Water Crossings

[Sally Aungier <aungish@UNOS.org>]

I guess that I am one of the lucky ones.  My little mare loves water
crossings.  I believe that it because she was raised on the side of a
mountain in a pasture that had lots of natural water.  All of the horses
that I know from that breeder are "trail broke" before they are ever
ridden. I've never seen any of them have an issue with water or rough
terrain.

The interesting thing I have noticed with my mare (now that I have a
heart monitor) is that her rate drops quickly and dramatically as soon
as we are in a stream.  Doesn't even matter if she drinks, she'll just
stand there and mellow out and couldn't care less if she is left there
by herself when other horses move off.  But... as soon as you get out of
the water she is ready to go back to work.  She has also been a great
teacher with greener horses and other horses that don't tend to drink
well.  They tend to follow her lead when it comes to crossings and
drinking.
Do others see this plummet of heart rate when just standing streams or
is this just one of her little idiosyncrasies?

Sally 
and Lella (71.90% Crabbet)
Powhatan, VA