CONQUERING
THOSE HORSE-EATING WALK OVERS
By SUSAN
DUDASIK
Whether
you show in trail classes or enjoy a quiet ride on your favorite
trail, at some time, your horse will have to step on something,
be it a bridge, sheet of wood, plastic, cardboard or even step
into water. Therefore it would be better to introduce your horse
to these terrible horse-eating objects from the safety of the
ground first.
Stepping
on strange objects goes against a horse's nature. Why step on
something uncertain when there is perfectly good, solid ground
all around it? Remember, when working with horses, you often
have to look at things from a different point of view, your
horse's! Every bridge, tarp or blanket has a different smell,
texture, look and sound. Wooden bridges have a different sound
than a crinkling plastic tarp and a cloth blanket feels different
than a rubber mat. Whenever you ask your horse to work a walk
over obstacle, you are going against his nature. He must trust
you not to let him get hurt. As with all the ground working
obstacles, let your horse investigate the new obstacle before
asking him to go over it. You are building his confidence in
your decisions as to what is safe and what is not. Make every
effort to be sure that what your horse steps on is completely
safe and solid. Check for nails whenever you use any type of
wood for an obstacle.
To start
working walk overs, the obstacle must be fairly wide. You don't
want something your horse can simply step or jump over. Two
sheets of plywood make a good first bridge. An old, large blanket
works well, as does an old tarp. Be sure neither are torn or
have holes in them as your horse can catch his hoof or a shoe
in the hole and have a wreck.
At first,
place your obstacle next to a fence or wall so if your horse
refuses, you can keep him from going all the way around the
obstacle. Lead him up to the obstacle. About five feet before
it, let your horse drop his head and look at it. Encourage him
forward until he's close enough to touch it. Don't go on until
your horse has touched and sniffed the obstacle. Once he has
made contact and is standing quietly, take your toe and tap
the obstacle. A tarp will crinkle and a bridge bang. This will
get a new reaction from your horse. Be ready. If he flies back,
calmly lead him back to the obstacle and repeat the process
until he relaxes and stands still while you rattle the obstacle.
Don't be
in a rush to do any of this. It may take a few days simply to
get your horse to approach the obstacle, much less stand when
you rattle it. Remember if you have a problem, go back to where
your horse was comfortable and slowly advance from there. Next,
encourage your horse to step on the obstacle, even if it's only
a quarter of his front hoof. Praise him and back him off. Be
careful your horse doesn't decide to take a flying leap and
jump the obstacle. Watch his body language. To jump, he will
have to squat down on his hind end. If your horse does this,
quickly ask him to back-up. He's not ready to advance. Don't
force him. Never advance until your horse is standing calmly.
That means not dancing around or swishing his tail back and
forth with his ears pinned back. He should be standing still.
Most horses will approach an obstacle with lots of encouragement.
But if it's a major project just to get him near the obstacle,
quit if he stands near it quietly.
If your
horse is really having a problem, a small corral can help. Put
the obstacle in the corral and turn your horse loose to figure
it out himself. If need be, place some grain in the center of
the obstacle. Stay within sight of your horse in case he really
freaks or gets tangled up.
Once your
horse will approach the obstacle, try to get at least a hoof
on it. Proceed with small daily accomplishments. All horses
react differently and one may go right over a tarp on the first
try while others may take days just to get a foot on it. Once
your horse has a hoof on the obstacle, he will more than likely
want to get off in a hurry. Bring him back and try to get him
to stop on the obstacle. He, of course, will disapprove and
try to stand on you, jump off or run forward. Many people feel
that is good enough, the horse went across the obstacle. But
it's not. First of all, a well-trained horse should respect
you no matter how upset he is and should never step on you!
Nor is it proper to jump the obstacle or charge over it. The
idea is to step and stand on it. Therefore, just keep calmly
working at it. Lead your horse on to the obstacle, stop, then
walk forward. If your horse wants to charge forward, insist
that he back off the obstacle then lead him back on to it. Don't
let him go forward until you tell him to! Backing off the obstacle
discourages him from rushing forward.
When your
horse is completely comfortable with walking over the obstacle,
try working him on other things. Always follow the same procedure
when introducing something new. There are lots of things your
horse can walk over. Try using different colored tarps, (yes,
horses react differently to different colors; try it), rubber
mats, feed sacks, hides, cardboard, carpet runners, the list
is endless, just keep it safe.
You can
also start working on water obstacles. Take your horse for a
walk after a rain and use the same method to introduce him to
puddles. If you don't have any puddles, you can make one with
the hose or use tarps to make a water hazard. Use 4 ground poles
to make a box and lay the tarp across it. Make sure the poles
won't roll if your horse hits them. Ask your horse to step through
the box. As his confidence builds, you can slowly add water.
By using
your imagination and being sure the footing is safe, you can
help your horse conquer those horse-eating walkovers. The more
you introduce to him from the ground, the better he will be
at handling unexpected situations in the showring or on the
trail.
Susan Dudasik
Shadow Rider Equine News
srider@salmoninternet.com
Member: Idaho Press Club
North American Saddle Mule Association
