climb up a ditch or jump the puddle rather than walk through them. And of course she does this just at the point of when you think she's going to walk through. When I kick her on through a puddle she will walk back through it five minutes later with no problems. However, if I take her back to the same puddle the following day she starts acting up again. People tell me that I'm too soft on her and need to take the crop to her but I'm very uncomfortable belting an animal that is doing something because of fear rather than being bold. She will stand shivering on a bank staring down into the 4 inch deep stream at the bottom of it rather than bolting or acting up. I find it hard to keeping kicking her on when she’s just standing there shivering. Even having a lead from an experienced horse doesn’t make a difference to her. I'd really appreciate if you have advice on how to help her over this fear without resorting to making her more scared of me than the water?

monflat

hi eddie12

pm d you

doctor evil

Start with a bucket of water and a sponge (preferably on a warm day) then progress to the hose.

Do you hack her in company or alone? Get a reliable Nanny to go out with you who loves water and wouldn't mind a nervy horse following right behind through a puddle or two.

You could try the beach to broaden her horizons. If so don't make her go into the water on the first trip. Remember, there are restrictions on what times horses can go on the beaches.

Don't forget Hi-Viz when riding out!

Chindato

SOunds like your mare has confidence issues. You're right - getting rough with her if she's scared will only confirm in her mind that she was right to be scared.

If you can bring her to a natural horsemanship clinic, they tend to spend a lot of time on the ground, teaching the horse that it can trust your judgement, and teaching you how to communicate to the horse that you're in control of the situation. Once you have those two things, it's amazing how easy solving problems can become.

One of my horses decided he was terrified of going across a pole on the ground which marked the entrance into a new field. He really wanted to go in, but didn't like the look of the pole. Some people's approach would be to tell the horse not to be so silly and whack him over it. I decided to try the NH approach on the problem. I let him approach at his speed, and stop when he needed to. My job was to tell him 'you can do this', and let him gather his courage and have a go. So I positioned myself closer to the scary thing, so he felt better about approaching it, and I let him stand for as long as he felt he needed to. The first day, when he decided to go for it, he made a mad plunge over it, breathing really quickly and obviously fired up. The second day, he was less fired up - I reckon because he knew he was going to handle this at his pace - and crossed in less time and with less angst. By the fourth day, he was stepping across it without me being beside him.

Hope the above gives you some ideas how you might approach your problem.
Chindato

doctor evil

It would be cheaper to get a half decent instructor with the ability to teach and a feel for horses. Even just spending time grooming the horse would achieve the same thing.

togster

Just wanted to say that persistance and patience are important. Also understanding the difference between fear and unwillingness is key.

Just to point out i used to ride a horse who was terrified of water. Even getting washed scared him. He just went around the 4* track at lexington. So OP there is hope!!

eddie12

Hi,
Thanks very much for your advice folks. Some great ideas to act on there and I'm glad you agree with me with regards to not laying into her when she's scared. Shes actually fine with getting washed down with a hose but the pool that forms because of it is a different story. She's spot on hacking out on the road and woods etc. Great with traffic, dogs and so on. She has a great mouth and genuinely loves to jump. I very rarely take her out on her own and its generally with an aged hunter. Will follow everywhere but just jumps the water instead of walking through it. I will bring her down to the beach someday soon with a few experienced horses(friends of mine go down quite a bit) and let her have a wander around without forcing her into the water. I'm going to turn her out with the horse she hacks out with for the summer. I'm also going to feed her a bit in water. She'll do anything for a few nuts, focuses on them rather than what's frightening her. Thats how I get her into a horsebox.
She does have confidence issues alright, I turned her out with young thoroughbreds last summer and when moving to another field she had to get a lead off a thoroughbred yearling. Should be the other way around really. Anyway, she's with me to stay no matter what happens. Thanks again and I've plenty of good advice to take on board.
Thats encouraging news Togster, getting around a hunter trial course on her in one piece is about the height of my ambitions

Esroh

OPHave had this problem a few times especially with reschooling racehorses who are set in their ways a little and would never have been expected to walk thru streams. If you have acess to a stream where you can walk in yourself then spend time with her in it. By leading her in and encouraging her to follow you , she will learn to trust you more. Then use long reins(if you not experienced with these look for help)so that you are askig her to take the first step b4 you. If you have her tacked up you can then ride her in when she is happy doing it.Time and patience but remember you have to be the herd leader.