help!!!

R

redrum

New Member
Jul 30, 2004
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Nottingham
let me start from the start!


my mum and i own a yard and help make horses known as problem horses and have recently been given a horse to stop him rearing he goes by the name of chancer we have had lots of horses who rear and have useually done it due to pain and discomfort due to back bit etc. yet this horse is fine in everything!!! he is a stunning thing and is fine on the yard and everything but being ridden he is 8 years old and when you ride doesnt do anything but rear. On the lunge he is fine and longlining everything but.

We have changed his bit nothing works pllleeeaassee hheellpp mmee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
if you have ruled out everything and are absolutely sure of this then the chances are that Chancer has learnt that by rearing he can get people off of his back. It will take a long time to cure a habit such as this and it could be dangerous should the horse fall over backwards with someone on board. If you have tried and tried then maybe it would be kinder not to ride Chancer and accept that he is better off as a companion rather than risk life or limb trying to stop him rearing.
 
Hello!

I used to know a horse that was got himself worked up that he couldn't actually move forwards or backwards and so the only way to cope was to rear.

I'd suggest forgetting about riding for a while and concentrate on working with him on the ground. If he respects you and trusts you from the ground he'll be easier to work with under saddle. I would do lots of inhand work to gain his trust and cooperation. Make plenty of transitions, turns and even include some polework to keep him thinking and focusing on what you are asking him to do rather than messing about or rearing. When he's working well inhand you can begin working him on the lunge (or long reining, whichever you feel most confident doing). Begin by lunging him just in a cavesson and roller and you can progress to begin to lunging him in tack when he's happy. On the lunge get him working forwards and use plenty of transitions to keep him thinking, you can even ask for some collection or extension of the paces if he can - just things to keep him busy thinking on what you are asking instead of rearing.

It's worth bearing in mind though, even if he's not in pain now, he may have been and these memories will have stuck. So you'll have to be patient and expect a few blips in his training. If you feel as though he can't cope with what you are asking, go back a few steps in his training until he's happy.

The best of luck!

Torie xx
 
thanks 4 all your ideas but none of them work, th only thing that made a smalll difference was the resapect so thanks for that but can u rack ure brains 4 any mire?
 
have you tried a bitless bridle. It may be worth a visit from a chiroprator just to check your horse over for you. They are highly trained and often pick up on things that the vet could overlook.
 
If yyou are absolutely positive that it's not tack, teeth, chiro issues, muscle issues, joint issues, or training issues--then it may well be neurological. (By "absolutely certain" I mean you've had specialists check him out AND gotten second opinions from other specialists...)

If it's neurological, or even a brain tumor, there's just not a lot you can do about it.
 
rearing horse.

hello Redrum , for a horse to constantly rear and expose his vunerable under carriage ,with out reason is rare.
do you use any natural traing at all ,my reason for asking is that i to take in troubled horses and i work with these type of horses
with an open mind after going through the obviouse could be,s .
there are so many reasons for him rearing but if he is well mannerd being handled and he has no skeletal or muscular problems ,and his mouth is normal .next look at his behaviour as a horse is he easily stressed ,is he a worrier, is he laid back and
placid ,does he like routine and worry if he is not kept in one ,
has he any other disturbing or unnatural behaviour. is he a loner ,a bully or submissive with other horses and people .

if he has no phyisical or behaviour problems ,and just rearing when ridden ,it could be man made error ,which could have involved many many things for him to react in this way.

with out knowing his past life or job it is hard to follow up with suggestions for this horse of which i have many .

rider error can create fear and in his fear he has reared, rider gets off or more riders try, making the rearing problem worse as they ride with caution and tenseness. so the horse rears to releive the fear and with repition of this horse learns association
to rear and rider gets off ,fear is gone.

this may be only one of many reasons . i often find horses that rear have been over bitted or the rider just pulls and horse pulls back and gets stronger ,rider uses stronger bits ,horse cannot go forward so he goes up.

this becomes conditioning to the horse which leads to rider saying get rid of the horse for the next rider to try and so it goes on.

natural training can help but first horse has to learn to trust again when the barrier of riding is reached this has to be done in small steps .

if the horse will let you mount then do so,but do not ask the horse to move a step sit quietly and scratch on the withers as another would do then before rearing is thought about in his mind ,dismount and reward,put him away or turn out ,
if you repeat this often enough slowly progressing to a step then more steps staying soft and with light contact untill you are riding one lap of the manage or feild lots of rewards and scratches and strokes not patting .this could take mounths but it will pay off ,
the time you will see the horse thinking about rearing may be on a certain que ,like shortening the reins or putting your leg on ,take notice if he changes from passive to tense when you do a certain thing. slowly progress ,but if he thinks about rearing but does not go backl to the last thing you did and start again.

this is a nice way of doing things but using the wop is some thing else as you would need to be fast and confident as you need to catch the horse as his front legs leave the ground .

disengaging his back legs will stop a horse from rearing and if he can not stand to gain his balance to rear ,but to be kept moving he can not rear.

rearing is not nice but if you can find the reason or conditioned que, horses can be reconditioned not to rear or want to .
i hope this helps alittle sorry this post is so long .
 
i agree to work with him on the ground. maby he was rushed in training, and has no where to go but up. maby do strictly longlining for a while so he learns what he supposed to do so that when you do ride him he will have more ecpetance to a rider on his back. good luck!! also check and make sure that the saddle you use absolutly fits, it might be pinching somwhere. also if your in a western, english, dressage, jumping, try all to see wich one he most accepts

good luck
red
 
does it matter who gets on him or what that persoin asks of him?

