Hi Jerry. You have no accreditations on the Uni. Do you use Monty's methods? You have no one to ride with but does your mare have company at home? That might explain her attitude but before I offer more please clarify the situation. Cheer, Jo.

If she's fine coming over it back but not fine going out it suggests it might not be the bridge that's the issue. when you say pacifiers do you mean blinkers?

yea bin using montys methods for 10yrs. i use his uni.yea blinkers i use.yea she is in a herd of 5 other horses she isent herd bound thogh. there is 2 certain bridges she dosent like as i said she comes back over them ok.she not keen on water even thogh ive led her through 2ft of water she dosent like walking through puddles! ive found blinkers and whip wop work well but not with bridges. she good with traffic, she comes to me every day we have a good bond.

Hi Jerry. That's great, 10 years - I'm not surprised you have a good bond. I take it you cross other bridges without problem & you say she comes back over these 2 ok. Seems to me that, as horses are far more aware of their surroundings than we are, she does not like the light or the sound & is more accepting coming the other way as that is different. All horses are more enthusiastic on the way home. Perhaps she remembers something that happened to her in a similar place, trees like that or sounds & is reluctant because of it, possibly before your knowledge of her. Puddles are silly - why get your feet wet when it's so easy to walk round, not to mention wet legs ( horses like to urinate on long grass to avoid splashing & how would they know the puddles are only water & not scalding urine? ). Clearly, 2 ft deep urine is never encountered. Personally, I don't like blinkers. Monty has stated his Willing Partners are ride & drive & he has found no difference between driving with blinkers or without. In Britain the school of thought has been that blinkers help the horse to stay straight & avoids it being spooked by the cart following it. I am working with two of my ponies to drive & will be trying to get them comfortable with full sight ( without blinkers ). I'll keep everyone posted on progress. To sum up, I would forget about puddles unless it is causing severe problems. If a giddy up rope - & I take it you have watched 'Walter Won't Go Forward' doesn't do it then I guess your mare feels she has a genuine reason to dislike these bridges from one side only. I would consult Monty via his weekly Q & A - I have no suggestions on what you could try but I'd love to read Monty's views. Cheers, Jo.

Hi Jerry, sorry, few more questions! (1)When you say you have led her over 'loads of times' roughly how many? Monty reckons about 100 repeats of something before it is truly "ok" (2) Can you think of anything that has ever spooked her on that bridge or has she ever accidentally clipped herself on the bridge rail or anything like that (3) what are you like when you approach the 2 bridges, are you anticipating a problem that then might be conveyed to her?

thanks jo and vicci. no i havent led her over 100 times perhaps half that.cant think of any thing spooking her only water running underit. i have actually led her down to the water under one of the bridges and she stands in it and eats the willow quite content a few times.i dident no u cud consult monty on q a.people r amazed on how much i can do with her as she is only 5 so cant expect too much of her at a young age.thanks again.

i saw monty at a demo at a demo recently and told him the problem, he said to get another to ride with her over bridge a few times to get confidence, hope i can get some one to help, not always easy i ride alone a lot.

Hi, so pleased you consulted Monty. Please lent us know how things progress. Cheers, Jo.