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Putting An End To Rearing

7K views 70 replies 29 participants last post by  BornToRun 
#1 ·
I would like to know what the safest and most effective way to put an end to rearing is. Instead of bucking, my STB mare rears. It's worse when she gets frustrated, or is taken away from the other horses. When I take her out for trail rides she'll try to turn around and run back to the barn, but if you pull on the reins to stop her she'll rear. So instead of using the reins to stop her, I've been pulling her around in a circle, but we usually just go round and round and then she gets frustrated and it just seems like a viscous circle. She's perfect when we ride in the field behind the barn. She relaxes, stops without a problem. My mum is selling her horse in the spring, which will leave us with only my mare and gelding. I'm worried that she'll become even more herd bound and her bad habit will become even worse. I plan to take her to some shows in the summer and fall, but because we will only have two horses, my gelding will have to come. I am concerned that she will not be able to function during classes if my gelding is not close to her. So I guess I have to two questions now. How do I stop her rearing habit, and keep her from being herd bound?
 
#44 ·
Hmmm just a thought. I once had a horse start being a dink when he went out on his own and he would start goofing off while out. I did not have the riding skills to really effectively manage this guy, however I did have the ground work skills. What I did was lunge him all the way out into the field, just moving in big circles away from the barn and his buddies. As soon as he acted up I would spank his butt and make him work in a big fast circle until his eye and ear were on me.....then I'd let him relax......he learnt that playing up away from home meant he'd be spanked and worked and if he relaxed I'd let him rest. I did that a couple of times, really just due to the fact that I knew I couldn't ride it out.

He was a good boy for the most part after that.....perhaps it's an option, she can rear all she wants while your on the ground but she's going to get spanked for it?? IDK???
 
#45 ·
If you have a chronic rearer and you tried the usual methods with no success, send the horse to a trainer who knows how to rehabilitate the animal or stop riding it! I could not agree with Elana more! When I was a youth I saw a girl get killed by a chronic rearer who had been to every local trainer, the egg, water balloon, you name it! Obviously none of these trainers had the cure because I witnesses this horse go up and over on this girl, there was about 10 of us going on a trail ride. I still remember the blood coming out of her ears. I used to train for the public and at a stable, any horse that offered to go up high (not a temper pop), I was off, period! Personally if I had a horse whose response was to rear up when asked to do something, I would euth it.
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#46 ·
If you have a chronic rearer and you tried the usual methods with no success, send the horse to a trainer who knows how to rehabilitate the animal or stop riding it! I could not agree with Elana more! When I was a youth I saw a girl get killed by a chronic rearer who had been to every local trainer, the egg, water balloon, you name it! Obviously none of these trainers had the cure because I witnesses this horse go up and over on this girl, there was about 10 of us going on a trail ride. I still remember the blood coming out of her ears. I used to train for the public and at a stable, any horse that offered to go up high (not a temper pop), I was off, period! Personally if I had a horse whose response was to rear up when asked to do something, I would euth it.
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Yes, this I completely agree with. If you try and can't fix it, if it's over your head, stop trying! I really hope it goes well for OP.
 
#50 ·
For the rearing it certainly varies on the horse.

My first mare I taught to rear on my own (after going to multiple Medieval Times shows, lol), when she offered a rear without a cue I took the reins to both sides of her neck quickly and sharply. Scared her half to death and she never did it off cue again. (This was a no higher than cannon bone rearing horse).

I had a TB gelding I was training for someone who reared when I took him from his buddies. All I did was push him forward, got his feet moving, he never offered it again.

The downside to my post... I had a 4 year old that was a chronic rear(er) because a friend of mine thought it was "cute" to teach her to rear from a young age. I tried everything from smacking the crude out of her, getting her feet moving, pulling her to the ground when she reared (with me on her!), etc. Nothing worked. She ended up flipping on me, crushing my ankle and breaking my knee as an end result. I never touched her head to discourage rearing (though I have heard the egg/water balloon trick works) because I was concerned it would make it worse than it already was. I wouldn't be surprised if she was on someone's dinner plate in another country. She disappeared from WV a few years ago.

Please, please, be careful with rearing. It is a nasty animal.
 
#51 ·
The main thing I figured out about my own rearer was working around the situation. I did everything listed here, water ballon, crop between the ears, circles, moving the hind quarters, work harder at home and rest away from home.

The key was doing as much as possible to prevent the rear in the first place. My horse was highly responsive to leg cues and was soft to lateral bending. I used that to my full advantage. He wanted to rear, we would walk sideways down the trail. No amount of stopping him or circling ever worked. Soon as we would straighten out he would be back on his hind legs. I would ask for a bend in the body and just move sideways. Soon as I noticed the tension leave his body I would let him straighten out until he acted up again then again we would be walking sideways.

