At 20:01:59 on 25.10.10, farasi wrote:
He's a warmblood, says it all. Ignore it, and carry on as if he didn't do it. He's finding it hard and not wanting to do it. The more you react the more he will do it. Do not tight circle him. He's a weak baby throwing a temper tantrum. You need to be one step ahead of him and plenty of variety. It takes balls and skill and you can not be frightened of him, easier said than done to ignore it and just carry on, but it works. Question him and be firm with him, but do not rise to his tantrums. Never put yourself in danger, and make sure you have a neck strap, I use mine plenty at the moment, have a similar issue, but I'm getting everything thrown at me he can think of not just standing up, in fairness to him he's not started bucking yet!

At 07:47:07 on 26.10.10, Flicka wrote:
"Do not rise to his tantrums". I think that's a really interesting and important point and the 'being one step ahead'-two things that have definitely worked with my rearer. Keep calm and rather than be emotional use your brain and look for the signs before a rear and do something then-when the horse rears is too late. There are lots of different reasons horses do what they do. With some they're insecure and need direction. Sometimes we need a really experienced horseman or woman to watch the situation and see what is causing it. Mind you finding the right person who is truly skilled isn't always that easy. Please let us know how you are getting on as we can all learn from your experience.

At 13:20:39 on 26.10.10, ToriSilverson wrote:
yea i agree. charlie used to rear as a temper tantrum, like if someone left out arena and i wouldnt let him follow, but if i kept him focusing on what he was doing he stopped doing it. :) no egg breaking on his head, whipping between the ears, or tight circles. just flatwork

At 10:39:25 on 28.10.10, j_hollingmode wrote:
'Now, i don't think this is a fear problem. I think he is probebly just being a bit stubborn right now. I have a few methods here, just choose what you want. 1. When he rears just literally put your hand on his head. Not hitting him, but put some pressure under it and it should stop the problem as he has hit his head on something, and if you make it clear to him that when he rears he may have something there then he should stop. 2.Now you could either back him up, but i know its hard to do this. So turn him in a tight circle to sort of nock him off balance, but you're keeping him listening to you and stoppig him getting distracted by the rest of the world. Or you could literally ride him through it, and push him on into a few circles of canter or gallop and make him get it out of his system that way. 3. My pony rears on the starting line for games, it is usually just excitement. But sometimes, it can mean they don't want to do it. So just do something he enjoys after, like do some jumping then take him out on a short hack. This will then have him assosiate jumping with some sort of reward. Even if you do a circit of jumps, get off him and give him a carrot, then you can continue your session that way. Just make it as pleasurable for him as it is for you. Please let me know if this helps you at all! Keep me updated on your progress :)
http://www.jhollingmodesequestrian.webs.com

At 04:57:49 on 30.12.10, bronze1983 wrote:
Ok I have been riding horse, ponies and the odd donkey for well over 35 years, and here is what I would do, if your on the horse and it rears, try to find out why, ask yourself these questions: Is my horse having teeth problems, is the saddle fitted properly, is my horse just really happy to be out and about, is my horse in pain, is my horse just being plain naughty and disrespectful? If the answer is the first one, get an equine dentist to your horse pronto and get it sorted. It may also mean a change of bit too till he is happy with the one that suits him. The 2 question, if the saddle doesn't fit him then check to see if the tree of the saddle has been damaged (your probably wondering how the heck do you do that! Easy. Lift one foot so that you have some weight resting on the toe of the foot that is slightly raised, place the saddle on that leg, next place a hand at the front and one at the back, now firmly push the saddle against a door frame and with both hands at the back of the saddle push the saddle very firmly into the door frame, if you hear any odd noises, then get your saddle off to a saddle and get things looked at and DON'T use the saddle till its either been repaired or replaced) the next question relates to the over happiness and the last question. If your horse is really happy but is being disrespectful then my advice is to make your horse MOVE his feet a LOT! If your riding him and you know that your gear is 100% sound then get him to walk forward 5 paces, backwards 5 paces, turn to the left 5 paces, the right 5 paces, back up again 5 paces, trot forward 5 paces, halt wait 5 seconds, from the halt straight into the canter for 5 paces, turn backwards to the right for 5 paces, trot to the left for 5 paces, halt for 5 seconds, just think outside the square and keep going an actively thinking horses won't under any circumstances have the time to think about being naughty, disrespectful or let alone rearing. You can also repeat this on the ground, just cancel out the cantering bit. Trust me, a horse that is constantly moving his feet and being told what to do by someone who isn't suddenly gets the message. And not only that he will let you know when he is ready to stop. My last answer to the question about pain, get advice from the vet then an equine chiropractor and see what they say. But from what I have read this is just a simple case of being disrespectful and YOU not being a good leader. I am a brilliant leader, I am tough when I have to be and show zero sympathy if my 3 big horses and the pony are disrespectful in any way to me, the lesson is short, sharp and to the point. It takes me about 5 minutes sometimes less now for them to understand EXACTLY where I am coming from. If they still don't get it then I push the issue a bit further than they want, however I reward my horses with lots of smiles, scratches in all their favorite places and rubs too. Good luck.

At 20:56:08 on 03.02.11, Cowboy wrote:
Hey, I'm only sixteen, but i've had experience with rearers. I've trail broke two of them. Me and my mom rigged up a running martingale, or training fork, and tightened it way down. When they tried to go up they tossed their heads, and I would see-saw them back down. The first couple times it was hard becuase they fought it, but after that it gets a little easier. And when they come back down, back them up. Don't spin, that just teaches them to go in circles when they don't want to work. Never in my life has my mom, who has trained countless horses, western, ever told me to spin a horse. it makes them dizzy and unsteady. I hope it helps you.