2 year old keeps rearing help needed !!!!!

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juevans

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Hi
I have a 2 yr old coloured p/b arab he was a colt untill last friday 8th when I had him gelded as I felt he was getting too coltish does anyone have any idea how long before he looses the testosterone as when Im walking him on the yard he is still insisting on rearing and striking out Iv handled lots of youngsters and had colts and stallions but this is the first time Iv had this problem Im hoping he will calm down pretty soon as I have to admit he is un nerving me which is unusual. I bought him from the stud at the beginning of Feb so not had him that long and previously he was just running out with the other youngsters he is good in all other ways doesnt kick bite and does as hes told its just the rearing thats a big problem
all advise welcome
 
I use Dually headcollars on the youngsters & do loads of leading, standing etc,.Make sure you do plenty of lessons with him. Having arabs, they thrive on work & it gets them listening better. Boredom is your worst enemy. Do loads of ground work, like leading over strange objects, moveing around & over poles, to really get him thinking. do say no when he does wrong (Dually helps with that), & praise when he does right. Don't overdo hard feed which may exacerbate his behaviour. Plenty of space & freedom to be a baby. Is there a specific trigger that sets his coltish side off? Does he have other youngsters to play with?
 
Is there anything that triggers his rearing or is it just exuberance at being on the yard and all the sights and sounds? I'd say try and keep calm, get a long lead rope, face forwards, avoid all hooves and as soon as he's got all 4 feet on the ground gain control and keep moving forwards. As if it's no big deal. And obv wearing a hat at all times! If you can keep calm, consistent and keep moving forwards he should tire of it. His hormones will take a while longer to settle.
If theres someone on the yard who can help & is confident let them try taking him down the yard a few times, he may be sensing your apprehension and acting accordingly.
 
Up to six months to clear the system of testosterone, be aware he may still be fertile!,
You can use a chiffney to stop rearing, you need to have it high in the mouth, and jab him lightly when he goes up. Most peeps prefer the halter, but always wear a hard hat, carry a schooling whip to keep him at a distance, and use a lunge rein so you are not close. You could start him on loose schooling if you have the facilities. Much better if he is kept out and not stabled except for short periods, tie him up with a normal halter when grooming him, be firm and consistent, I am sure you know this, but as he is a handful you may have to be firmer than you are used to. I had a little yearling who tried to come at me with her teeth once, then again the next day, but I was ready and slapped her neck with the halter rope. End of experimentation.
 
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Re you keeping him at grass whilst he recovers?

It could take months for him to lost his testosterone, but theres no hard and fast rule.

I use nowt but halters at home.
 
Make him walk backwards when he rears (obviously when hes back on 4 feet) or when he strikes out. They soon get bored.
Ditto others with hardhat, gloves, and lunge line so you can get out of the way quickly. If your leading in a field I'd be inclined to see if you can pull him over.
I did it accidently once with a 2 year old I was handling, she went up I got out of the way and must of put pressure on in just the right was and she went down on her side. Touch wood she has never reared again (it was becoming a habit with her not just a one off). Yes I will probibily get shot down for that last suggestion.. but I'd rather pull a horse over for rearing then get landed on!
 
It's a bit unerving when they find there feet isn't it hehe
Agree with the other user lots and lots of groundwork, leading around the yard, in the school (if you have one) leading around objects etc traffic cones, tarplin, poles, blocks, wotever you can get your hands on! not only are you giving him something to do but also de-spooking at the same time. Practice moving him away from you so he understands space. I wouldn't use a Chiffney just yet as he is only young and propbably just bored so trying it on. Dually headcollars or pressure headcollars is an idea though. For now I would stick with a headcollar and leadrope/lungeline and start more gorundwork with him and see how he gets on.

