A Horse Scared of Manholes and Puddles - Flash

He didn't know how deep the puddles were. Smart horse. Better safe than sorry.

People sometimes ask me, " what makes a good trotting horse?" (racehorse, in this case). I always answer "miles. Lots of quality miles." Same with this fella. 👍

Barry, deep respect for your work and training with Horses.

I remember the Norwegian fjord horse that hated puddles but was perfectly fine with getting into the lake and swimming. I think you're right that it might be the reflection.

One of the things I am always reminded of watching your videos is to be patient, encouraging, nurturing, and kind. Thank you. 🥰

Love the sound of his hooves. 💖🌱 Poor little fella with his broken manhole experience in town, thank goodness his leg was'nt hurt. He's lucky to have your calm good sense. 🧡🌱

They won't learn anything from FEAR. Not any animal learns anything from fear except more fear. But if you have their trust, you can build their confidence. By building confidence in the animal you're working with, they will do anything for you. Literally give you their hearts and souls for you. A horse will fall to its knees, tear them to the bleeding point, but still get up and keep trying to please you. If you have trust, you can get confidence, then you have an animal that is Happy, Safe and Confident in ANY JOB you put it to work in. Another great LEARNING video if people keep their minds open to the opportunity. Thank you Barry Hook!! Safe driving in all your travels barryhook2, whether that be behind a horse in a cart or in your car. Love from a Retired Paramedic, a S&R Dog and Handler Team Trainer and Horse Trainer in Ontario, Canada, Jenn. 💖🇨🇦🇬🇧

Manhole covers can flash a bit as do puddles. I can understand the horse's feelings - unexplained "movement" near his feet. Thank you for explaining and for showing us, Barry.

Makes you wonder when they see a puddle,:that they are not sure just how deep it is..they could think ,it’s a bottomless pit waiting to fall in. Just saying…thanks for another interesting video barry.

I love the long tails! Fellow driver 🥰

I appreciate that you treat horses capable of growing in their understanding. When horses are genuinely frightened, I’ve observed that they lack some primary understanding. Observing them the way that you do- allows you to see into those gaps and find ways to explain to the horse. It didn’t fix everything of course- but it’s quite effective - as you show repeatedly in your videos- patience and communication in all ways and forms. I worked with a Belgian who was so smart and so quick to put things together. Her driver explained that she was a carriage horse in town, but was terrified of culverts (water pipes under the road), or bridges. He just never took her over them and changed his routes accordingly. I took her out under saddle (change the mindset a little), down a country lane and walked her down to the creek. Then followed it to the culvert where the road crossed. She and I just sat there watching it for about 10 still minutes. It was like her mind, carefully put together what she was seeing, weighing the threat and having that fear, turn to curiosity, turn to interest. I rode her up to the road and we repeated the process on the other side of the culvert. Again, it was like she said with her ears, “oh. Is this what’s actually going on? I never knew. It doesn’t seem so complicated now. Ok. Ok. I’ll give it a try”. Her sweet, willing heart bravely crossed that culvert with me. First walking and then riding - stopping to look and think. After two crossings. She lifted her head and just trotted over. Easy. It taught me so much about respecting her intelligence and capacity to figure it out. I was so proud of her and she continued to impress me every time we went out. Taking time to explain it to them & hopefully we find a way that makes sense to them. It’s the least we can do.

I agree with you about the reflective surface of the puddle being a bit more scary!

Hardworking little dude! You will have him going like a flash in no time. Thankyou for these wonderful videos.

I once had a pony called Flash. Sweet little thing , he was. A Dartmoor.

It's understanding that each and every horse works and learns differently so you have to work with each horse differently. Different methods work with different horses and you've always got to adjust/change with them but patience is key.

I love your videos! You are such a calm, kind man and your genuine love & respect for horses shines through. It is beautiful to see.

Barry that was brilliant! Just what I wanted to see. You may not think you are doing much but it is so innate with you that you do not realise how special you are. The best lessons are you building trust with a horse that has problems. Watching and listening to you is better than any book you could write. I know what you mean when you say you are excited when he crosses a manhole or makes a pass at a puddle. Pure joy.

Wonderful training! When my horse is afraid of something I encourage him by saying „Be my heroe!“ And he never disappoints me. 😊 He knows he can trust me as your horse knows, he can trust you.

Good job! He was getting a lot more relaxed and less worried. Like you said, we just have to have the patience of a saint! There is nothing like the feeling you get when they finally do that thing they have been afraid of. You are happy but so happy for them too!

You'd be spot-on about the mirror surfaces, though. My horse would gladly play in her in muddy puddles, but as soon as you asked her to walk through a shiny, still puddle all bets were off. It had nothing to do with getting her feet, legs, or belly wet at all; it was entirely down to the puddle being so shiny and still compared to mud puddles.