Riding in the Rain Helps You and Your Horse

With the rainy season upon us, there will be great opportunities to enjoy a ride in the rain.  I often get strange looks when I ride my horses in the rain.  Later I hear people commenting that it is dangerous and my horse could slip and might get hurt or I hear there is no point in doing it, so why would anyone do it?  These comments come from people who do not understand or are just unwilling or fearful of doing it, so they try and down play or don’t understand the importance of it.

Riding in the rain is so beneficial to you and your horse that it is hard to cover it all in one piece of writing.  A ride in the rain teaches trust, confidence and balance to both you and your horse.  For your horse, it is harder to balance while carrying you when he has less footing, is sliding or sinking in mud, is trying to determine the depth of water puddles and is dealing with some loss of sight and hearing from the falling rain.  With all this going on the horse has to look to you for guidance and support.  He looks to his leader for confidence and direction.  He has to depend on you more and trust that you will not get him hurt, will not lead him into danger and will keep him safe.  The better you do this the more he trusts you and will see you as his unequivocal leader.

You on the other hand get as much as he gets.  You learn how to help him and guide him even when you are a little insecure.  You have to be much more aware of his capabilities and his strengths and weaknesses.  You have to balance more in order to stay out of his way and make it easier for him to carry you, without panicking or pulling on his head or reins.  You have to trust his footing and reassure him if he gets nervous or insecure.  You learn to control you fear and rely on your horse more.  All of this while getting wet, having rain in your eyes and adjusting to the slicker reins and saddle.  Your confidence in yourself, your riding ability and your horse grows expediential.  This confidence is passed on to your horse and he grows as well.

“But Rick, I have seen horses fall in the mud when it rains, isn’t this dangerous?”  Walking up to a horse is dangerous, picking his feet is dangerous, trying to hold on to a lead rope, getting on a horse’s back, running a horse under saddle, jumping a horse, taking a horse to a show, trail riding and just about anything you do with a horse can be dangerous.  If you are trying to avoid danger completely, you should not be around horses.  I feel safer riding my horse down a slick rock cliff than I do having some people walk their horse near me.  I have been hurt and nearly hurt ten times as much by other people’s horses and their mistakes, than by my own horses.  It is never the horse’s fault and the horse always has to pay for their own mistakes, your mistakes and other people mistakes.  Try not to get caught up in the fear card played by many people.  When people don’t know how to do something or lack the ability, knowledge or confidence to do something, they will sometime use fear or it is dangerous to cover up the real reason.  Riding a horse in the rain or mud is no more dangerous than many other things done with horses.  Like many things YOU need to adjust and learn how to minimize these risks, accept that there are some risks, learn to increase your skills, confidence and know when you are over your head.

So how do you minimize the risk?  You slow down, you think more, you concentrate more and you become more aware of your horse.  When riding for the first time in the rain or mud, go slow.  Take your horse to a place he is familiar with.  Walk him and let him explore carrying you and deal with the mud and loss of secure footing.  Stay out of his way, work on your balance and allow him to use his mind and body to figure out things, but be ready to provide direction and assistance if he gets scared or lost.  Be ready to take him to a slow circle, a nice walk or an easy stop.  Learn to give him his head, stay neutral in the saddle and know when to give him help.  After showing him he can do it on flat level and familiar ground, then move to a good straight away so you can do a slow controlled trot and a few downward transitions and stops.  So trot and slow to a walk, then trot and do a stop.  This will all teach the horse how to adjust to the slicker surface and will let him know that he can still stop and turn if he slows down and does not get in a hurry or panic.  All of this will be a little scary for both you and your horse, so you both have to depend on each other more.  This is where the growth occurs, growth in ability and growth in confidence. 

“I do all my riding in an arena and never ride in the rain, why do I need to this?”  If you ever go to a show, a trail ride, a parade, or just get caught in the rain sometime, this will be invaluable to you and your horse.  By doing this when you control the situation, you set your horse up for success.  If you ever have to do this when you did not plan it or when you get stuck doing it, you set your horse up for failure.  Even if you never plan to ride in the rain, this is an invaluable lesson for you and your horse and real chance for growth and trust.  It challenges you both, increases the bond and trust and redefines you as stronger and more confident leader.  Of course riding after a good rain will give you most all the benefits as well, but the falling rain really makes the adventure a more rewarding and challenging experience.

So dress warm, try and stay dry, get rid of the umbrella, saddle up and take advantage of a good ride in the rain.  It will do you and your horse wonders.  And I assure you, after you are done, you will feel closer and see a better bond between you and your horse.   Sharing the freedom with our horse, enjoying the journey and growth through understanding all make horse ownership worth it.