Good luck
 
My gelding was gelding at the age of 2. I then bought him from the breeder at the age of about 2 and a half. He hadn't had much handling but he used to rear and strike out when being lead. It started un-nerving me as I had a couple of near misses with his front hooves and my head. In the end I got professional help as I didn't want to risk my safety anymore. My instructor came out. Said my gelding was being really cocky and just damn right disrepectful. My instructor took him in the school and the minute he reared up and striked out at him, he whipped his front legs with a lunge whip. Sounds harsh, but has my gelding ever reared when being lead again? No. And the more work he was doing, some lunging etc, the more respectful he became. He's now a totally different horse. No-one would believe what he used to be like!!
 
Damnation said:
Make him walk backwards when he rears (obviously when hes back on 4 feet) or when he strikes out. They soon get bored.
Ditto others with hardhat, gloves, and lunge line so you can get out of the way quickly. If your leading in a field I'd be inclined to see if you can pull him over.
I did it accidently once with a 2 year old I was handling, she went up I got out of the way and must of put pressure on in just the right was and she went down on her side. Touch wood she has never reared again (it was becoming a habit with her not just a one off). Yes I will probibily get shot down for that last suggestion.. but I'd rather pull a horse over for rearing then get landed on!
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Please never advise pulling a horse over. All kinds of damage can result. You were very lucky.:)
 
Damnation said:
Ditto others with hardhat, gloves, and lunge line so you can get out of the way quickly. If your leading in a field I'd be inclined to see if you can pull him over.
I did it accidently once with a 2 year old I was handling, she went up I got out of the way and must of put pressure on in just the right was and she went down on her side. Touch wood she has never reared again (it was becoming a habit with her not just a one off). Yes I will probibily get shot down for that last suggestion.. but I'd rather pull a horse over for rearing then get landed on!
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You won't get slated by me, that's for sure as I had exactly the same problem with a yearling once. He started coming out of the box and boxing straight away, the first morning he got away with it, I was so surprised. The next morning, he tried it again and got told off for his troubles but was still a pain. The next morning I was ready for him with a chain over his nose. He came out, went to box and slipped so fell over. Got up and didn't take a step before trying it again so I gave it a yank and he was so surprised, he fell over (I didn't pull him then at all) He jumped up, went up again at me and this time I sidestepped and did pull him over on purpose; it was him or me and I was beggared if it was going to be me. I also didn't give him his head to get up straight away, I stood behind him and held it so he couldn't move it down; let him up and he stood there and glared at me then came up and stuck his head in my chest. He never, ever, did it again, is the nicest chap, has been hunting the last ten seasons and is being used to lead rein the youngest son now as proved in H & H a few weeks ago.

Don't let any youngster get away with this dangerous habit; you might be able to cope with it but others might not be so lucky, it needs attacking now before it becomes a habit; if you can't do it, get in a professional who will.
 
Wagtail - In a field, I would pull a horse over, onto its side obviously as I am aware of broken withers etc. Rather the horse than me if I'm honest.

Maesfen - I totally agree. Teach them sooner rather then later before they grow!
 
For those that say pull it over.... I would not be inclined to pull him. I've heard of more horses that learn to keep going over, rather than learning not to rear. Not only are you risking injury to the horse, you are risking injury to yourself and potentially creating an even worse problem. Would you like to be on the back of a horse that goes over?!

My horse has been known to rear. He's young, a year older than yours, he's huge and coming into his strength more and more.

My suggestion would be to get yourself a Dually or another training halter and a 12ft lead line. Make sure whatever training halter you use you learn how to fit it and how to use it first though.

I'd recommend always wearing your hat, steel toe capped boots, or at the very least, boots with good grip that won't help you slip over should you need to move quickly. If it makes you feel more safe and confident then wear a body protector too. It might sound overkill but your mental state and how safe you feel is really key to dealing with these situations!

