Pony reared and kicked me in head - help

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crabbypatty

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Mar 18, 2009
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Please help any advice appreciated. My sons pony was put in a new field tonight, was fine and then suddenly noticed the bullocks & huge bull other side of fence was just being nosey really but then suddenly got very excited started to gallop about the small field crazily, bucking and prancing tail in the air etc anyway i tried to catch him he got faster and faster around the field i was afraid he would injure himself, anyway i cornered him went up to him put on headcollar, his eyes were wide and his nostrils flaring seemed very excited, as i clipped on the lead rein he reared high in the air and struck out at me with his hooves, catching me on side of head and opposite shoulder seemingly on purpose, i let go of rope and he went to other side of field and stood still, i caught him again and led him back to field and gave him a telling off and a whack with the lead rope and smack on nose, did i do right thing? Why did he react this way, was it through sheer nastiness or could it have been fear he was acting very spooky. This is a lovely tempered teddy bear type pony on the ground, can be a bit of a handful on open ground but fab jumper son has been riding him lovely. 14 hh welsh cob / New Forest just 5 years old, bought only 2 months ago so still settling in. this is my 10year old sons pony, if he had done the same to him he could have been killed, am so worried, i am fine, have a big lump on head and a stiff shoulder, will be worse in morning. I am just so worried about theis pony's temperament now. If it was fear and a strange reaction thats ok i can work with it e.g not put him in that situation again etc But if he has a nasty streak i am worried. This pony came from local pony club people a 100% reliable family that we know so am not worried we have been sold a rogue in any way. Let me know what you all think please, i so appreciate the help and support offered on here. i have been riding for 40 years by the way, but have had a break til this year of 10 years approx. We have 2 other beasts so not a complete beginner! This is a young gorgeous pony, very admired and very soppy & affectionate - just getting too full of himself in new home needs a firm hand - there i have answered myself maybe! When i took him back to stable he looked very downcast and sad after being told off severely. Forgot to mention his weetitich seems really itchy at the mo, he apparently was just "itchy" in his other home but as it was near moors with a constant downward breeze it was very controllable, we are by a huge pond down in a dip and ponies from past have been driven mad by sweetitch there. Personally i dont think its this but he has been rubbing in his stable a lot today. Was intitially fine in field eating lovely. Thank you.:confused:
 
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have to say it wont have actually punished him, he will just think next time you want to catch him you might whack him.
As it soudns out of character I'd put it down to him being excited, wear a aht when catching him
 
If you ever find yourself faced with that situation again; where he is being silly, galloping around, bucking or anything like that, then just leave him for YOUR and his own saftey. Pop off for 10 minuites, even if its only to go and make his feed and go back a little later when he's calmed down. My pony is like a total different one when he is with the heard and being silly, i know he wouldn't think twice about giving me a kick or injuring me because at the end of the day, they are just horses and i dont believe you can ever trust an animal 100%. Don't worry too much about his suspected malicious streak just yet, it's still very early days for both of you - I've had my pony nearly a year now and i'm still learning new things about him everyday, and i still can't work out if he too has a 'malicious streak' (he bites a lot) but to be fair, i think really it's just his grumpy temperament and age, not malice. He reared with me once in hand about 2 months ago, I think it may have been something that spooked him, but i am forever making up excuses for him and thinking back i really can't think of ANYTHING that it could've been, he caught me on my chin as he has a very difficult rear to avoid because he doesn't just go straight up, he will barge infront of you before and do it literally infront of you, so you're clueless of where to go. He must have done it several times with me that day, but he's never done it since then. It's just horses they are extremley unpredictable.
 
Agree to leave him if he's behaving like that, don't put yourself at risk by trying to handle a horse who is completely over the top!

For discipline to be effective, it needs to be done immediately. You were far too late, I understand why you let go, but if you are going to punish behaviour, you need to do it immediately. I am not surprised that he looked downcast when he came in, poor pony probably had no idea why he had been smacked and told off!!

If a horse is that wound up that it rears, and it's completely out of character, I don't generally tell them off. Better to ignore it, get all four feet on the floor and try to carry on as normal. Telling off a horse in that state will only serve to wind him up more, you need to calm them down firmly but fairly. I don't often physically punish horses either, quite often a verbal yell can be enough to shock them out of silly behaviour without inflicting pain.

