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Crossing bridges with your horse

A big issue for many trail riders - both in terms of safety and convenience - is getting their horse to cross a bridge. Bridges are intimidating to many horses because, in a horse's vision, a bridge can appear to be a giant hole. Horses have very poor depth perception, so a change in the color (dirt to concrete, for example) can make your horse think it's about to step off into space.

In order to get your horse to safely cross a bridge, it has to trust you and see you as the leader. So the first thing I do when training a horse to cross bridges is work with them in the round pen to establish communication, respect and leadership. Next, I work with the horse to despook it for crossing a tarp on the ground. The tarp is a great way to simulate the "hole" visual a horse sees when approaching a bridge.

When the horse is comfortable crossing the tarp, I then take it out to a bridge and work with it gently and slowly, helping it to associate crossing the bridge with something positive by using treats. Many people try to push their horse and force it to cross. This is not only dangerous, but it's usually not very effective. You want your horse to cross the bridge willingly, at your direction. I don't push the horse. Instead, I work with it until it makes the decision to cross the bridge. I work it up slowly to the bridge, let it get comfortable with it, sniff it, check it out and reward the horse every time it makes a positive step forward.

To see my methods in real life, watch this video of a horse named Howdy. Howdy was totally spooked by bridges. He would back up and even rear, and his owner always had to dismount and lead him across the bridge. But after working with him, he now safely and confidently crosses bridges.

If you want to learn my complete - and very effective - methods of teaching a horse to cross bridges and many other training issues, I encourage you to order the 5-disc training DVD set. It will show you how to establish leadership, train your horse to do what you want it to and make your horse a much safer companion. Stay safe and have fun!