There's a couple of things you could try if your horse rears. Let him go up, make sure you are or you get far down the lead line though so that you are out of the way of any trailing or potentially kicking legs. As soon as all 4 feet are back on the floor you want to pull his head round, so you'd want to be pulling him round diagonally. As soon as you have his attention back, back him up, not just a little but lots, using the line and not pressure on his chest. That way you should be able to be out of his space, but still able to control his feet. This may take practice and could be something you work on before you try and lead him anywhere so you know you have it. You'd repeat this every time he goes up, and he will eventually get bored.

You could as soon as all 4 feet are back on the floor back him up, quickly, and not stop until he's softened and his attention is firmly on you.

Both the above require quick timing. You want to act as soon as the feet are all on the floor, not 30 seconds after!

You should be able to get to the point where he either doesn't bother rearing up as he know's it won't achieve anything, or that you recognise the signs and as soon as he even thinks about rearing up, you act and back him up, move him round, break that chain of thought.

If he learns that rearing up means you go away, then he could learn that rearing to him is a good thing. That has happened with a horse at my yard. I don't personally have a problem with this horse, but other people have in the past been unable to get near the horse!

I'd also look to see if there's anything you can spot that's causing the horse to rear. In my horses case it was usually down to excitement or in a tantrum, perhaps testing the boundaries. It wasn't ever malicious and if it didn't get him anywhere it was always pretty short lived. Doesn't mean to say he won't do it from time to time, but it is far less extreme and I am (if I have my wits about me and not in lalaland) generally able to sort it out pretty quickly!

What I would say though is that I am advising from my own point of view, and what I have done with my horse. I am not an expert, and if you think you are in any danger or the situation is getting out of your control, I would strongly recommend you sought an experts help!
 
Your safety is paramount so please wear a hard hat when handling this horse.

Stallion chain over the nose and yank it hard and as others have said carry a lunge whip and swipe him one hard under the belly as this is where another horse would attack in the wild.
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions as he was only gelded last week he cant be turned out as yet so I have to walk him around the yard to keep the swelling down,to be fair though he didnt have much turn out before he was gelded due to being a colt so its not like hes missing it! He does the rearing if other horses call to him (he calls back then rears) and if its busy on the yard with ppl and horses. It was quiet earlier so I walked him around for 5 mins with bridle on and chain under chin as he isnt used to the bit it does distract him slightly and he was ok today,also had whip right by his nose too so he knew I meant buisness but nothing called to him today either so that was a plus.Im going to have to get a grip of him I know as I want to show him in hand the strange thing is I dont let any of mine get away with anything and I havent with him but I have to say I dont really trust him I have no idea why its just a feeling I have this was another reason why I had him gelded.Im hoping he will chill once he can go out in the field with the others I asked the vet and he said after 2 weeks he can go in a mixed field so only another week and a day to go
 
I had a 2yr old that kept doing the rearing then landing with the fronts and lashing out with the backs, tried all the usual slap on the belly and everything to no avail and after the backs had got me once to often i have to say i had a bit of a strop and thought right its me or you, so next time she attempted to go up i put her staight on the floor in the field on her side, the look of shock on her face was worth every minute of it, She got up and never to this day has she ever done it again.
She had got to the point of thinking she was the boss as i was the one side stepping all the time, and so she was dictating the space issues, after she realised that she was not the boss, it done wonders for her temperment as she then knew her place in the herd rather than always vieing for kudos with me.
Not something i like doing but would not hesitate to do it again in a safe enviroment.
 
I have in the past pulled a rearer over - onto it's side - and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if the situation warranted it.

My previous colt got a bit cheeky but he was trying to play not being agressive and a tug on the halter closely followed by moving him backwards and sideways soon resolved it - however if it had not I would have been prepared to take more drastic action.
 
Just give him time, he'll loose interest in dancing around on his back legs as he matures as well as now he's been cut, just use a an extra long leadrope or lunge line, wear gloves and your riding hat and just have your wits about you.

Plenty of ground work so he respects your space so he learns to back up on command etc, if he's not in it he can't injure you, so make sure you are at a safe distance should he go up so he doesn't strike you with his front feet, they soon learn it's a pointless process as it's doesn't get them anywhere providing you continue with what you were doing.

