Learning to Ride Through the Water Complex
Indy gallops through the Preliminary water complex with confidence and his eye on the next question.
The water complex is often a problem for horses and riders on the cross country course. To prevent this from being an issue it is crucial that your horse schools through water often and always at a level above the one you plan to compete. Introduce your horse to water slowly to give him confidence. You never want to make a big deal about it. After walking in and out of the water, trot through relaxed, and finally canter through to give him the feeling that this is business as usual. Introduce the drop in and jump out of the water and when your horse works through all these excercises in a calm relaxed manner, you can begin to approach at your cross country speed. Remember always slow down enough before obstacles so your horse can ride through in perfect balance and rhythm. One common error riders make is to over ride the water, which may cause the horse to trip coming up out over a bank, dumping the rider. Safety should always be foremost in the rider and trainers mind which means go out and do your homework so that the day of competition is fun and easy.