Now understand this did not solve his barn sour problem in the least. I just swapped what he did when he got agitated or excited. I prefer sidestepping and prancing everyday over rearing. It took about a year and a half for the rear to disappear. Its was a long process to rewire him that way. This wasn't the only method I used but the only one I am willing to share that helped with my horse.

Remember, never encourage backwards motion with a rearer. Its only going to promote up and back, trust me you never want that. Forward is always better than back.

Get control of lateral movement at home and use them. A horse can't rear if they are crossing their back legs and kept off of their hindquarters.

Always give a horse their head, lean forward and wrap your arms around the neck while they are rearing. Don't try to pull the sideways (or back) if their front feet are off the ground, wait until they land then pull the head over. If you feel before it starts turn the head, but if they're going up let them have their balance.

And always, get help from a trainer.
 
#52 ·
Thought I'd keep everyone updated on how we're doing. I've decided to go right back to ground work with Nell, using the Chris Irwin method, and I've invested in a dressage whip. So right now we are only trail walking, and Nelly has not even threatened to go up since I've started with the ground work. For now we are riding in the field only, when the weather is good, and she has not reared out there either. We're supposed to get 15 - 20 cm of snow on Monday, so that might put our progress on hold for a little while.
 
#53 ·
I watched a man who rehabilitated horses deal with one that reared during groundwork and when carrying a rider. He broke up half a dozen bales of straw, then put a strap/ring on each front leg with a long rope attached to each. He knew how to piss the horse off so it would rear. When it did so he quickly stepped to near it's hip and as the horse was coming down, just before his hooves would have hit the ground, the guy gave a mighty heave ho. It scared the crap out of the horse because for the first time his feet weren't underneath him. He stumbled and half fell. That was the last time the horse reared.
 
#55 ·
I've also heard of bursting water balloons over their head when they rear. My mom's mare used to have a rearing problem and this worked for her.

However, I tried just dumping a cup of water on the head of a gelding who I rode as a kid lol because he kept rearing... didn't work
 
#56 ·
... obviously this is a very controversial thread lol.

If it were me, I'd try to just push her through the whoa and keep her moving and hope that she learned to get over it. Then I would try the water balloon trick. Then I'd hit her over the head. If those didn't solve the problem THEN I'd delve into deeper methods.. but if they work, great!

I find it pretty funny how some people can get so upset about things that have worked for others in the past. No method is 100% but I'm sure there are several that are worth trying until you find one that does work for you :)

Don't really see how people can say "oh such and such a method NEVER works"... when there are other people on the thread who have used the method with success.
 
#57 ·
Thought I'd keep everyone updated on how we're doing. I've decided to go right back to ground work with Nell, using the Chris Irwin method, and I've invested in a dressage whip. So right now we are only trail walking, and Nelly has not even threatened to go up since I've started with the ground work. For now we are riding in the field only, when the weather is good, and she has not reared out there either. We're supposed to get 15 - 20 cm of snow on Monday, so that might put our progress on hold for a little while.
 
#58 ·
That QH/Arab mare I talked about... we did the trail walking too, and she NEVER tried to go up. However after a couple weeks of just doing it on the ground I got back on and she went up as soon as we got out the driveway.

So, that said, I hope it works for you! Crazy you guys are getting so much snow, send it to the Yukon k?
 
#60 ·
Please never ever flip a horse over when they rear.. Just don't. Its way to dangerous and usually creates 100 more problems.

I highly recommend tapping them between the ears because they will think they will hit their head on something.

With my horses, if they rear I press on a certain part on their neck and they go right down and don't rear again. If I feel like they are going to rear I will press on that part of their neck and they settle down and the idea gets out of their head. Message me and I can show you a picture of where I press.
 
#61 ·
Please never ever flip a horse over when they rear.. Just don't. Its way to dangerous and usually creates 100 more problems
... I don't exactly feel the need to potentially kill myself or injure my horse. I have been educated on how to properly sit a rear.
 
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#62 ·
I just want to say THANK YOU BornToRun for following the sensible advice and following the safest and most likely to suceed route! I agree with the cringing on rearing threads. When I was 14 I was given a mare that chronically reared because clearly my family cared very little about my safety and was told by my grandpa that flipping them was the way to go. I finally got a chance one day and pulled her over when I went to mount.

Did she ever rear again? Nope. Was I lucky to walk away with an intact saddle, horse and young bones? You bet your ****. Sometimes COMMON SENSE needs to rule over "Wa'll, it worked once before on ol' Bessie so clearly it's the best way!"