I mean he might of been rushed into training but if not that do you know his history? If he had been in an accident where something happened to him and he is reminded of what ever happened he could react to that. Not you but his memories. Horses don't hold grudges, but they have decient memories.

I once knew a horse that was perfect in the ring but horrible once he left it. After a while his owners found out that it was because he was afraid of big open spaces. It took them a while but he go over it.

Also have you tried any batch flower remedies or herbs to help calm him? They can also help with a horse that has just moved around from place to place.
 
Perhaps you could try tying a heavy bag to the saddle instead of a rider, and lunge him. That way, the horse can rear as much as he wants and he would hopefully eventually realise that rearing doesn't help him in any way: the 'rider' doesn't come off, and he can't evade work by doing it. This would be a lot safer than having someone in the saddle. Hope this is of some help :)
 
Picking up on this thread, what do you all reckon of a horse who rears violently when attempting to be loaded, and I mean violently.

He is an old ranch horse, all around well-trained, except when it comes to loading or tying. I usually lure him into the trailer with my mare but even then he sometimes goes berserk to the point you must let go of the lead. He is much too large and strong for this behavoir (which any horse is, really) and the only way to get him loaded is to use a hitch knot around his nose which I absolutely abhor.

I know this is an evasive maneuver and I also know his former owner once tied him to the trailer and whipped him severely for not loading (just add one more negative experience to the pile, captain dumb#$!).

When loading him alone, which is a necessity and must be learned without the aid of mare companionship, alas, I have tried the ol' stand next to him and tap his hip gently and progressively with a whip but that gets me a handful of rope burn no matter how slow and progessive we go so I have gone back to basics with slow introduction, stepping in, stepping out, stepping in again and so forth. This works if I have two or three hours to spend before I have someoplace to get to, which is maybe once a year.

So, anyhow, would y'all recommend I just keep building progressively with the step in and step out and accept it as the massive time consumer that it is or are there any other suggestions lurking out there? All my cohorts applaud the hitch knot scenario and success with much enthusiasm and I just can't get anything constructive out of them regarding this.

I'm all ears..........
 
I'm all ears..........
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The horse needs to be re-started; to change his attitude. His issues are emotional, and he needs to change his attitude to be more aligned with his current situation, rather than with his past.

This is accomplished by returning to the basics and teaching him (a) to softly yield as a habit, in all situations; and, (b) that his current situation (and humans) will not be like his prior situation (and humans.)

Re-starting him will take the time it takes.

Best regards,
Harry
 
Originally posted by qhlover
I have gone back to basics with slow introduction, stepping in, stepping out, stepping in again and so forth. This works if I have two or three hours to spend before I have someoplace to get to
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...have you worked with him on it any time that you WEREN'T trying to get him somewhere?

I recently acquired this little frightened, neglected Morgan mare. She'd been standing in a field for 5 years doing nothing. Either during that time, or before that time, she developed a fear of being beaten for not understanding what was asked of her. Her response to ANY kind of rushing is to panic and hide her back end and try to get away. She hated to have anything behind/around her, because it meant that she couldn't swing her butt away and back up.

She needed surgery last month. I had been working with her on developing trust, but thanks to (painful) daily treatments for the condition which required surgery, she was starting to lose faith in people again. So I was faced with the absolute necessity of loading a horse who was claustrophobic, afraid of people in general, and afraid of being afraid.

So I did the 2-3 hour in/out in/out trailer loading training. Only, I did it every day for about a week and a half. And all I did was wait. I stood quietly in the trailer--I immediately rewarded any forward movement, and disapproved of any backward movement, and otherwise ignored her. We spent a lot of hours like this:
http://www.galadriel.shaftnet.org/horses/fantasy/loading/

By the end of that time, she would load immediately and wait there for instructions to back out. She got a little nervous on the trip down, but for going home she also loaded right on, well, after pausing to get a good look and decide that it was the same trailer.

The quiet, patient loading does the trick, it really does. You just have to do it quite a number of times when you're NOT in a hurry and you're NOT anxious. The more tense you are, the less he'll be willing to cooperate. And the more times you set aside to do NOTHING but wait for him to load--patiently, with no pushing or fuss or aggravation of any kind--the more he'll develop a willingness to go in there.
 
Originally posted by galadriel
I stood quietly in the trailer--I immediately rewarded any forward movement, and disapproved of any backward movement, and otherwise ignored her.

Galadriel,

I started doing exactly that with him last weekend but then my motherinlaw brought my 2-year old daughter home early and that was the end of that. That is actually what my plan when we get a chance. I get a couple hours break a day from my child but I always am too itchy to ride.

And to answer Harry,

He definitely has emotional issues regarding past treatment while loading. He always thinks he is going to get a smack if he does the slightest thing unsatisfactory. Fortunately for him, I am not a smacker, except if a horse tries to seriously harm me on purpose.

Even when he just THINKS he has does the wrong thing, even when he really hasn't, he will start to yank his head and rear, even when I haven't acknowledged it or just ignored it. What should I make of that?

Is he testing me to see if he can get away with it? Or is he being sensitive and worried, in need of just a calming, quiet presence and starting over in a happy and relaxed manner?

After he throws his head and rears and backs up, if I act like it's no big deal, that I'm not annoyed or angry, and just kinda look at my fingernails and shuffle my feet, he will start to work his lips and relax If I get a little more assertive and proactive with him, he just builds steam and it all goes out the window.

Whatcha think? Just build on baby steps and keep him relaxed?
Click to expand...
 
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Also, Harry, I forgot to add that he does yield softly and snappily in all situations EXCEPT this situation! So, I guess this is his challenge to me.....(meaning I KNEW he couldn't be perfect and here it is). I'm looking forward to giving you all a great report back on this situation:) I'm still all ears....
 
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