Conquering
the Water Bridge
By Lana Grieve
E
very year at the AMHA
World Championship
Show, there is a
popular and complex obstacle
called the ‘eliminator
obstacle’ by many exhibitors
behind the scenes. Posed to
make or break your pattern,
the water bridge obstacle
features a step down into
water and a step upward to
conclude.
While some horses approach
it more confidently and
even apprehensively go
through it, the majority of
horses revert back to their
‘reactionary side’ of their
brains, using their fight or
flight response in how to
navigate. Even if your horse
has practiced a similar set up
at home, this fundamental
reaction is a sign of two key
components - TRUST and
CONSISTENCY.
You may be giving your horse
trust and consistency, but
no matter how many times
you perform an obstacle at
home, it won’t improve or
become consistency reliable
until you break down
the barriers of the horse
mentally, and you can’t do
this nearly as affectively
without incorporating natural
horsemanship techniques.
Once you truly connect and
understand how and why
your horse is reacting, you
can instill and earn a solid
level of trust from your
horse that translates into
confidently following your
guide over anything, even if
they have never see it before.
BUILD CONFIDENCE
& TRUST
When you are practicing
any obstacle at home, you
want to teach your horse the
approach and retreat method.
Begin by approaching a
simple obstacle at home
(depending on the horse’s
skill level.)
Walk up to the obstacle with
your stick in your left hand
behind your body. Tap your
horse forward if necessary.
The whole point of this
method is to avoid hesitation
tactics in your horse. Instead
of pulling them forward
and forcing them over an
obstacle when they hesitate,
you actually want to do the
When practicing the water
bridge at home, aim to position
your horse on the first bridge
section, then back them off of it
using your training stick.
opposite.
Before they display their
reaction, stop your horse and
flow into a back up using
the Stopping and Leading
Exercise (see exercise on the
Star Point Horsemanship
YouTube Channel.) Repeat
this and try to go one step
closer to the obstacle, then
back up again. Once the
horse is calm and confident
in their closer proximity to
the obstacle, you can stand
at a 45 degree angle to the
horse’s shoulder and rub
them with the training stick
to instill they are doing
the right thing by standing
calmly.
After a few sessions, ideally
2-3, you can begin to ask
your horse to step up onto
the obstacle. Encourage
your horse’s face downward
by bumping the lead
rope toward the ground.
Using a 4 Knotted Star Point Horsemanship Training
Halter along with a training stick will allow you to guide
your horse and give distinct cues as you approach and
retreat the obstacle. Beginning the Approach and Retreat
methodology on obstacles the horse already understands
confidently will prepare them to mentally accept a new
obstacle.