Kudos to you and best of luck on your progress.
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#63 ·
Something else you might try is setting a pan with some feed in it at the place she usually stops, before you take her for a walk. Now she has some incentive. Put it in the same place for three days (it takes 3 for the horse to figure it out) then move it farther away. She will start to look forward to finding the pan and getting her reward. When using a pan the horse lowers it's head which causes it to relax. She is not thinking "barn" at this time. When treats are hand fed it often occurs at waist height which doesn't get the horse lowering it's head. It can make a big difference.
 
#64 ·
She would go up whenever I put pressure on the reins because she didn't want to stop. I'm not sure if I have that many feed pans!
 
#65 ·
Ok I skipped alot honestly bc I didnt agree with alot, lol.. I dont like the egg or any kind of whacking on the head! Sorry! I'm not arguing I just dont like it. My gelding was a "rearer". I have heard of them working. I have even seen a horse go onto it's knees when a water balloon was smashed on her head. She stayed there for a few minutes.... I dont want my horse to think I'm hurting him. I want him to trust me. And I have also had a neighbor KILL his horse by flipping it over (this was almost 25yrs ago.). And that happened bc a horse falling on it's back ISNT graceful! He fell straight back and somehow broke his neck.

And it sounds like your having the EXACT problem I did! My boy was ALSO very concerned about leaving the herd! And this was while I was breaking him. He would try so hard to do what I asked that he'd overthink it, and after getting it wrong repeatedly, he'd get frustrated THEN would rear, THEN want to go back to his herd.

So what did I do? I started at groundwork away from the herd, and when he started flipping out and rearing to get back, I took him back to his herd! AND WORKED HIM THERE! Boy did he put up a fight.... for a few minutes... then he realized that going back to the herd DIDNT mean he was out of work. He had reared a few times doing it, but I stopped it from the ground BEFORE I got back on (mine was a flipper!). Then after he realized this I started again, and after a few minutes he GOT IT! And now it's been a year and no more flipping after that ONE day!

And by groundwork, at that time. He didnt get exactly what lunging was about. He would get so worked up and assume I wanted him to just run, and I had a hard time getting him to relax! So you may or may not have to do something different in the ways of groundwork. I'd start at the root of the rearing. And it sounds like you believe it's from being herd sour, so start at the herd!

GOOD LUCK! DONT WORRY! IT CAN BE DONE! I'm a novice horse trainer! My gelding was the second I have broke and I did it! So dont feel overwhelmed! :)
So glad your doesnt flip back! And just in case you havent make sure you know how to get off a horse that is getting ready to flip back. Just in case! Be safe! And best wishes!
 
#66 ·
Oh and I was always told a horse that bucks DOES NOT want to move forward, and horse that rears WANTS TO GO! So that's why she rears when you pull on the rein, lol. Which I'm sure you already know. I just like that info, lol....

Oh and the horse that flipped and broke his neck happened 15yrs ago! Not 25! I mis-typed.
 
#67 ·
I've been dealing with a rank little horse that does the same thing. Nothing worked and she was progressively getting worse and rearing higher. I will not tolerate rearing. Another trainer walked up and handed me a foot long piece of axe handle and when she went up, I smacked her right between the ears. She stood there for a minute then carried on, hasn't reared since. Would I do that to a fearful horse, and abused horse or a head shy horse? No. Would I do it to a spoiled brat horse that just wants to go back to the barn and injure me in the process? Oh he** yeah.

If that makes me awful then so be it. Each horse is completely different and should be handled accordingly. Very few horses I'd think whacking them would work, but in this particular case it did.

I hope everything works out with your horse soon!
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#69 ·
I was just going to come back on here, to let you know that I did consult a trainer before going any farther with his training when the rearing.... reared its ugly head, lol... But I dont think ALL rearing horses should be given up on.

No I wouldnt smack a horse in the head, but I would totally put him in an area where he'll do it himself, lol... And I have. We had a problem with a gelding here that would rear when the farrier did his front hooves. He is a spoiled brat!!! And so we put him in under one of those aluminum carports. And he reared up and whacked his head and it made a big boom sound, and he hasnt done it since, lol...
 
#70 ·
Rearing is resistance and lack of forward movement whether it be from not wanting to go forward or being held back from the rider to keep him from going forward. The cause will determine the course of action.
Rearing is no different than any other problem one might encounter, there is no one-size-fits-all answer, it depends on the situation.
 
#71 ·
Just another update on our progress. No, I have not sold her, but I think I've found the root of the problem. Boredom. I think she was bored of just walking around all winter. The snow has melted, so we've been going for long walks, playing in mud puddles, and learning to jump. She's only had one episode since I last posted here, she was on the longe line. She seems a lot happier now.
 
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