I have been around horses for over 20 years and have only met one genuinely aggressive horse. It's highly unlikely that it was "sheer nastiness". You said the pony had been spooky - you cornered him in a field when he was very anxious, it's likely the cornering itself was the reason for the rear if he felt trapped and wanted to get away. I'd recommend looking for your nearest Intelligent Horsemanship RA and getting them out to assess your pony and give you tips for how to handle him and cope with his quirks. Often good competition ponies and horses are a bit quirky, you just need to learn how to communicate better and reduce his spookiness. :)
 
Pony's react to new fields like kids react to new bedrooms - with excitement. The new field alone would have been cause for a trot and a canter, but if he'd never seen the cows before, then he was probably a little scared too. I'm sure you've heard it enough, but cornering him was a mistake, particularly in this circumstance, and I really don't blame him for rearing up. :(
 
Thank you all for replies so far, most helpful, i wish now i hadnt told him off so severely yesterday, he seems fine today looking for cuddles and nuzzling me same as ever so he has forgiven me this time as i have him, fresh start etc. The vet came today to visit my TB so i picked her brains as she said its rare they are mailcious but she feels he was spooky and i cornered him (i was afraid he was going to jump out of the field and injure himself he loves to jump and now jumps over connecting fences between fields unfortunatley) she feels he was merely telling me to back off and get away - thats why he reared. Also told me its the ponies with spirit that make the best competition ponies mostly so to be positive! My "born in the hunting saddle & retired PC DC" mother in law says the same but also tells me that we are too trusting with our ponies and that they must never be trusted in the way we trust them and he is a young pony after all, i confirmed with her that she is absolutely right and promised i will not let the kids run about in the field with the ponies again, as they had been doing :( i feel stiff and a lump on head today but happier than yesterday, fresh start n all that.
 
Sorry but no you didn't do right.

Your horse was very scared its natural for them to run around, he kicked you and ran to the corner, he then let you catch him, that was him saying sorry, its done now though so if it happens again just talk to him.
 
hitting him for being scared wasn't the correct thing to do. I don't beleive he did it on purpose and was probably rearing due to the fact he was scared and by being caught he may of felt you had in a way trapped him.
If he does it again leave him to it don't attempt to catch him again (my horses act the same when the hunt etc go through) just watch him from the gate to make sure he doesn't do anything silly or dangerous to harm himself eventually he will settle down and see whats going on. Once he realises the buls etc won't hurt him he'll be fine.
 
LokiSofi said:
hitting him for being scared wasn't the correct thing to do. I don't beleive he did it on purpose and was probably rearing due to the fact he was scared and by being caught he may of felt you had in a way trapped him.
If he does it again leave him to it don't attempt to catch him again (my horses act the same when the hunt etc go through) just watch him from the gate to make sure he doesn't do anything silly or dangerous to harm himself eventually he will settle down and see whats going on. Once he realises the buls etc won't hurt him he'll be fine.
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(This is my first post in weeks so hellooo again everybody! :D) I absolutely agree. While I can completely understand how shocked, angry and hurt you felt, you have to think logically & behave in a calm manner. I can guarantee that your pony didn't do it deliberately or maliciously; most likely, you got in his way. You cannot force an animal to calm down and aggression/punishment would have been very counter-productive, especially considering that he was in no state to think. It is important to try to control your emotions at all times and think about the effects of your behaviour on your horse, from his perspective. I hope you feel better soon (((((hugs)))))
 
puzzles said:
(This is my first post in weeks so hellooo again everybody! :D) I absolutely agree. While I can completely understand how shocked, angry and hurt you felt, you have to think logically & behave in a calm manner. I can guarantee that your pony didn't do it deliberately or maliciously; most likely, you got in his way. You cannot force an animal to calm down and aggression/punishment would have been very counter-productive, especially considering that he was in no state to think. It is important to try to control your emotions at all times and think about the effects of your behaviour on your horse, from his perspective. I hope you feel better soon (((((hugs)))))
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Totally agree with LokiSofi and Puzzles :)
 
ok, just to add, whilst it was incorrect to punish him afterwards, if any of mine reared up at me, at the time I would have given them a crack with whatever was to hand, leadrope etc , even if the best area was the belly, as rearing in whatever situation is not an acceptable behaviour. I would also have sent him off strongly so he gets the idea that this is not acceptable. Therefore I would have punished him at the time, so he knew what it was for.
Saying he is excited etc. only goes so far, you could have been killed, or if it had been one of the kids, so if he ever goes up again like that, don't be afraid to punish him (if safe to do so)
 
