Author: Lynn Palm

Water is possibly the most difficult natural obstacle for any horse. Why? Because
horses are smart and they want to take care of themselves! When they cannot see the
bottom of the water obstacle, they feel as though they can’t access their safety.
Whenever I see a rider trying to get their horse in water and the horse is resisting,
oftentimes the rider becomes discouraged and they start kicking the horse to go forward.
Anytime you start kicking a horse, they’ll go backward instead of forward. This becomes
frustrating for the horse because he’s insecure about the water and the rider is giving him
the wrong guidance.
To teach your horse confidence with water it’s best to start him on the ground. I
also like using another horse’s presence who is confident with water. This gives
confidence and trust to the horse who is hesitant about water obstacles, whether it’s a
flowing creek or a calm lake.

You and your partner touch. With almost imperceptible signals you dance together.
Your steps are light, your turns graceful and balanced. There is trust between you as you
confidently master more difficult maneuvers. You move as one with your horse in
beauty, in the partnership called “riding”.
You may be a trail rider or barrel racer, ride hunt seat or Western Dressage or Western.
Whatever your passion, there’s no greater reward than learning how to dance, in
partnership with your horse.

If you have been following this series, we’ve been discussing how to teach your horse basic ground training commands including “come to me”, “move away from me”, and “whoa” or stop.  Now I am going to share tips for teaching your horse the fourth basic command- how to “back”.  Make sure your horse is consistently responding to the first three commands before introducing this lesson.