crossing creeks and rivers

I took my 4 year old on a week vacation and thought it was funny she will walk across rivers with no problem and stand in the water, But with a creek she jumps them. I mean she gets over 4 ft off the ground to go over a 2 ft wide creek. Anyones elses horse do weird stuff like this with water?

My good trail horse love to rip up a particular trail. Whenever we got to a 2' wide creek, he'd either slam on the binders and tip toe across or take a flying leap. I never knew which so I always got a good grip on the horn. I had a mare that wouldn't go thro a puddle. OK, she couldn't see the bottom, yet she'd go in the river willingly for a swim and couldn't see the bottom.

LOL! Yes!

I have one that will cross a river and even swim but will jump little irrigation furrows in a meadow like they are 3 ft. Jumps....

I've got one that thinks a 6" rivulet is actually a 6" wide snake and as such should be cleared by as much vertical space as possible. But yeah, pretty much thinks anything under 2' should be jump! Anything over 2' can be calmly waded.

So true!

Crossing rivers, is no big deal. But mud puddles on the trail require total avoidence



This gal fell off when her horse stumbled on some boulders on the river bottom.

Yeah...one of the horses I used to trail ride a lot would go through anything and do anything....we took her through streams, creaks, rivers, whatever. One day she almost lost me jumping a very small mud puddle like it was a 3 foot jump and then letting out a huge buck following the landing. Hahaha no idea why.

My horse, if Im not mindful will run us BOTH into the trees to avoid stepping in mud. He will trip over himself going onto as much edge as possible, LOL! Little puddles are sometimes OMG I'LL DROWN but a creek is no big deal.

I think they jump and fuss because they can but with the larger things they know it won't matter so don't try.
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Biscuit has almost rammed my knees into trees to miss walking over a puddle - a freaking PUDDLE - but will walk across creeks and into a lake with no problem. LOL horses certainly have quirks too!!

Horses that jump or swerve to get around a little creek or a mud puddle are one of my pet peeves. Even worse, when they'll drag their rider through branches or knock their leg into a tree trunk in order to avoid a puddle.

Maybe it's because the park nearest to me is nothing BUT mud most of the time, so my horse just got used to not being able to get around it and it doesn't even bother him anymore.

Still, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get your horse to step over or just walk through a narrow bit of mud.

I agree, If you have the places to train the horse for creeks. Some of us don't. We have lakes to swim in but no small creeks. But my pet peeves are just as bad. Horses that are scared of cows.