Blimey, almost feel like i should be burned at the stake! But thank you Kit. My reaction was purely frustration as i adore this pony and my son too, however my very experience Mother-in-law does not like him at all, i went against her wishes to buy him, my son her grandson is very precious to her (as he is to me) so i felt personally responsible and was very aware that if the same thing had happened to my 10 year old son i could well be visiting him in the morgue right now, as it was a helluva crack to my head plus my shoulder now feels absoltely frozen so he was good with his aim. Discussed the incident with my sons Riding Instructor today who knows this lovely pony well, she has been schooling him for us and she agreed he must know he has done wrong - very wrong and it must not ever happen again etc That depends on the pony and the situations he is put in of course. Was purely a young horse who spooked, reacted badly at the time and as she says "we all make mistakes" including me & him. She was most kind and supportive and says these sort of things happen peaks & troughs etc as long as we peak most of the time all will be fine, he is a great pony she says and she likes him, but we must be firm with him as he has a very strong character, can be wilful, but not nasty he has spirit thats all, we dont want a plod after all. He has behaved beautifully today, very cuddly as per usual & was even much better than usual with the blacksmith, thats nothing to do with me, was the Blacksmiths technique - i hasten to add before anyone else suggests anything other e.g scared stiff i may beat him etc. if you knew how much love & attention our ponies & horse have on a daily basis, you would understand how let down i felt by him & now myself for the way i reacted towards him. Our beasts are our absolute babies.
 
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I imported my horse from Hungary last year, he was then a four year old, newly gelded and unbacked Lipizzaner. He reared with me several times - they were full height rears complete with boxing, and he did kick me in the head once (I'm positive it was by accident!). I never, ever smacked him for rearing. Mostly I just growled at him to let him know it wasn't ok, then carried on as normal and praised him for behaving well. He hasn't reared for at least seven months now.

It's not necessary to physically punish a rearing horse, and I believe it would have been counter productive with my horse and made him worse. He is not a horse to be bullied and pushed around. Every rear he did was in similar circumstances to your horse - being completely over the top for some reason, and I truly believe that smacking him would have made him worse and possibly would have made him go up again and turn aggressive. Some people say to back up a horse who has just reared - again, I never did that! Rearing is the ultimate in engagement of the quarters, and rein back is an excellent aid to improving engagement! If a horse rears, I want to take away the engagement, not make it better so it's easier for him to go up again!

If you normally speak to your horse in a low, calm voice and rarely raise your voice around them, I truly believe shouting will be a more effective way to shock him into stopping undesirable behaviour.

You're not a bad owner, I'm sure every one of us has lashed out in fear or pain at our horses before now - I know I have. But it's not a great way to handle them long term, and it's nice if we can try to keep the physical side of things to a minimum :)
 
Thank you JenB for a most helpful reply, hopefully it was a one off with the pony, he has reared a couple of times with son on him in exciteable situations e.g getting left behind etc He is a great pony, very sensitve too so i do feel a raised voice will do nicely. I feel he is just young and abit green and still settling into his new home, it takes a t least 6 months for a pony to settle i think and at least a year before we know them well enough to predict how they will react to most situations. We learn by our mistakes i suppose :eek: Glad to hear your success story, thanx again. Incidentally he was sold from his last home as he was broken in by them but was not sharp enough as a competition pony for their competitive teenagers - they were very honest, but i think thats good for my son, as he is a great little rider but he is only 10! Another jumping lesson today for them - they go well together, a minor hiccup was what we had thats all i hope.
 
