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Help your horse master cantering through water confidently with advice from Olympic riders turned top coaches
In this article exclusive to H&H subscribers, we pick the brains of Olympians and top coaches Chris Bartle and Nicola Wilson to find out how to teach a horse to canter through water with confidence
Many horses are wary of water, to the extent that they lose all momentum, dropping back to trot or even walk rather than cantering through. For an eventer, this makes negotiating any obstacles positioned before, after or in the water extremely tricky. Watch top riders and their established horses negotiate a water crossing and they will barely break their stride. But how do you teach horse who is wary of getting his feet wet to keep up the forward momentum and stay in canter?
The first stage to unpicking the issue is understanding why it happens in the first place. British eventing performance coach Chris Bartle and Olympian Nicola Wilson explain where to start when it comes cantering through water with confidence.
How to train your horse to canter through water
“Think about a row of children lined up on the edge of a swimming pool,” says former Badminton winner and European team gold medallist Chris Bartle. “Some will jump straight in without a moment’s hesitation, while others will linger on the edge and carefully lower themselves in. It’s the same with horses. Some will be more cautious than others. That doesn’t mean the cautious ones won’t be happy to leap in eventually, but it will take time.”
Training a horse to canter through water, travelling forward, is a process built on confidence and trust. It is not simply a case of kicking harder.
“Water jumps can be busy areas and most young horses need time to process what is going on around them, which is why they want to drop back to trot and even walk,” continues Chris. “Make your schooling sessions frequent and fun and they will quickly get the hang of it.”
Former European eventing champion Nicola Wilson agrees.
“You need to build up slowly and make sure all the building blocks are in place before you ask your horse to move up a gear,” she says. “If he is not yet happy to canter through water, don’t put him in a position where he might be over-faced, for example don’t ask him to jump anything that he won’t have enough impetus to do safely.”
Cantering through water: troubleshooting
Sometimes horses dislike water splashing on their faces – and the faster they go the more likely they are to get splashed.
“I had a horse called One Two Many who was seventh at Badminton, on the silver medal-winning team at the Blair Europeans [in 2015] and a beautiful jumper, but he hated getting his face wet,” reveals Nicola. “Every time he jumped into water he would pull his nose forward so that it was almost parallel with his ears to try to avoid that initial splash.
“He was a bold horse, but this wasn’t something he ever grew out of, so I had to adapt my training and riding techniques to support him. I had to prepare early and make sure my reins were long enough jumping into water so that I didn’t catch him in the mouth because by the time he was halfway through his jump he would have pulled his head forward.
“For the same reason I stopped using a martingale on him as it would have come into play at the wrong time and potentially brought him down, which was the last thing I would have wanted.”
Nicola Wilson’s ride One Two Many demonstrates his unique style to avoid the water splashing in his face.
(Image credit: Alamy)
This is just one example of a horse reacting to water in a way the rider might not expect.
“It is your job to ask yourself why he is reacting the way he is and work out how to facilitate rather than hinder him,” adds Nicola.
Chris has discovered that wetting a horse’s legs with a bucket or jug of water before he goes cross-country can be helpful.
“It may sound crazy, but if you can get the horse used to the feel of water on his legs right before you set out to negotiate water then then it won’t come as such a shock,” he says.
By the same logic Chris also points out that young horses, in particular, can be spooky or shy at water when they’ve not been exposed to it for a while.
“This can happen in the summer or at the end of a particularly dry spell,” he explains. “If they’ve not seen a puddle for months and you suddenly ask them to canter through a large expanse of water, it’s not surprising that some are hesitant.”
Training at home
Nicola advocates making the most of opportunities that the weather provides to get creative at home.
“After a lot of rain you might end up with large puddles in your field or arena, which you can incorporate into your training,” she says. “So long as the surface underneath is safe you can make your session really fun and even incorporate some fences, too.”
Chris points out that sometimes it is easier for a horse to learn to stay in canter through water having jumped a small fence in rather than running down a slope.
“With a fence you’ve already got forward momentum, so if you sit up and keep your leg on when you land the horse is more likely to keep the canter,” he says. “Train your eyes to look high and ahead of you rather than down or to the water’s edge.”
Being in the right place at the right time with your body position will help the horse and instil confidence.
“Always support the horse with your leg by keeping it on his sides,” says Nicola. “Sometimes a little tap down the shoulder can keep him focused and energised.”
A horse that develops confidence and trust with good experiences training in water, will be comfortable to canter through.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Water training checklist
Is the training venue/situation suitable?
“Choose your cross-country training venues carefully — pick waters that are open and spacious, and where there aren’t too many extra distractions to take the horse’s focus away from you,” advises Nicola. “Some people take their horses to the beach, which can be good for some but it doesn’t suit every horse.
“With the spooky types who find it hard to settle and concentrate then you are better off practising at a quiet schooling venue where there is not too much else going on.”
Is the surface/footing secure?
Wherever you are training, ensure the water has a sound underlying surface.
“It’s really important that the horse trusts the surface because as far as the horse is concerned you could be asking him to jump off the White Cliffs of Dover,” Chris points out.
Do you have the right tools and equipment?
Whether you’re utilising a newly-formed puddle at home or using a water complex at a training venue, having the right support and tools at your disposal is really important.
“This might be in terms of help on the ground, another horse to follow or ensuring you’re wearing the right tack and equipment,” says Nicola. “If you enter into a challenge ill-equipped to see it through then you are setting yourself up for failure. Remember, whenever you are training your horse you are always training his blueprint.”
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