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Re: [RC] Crossing water - oddfarm

My very first real trail ride was some kind of organized ride at San Felisco (sp?) in North Florida. I was riding Showtime and my friend was riding Dough Boy. It never dawned on me there were going to be any "obstacles". I think Dough Boy was on the only young Arab out of 2, altogether. Again, I never thought anything of it.
 
After about 6 miles of stop and go in a huge group we came to a water crossing. It was very wide, about 8 feet across, had a pretty steep drop but was very shallow. Showtime went right across and my friend was going to take Dough Boy across because she was more experienced. Dough Boy really didn't care how much experience she had, he wasn't going.
 
After about 15 minutes, she was worn out and the stick whip she had broken off a tree was now a nub. We switched horses and I got on Dough Boy. Now, I hear in the background, "Must be a A-rab. They's afeered of water." Well, I never heard of such a thing.
 
I coaxed, I begged, I even tried to make the Boy feel embarrassed. "If those quarter horses can do it, you can do it better. Don't let them make you look bad!". No go. By now, we had held up the ride for about 45 minutes. Finally, another rider took a lead rope and clipped onto the Boy's bridle. He pulled, he tugged, he wrapped the rope around his waist to get better leverage. HELLO! His name is DOUGH BOY! There is no leverage!!
 
Finally, he was ready to go. Before I knew what was happening, we were flying over the water, over the guy with the lead rope and into the next time zone! It was beautiful! The Boy didn't have a drop of water on him.
 
I couldn't begin to tell you what that was all about but the Boy has never, ever hesitated to cross water since then. No jumping, just a nice leisurely stroll, in and out. These
A-rabs are so funny!
 
Lisa Salas, The Odd fArm