Years ago I rode a horse that hated water. If he could have escaped from his water bucket that would’ve made him happy.
Of course, I wanted to event. So I started trying to get him to walk through puddles. I had to get off and walk through in front of him! Although I finally did get him through the puddles on property, I was never able to get him through a water crossing or a water obstacle at an event. Just wasn’t going to happen.
When I took Zelda on her first hunter pace, I thought I might have a problem with her. She jumped the first water crossing like it was Beecher’s Brook. However, twelve miles later, she was happy to walk through the water. It was never a problem again. Even her first jump into the water went fine, although I swear she turned around and asked me why I wanted to do that!
Freedom’s pretty good about water. For him, the most terrifying thing in the world is a flock of wild turkeys. That sends him running. I suspect that he thinks they are one big animal with lots of heads. Cows are pretty terrifying, too.
What scares your horse?