My pony used to rear out of frustration and fright in hand, he hasnt reared now for...... well over 6 months. I found that 9 times out of 10 I could avoid the problem by not putting him in a situation where I was confronting him or not giving him an escape route. From the horse's point of view flight is preferable, fight is a last resort. By rearing and lashing out at you the pony thinks he has no other viable escape options or has learned that this reaction has (in the past) allowed him to escape the situation.
I wont bother repeating that telling him off wasnt the right thing to do, you have already heard that!
Should your pony rear again because you have now, inadvertantly, told him that rearing is a way to escape a confrontational situation (these pesky young ponies pick things up fast) you need to make sure it doesnt work. Dont corner him again, dont put yourself in a situation where you are in range of getting kicked. Some people advocate making rearing unpleasant for the horse (poking them with a stick on the tummy seems to be a favourite :p), but I never needed to do that with my horse, I just started handling him in a way which always had a clear goal in mind so that there was an option for him to choose which was easier than rearing.
To refer to a book I read recently, horses will always pick the option which is best for their survival in a given situation, so you just have to ensure that the option which they deem best for their survival just so happens to be what you want them to do as well ;).

PS. you could also try counter conditioning - whenever he is in a situation where he might rear, ask him to do something which he is physically unable to do at the same time as rearing, and then reward him for that. So if he is excited and about to rear, ask him to turn a circle or take a step sideways. When he does that give him a scratch or a treat (whichever you feel is most appropriate). The idea is that he will see the alternate behaviour as more preferable and rearing will slowly be weaned out of his responses. My pony paws the ground with his forelegs and sometimes accidentally catches people (which is actually quite sore). So I have taught him to cross his front legs - whenever he is bored and I think he may paw I give him the cue for this (crossing my legs) and he crosses his - something he is unable to do at the same time as pawing. I reward him for this and slowly over time he has stopped pawing and that response is becoming extinct. Now when he is bored he (usually) hopefully crosses his legs instead!

PPS. I may have missed you saying but was he alone? Horses are herd animals and being alone is very frightening for them, especially in an unfamiliar place with monsters over the fence ;).

xxx
 
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A telling off isn't really going to affect your pony long term. He probably seemed "downcast and quiet" because he was tired from all of the excitement and he was back in the relative safety of the yard so could relax.

Sounds like a young pony in a new field and probably the first time he has seen cows/bulls. Of course he is going to run round a bit they will back off and then approach and then back off again its their normal behaviour when confronting something strange and possibly scary for the first time. Best thing is to just let them get on with it. If he is really desperate to get out he will run up to you or the gate. By chasing and "cornering" him you were only windng him up further. When being cornered their natural instinct is to run away and rearing at you and legging it was normal not nasty. If he had been quiet up to the gate and then reared because he didn't want to go where you were going then that would have been nasty and then he would need to be punished accordingly (yes I do mean slap).

I bought a 4 year old who had been owned by complete novices. He started out as a sweet just backed 3 year old and after a year with them turned into a rearing pushy bargy beast. He could not be turned out without a hat and schooling whip as he would rear and kick you in the head, you could not get into his stable as he would double barrel you. You could not pick up his feet without him biting you or swinging in to kick you. He would bite or kick anyone if within distance. He was pure nastiness and had 2 homes in 3 wks before he came to me. It took 6 wks of very consistent handling and the support of my very experienced trainer and then he turned back into the sweet 3 year old. He has his moments but then all horses do even the ones that you have known for years (example that poor girl who was killed by her horse of 10 yrs at that in hand show a couple of years ago). You should always employ safety first when handling a horse or being in the field etc.

And I think your mother in law is more worried about the thought of a green young 14hh pony for a 10 year old rather than anything about the pony itself.
 
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Thank you both the last 2 replies, most informative. My mother-in law has announced today she thinks he could be a False Rig and wants the vet to check him out!! Surely not, talk of reacting, but with her years of experience i shall go with it etc :) he has taken a very strong dislike to my horse the TB, almost killed him in fact, so this is the reason for her way of thinking.
 
CP I've only just read this - and really should be in bed lol, but anyway, sorry to hear about your story!!!

I shall PM you! I hope your head is feeling better and you're feeling better about things with him too. I can't give any advice as you know but I'm sending you my virtual support anyway :)

N xx
 
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