Wet Feet, Big Smiles

Every spring, we get a large pond in our pasture.  Sadly, it doesn't last...

One spring, an enterprising if misguided beaver thought he could help out by damming up the outlet.  Since there is no inflow, the plan was doomed, but the beaver gave it a good try. 

There are banks and ditches built around this part of the field, all of which are critical for building skills in Nancy's equestrian students.  When they are combined with the water, they are invaluable.  The ditches fill with water, looking very 'spooky' and as the horses learn to deal with them, you can just see their confidence growing.  Not to mention the confidence in the riders!

We try to take advantage of it while we can.  Today, we had several horses come in for training. Busy day in the stable!  A pond like this is just brilliant for teaching horses and riders about water -- riding through it, jumping out of it, jumping into it.

Water is a serious test for horses -- because they cannot tell how deep it is, they must give complete trust to the rider.  They must jump in with boldness and confidence and trust.  That is something that can never be jeapodized by asking them to take on something that would not be safe. Something with bad footing underneath, something that is too deep, something that would frighten them. Horses have long memories.

This giant puddle is ideal.  Just the right depth -- it has enough water in it just now to let the horses become familiar with the drag of the water on their legs. It is shallow enough to let them canter through and play.  And play they did! 

Ditches are another problematic fence until the horses understand they are not being asked to go down in the ditch, but to simply pop across over it.  Abby was exuberant over the ditch full of water (in which crocodiles might hide... you never know)

Walking through water is easy -- when the horses trot, they throw the splash up in front of them (usually getting the riders wet in the process!)  When they canter through the splash comes up in a different pattern.

And when you are a small dog, you just sort of wade through as best you can...