Horses which have a fear of water are quite a common problem. In young horses it is understandable if they have not had any encounters with water before. For older horses, the fear might have been caused by a bad fall near a river or lake. Here are some practical horse training tips to help overcome your horse's fear of water:

1. Horses cannot see directly below them. It might help to loosen the reins, give him his head and let him get a good look at what you are asking him to cross. Up until this point, it is assumed that there is enough mutual trust between you and your horse, and that he believes you would not ask him to do anything that would harm him.

2. If you are with a group of riders, let another more experienced horse cross first. Horses are herd animals, and generally follow the leader. If you are riding alone, you might consider getting off and leading him across the water. If he trusts you and sees you going into the water, he will go in after you.

3. Before riding across the water, you might want to train him to go over safe but unfamiliar objects on the ground, such as blankets, pieces of tarpaulin or rubber mats. Let him look them over carefully, then lead him across. If he is confident being led across, try mounting up and riding him across. This way you can gradually build his trust that you will not let him step anywhere unsafe.

4. You could also try making puddles on the ground, if possible, and letting him cross through larger and larger puddles. Always give encouraging pats and words of praise to let him know he's doing a good job.

As always, patience is the most important aspect of horse training!