Sending them off balance is very useful (so spin them round and send them forward) but pulling them over isn't, not unless you want to risk injuring them.

I sharp crack across the belly can also help if they have go into the habit and rearing at you rather than just high spirits.

Chances are in your situation (colt been cut) he more you just carry on regardless in time it will just stop, all youngsters throw themselves around a bit, you have to expect it so long as you remain patient and confident.
 
Kenzo said:
Just give him time, he'll loose interest in dancing around on his back legs as he matures as well as now he's been cut, just use a an extra long leadrope or lunge line, wear gloves and your riding hat and just have your wits about you.


Sending them off balance is very useful (so spin them round and send them forward) but pulling them over isn't, not unless you want to risk injuring them.

all youngsters throw themselves around a bit, you have to expect it so long as you remain patient and confident.
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Agree with this. :D ^

My filly went through the rearing stage. It was soon sorted by sending her forwards every time she *thought* about rearing (she would pause for a fraction of a second, then rear, so it was easy to see it coming). I just took a schooling whip with me when I needed to lead her. She was in a leather headcollar with a long leadrope so I could send her forwards or circle her around me easily. She couldn't rear and move forwards quickly at the same time so this was very effective.
 
Damnation said:
Wagtail - In a field, I would pull a horse over, onto its side obviously as I am aware of broken withers etc. Rather the horse than me if I'm honest.

Maesfen - I totally agree. Teach them sooner rather then later before they grow!
Click to expand...

No need to get trodden on if you have a long enough rope. I wouldn't dream of ever pulling a horse over. It's not just withers, it's pelvis, legs, the lot! So many horses with undiagnosed back problems. No wonder if people go round pulling them over. I am amazed. :confused:
 
mmel001 said:
For those that say pull it over.... I would not be inclined to pull him. I've heard of more horses that learn to keep going over, rather than learning not to rear. Not only are you risking injury to the horse, you are risking injury to yourself and potentially creating an even worse problem. Would you like to be on the back of a horse that goes over?!

My horse has been known to rear. He's young, a year older than yours, he's huge and coming into his strength more and more.

My suggestion would be to get yourself a Dually or another training halter and a 12ft lead line. Make sure whatever training halter you use you learn how to fit it and how to use it first though.

I'd recommend always wearing your hat, steel toe capped boots, or at the very least, boots with good grip that won't help you slip over should you need to move quickly. If it makes you feel more safe and confident then wear a body protector too. It might sound overkill but your mental state and how safe you feel is really key to dealing with these situations!

There's a couple of things you could try if your horse rears. Let him go up, make sure you are or you get far down the lead line though so that you are out of the way of any trailing or potentially kicking legs. As soon as all 4 feet are back on the floor you want to pull his head round, so you'd want to be pulling him round diagonally. As soon as you have his attention back, back him up, not just a little but lots, using the line and not pressure on his chest. That way you should be able to be out of his space, but still able to control his feet. This may take practice and could be something you work on before you try and lead him anywhere so you know you have it. You'd repeat this every time he goes up, and he will eventually get bored.

You could as soon as all 4 feet are back on the floor back him up, quickly, and not stop until he's softened and his attention is firmly on you.

Both the above require quick timing. You want to act as soon as the feet are all on the floor, not 30 seconds after!

You should be able to get to the point where he either doesn't bother rearing up as he know's it won't achieve anything, or that you recognise the signs and as soon as he even thinks about rearing up, you act and back him up, move him round, break that chain of thought.

If he learns that rearing up means you go away, then he could learn that rearing to him is a good thing. That has happened with a horse at my yard. I don't personally have a problem with this horse, but other people have in the past been unable to get near the horse!

I'd also look to see if there's anything you can spot that's causing the horse to rear. In my horses case it was usually down to excitement or in a tantrum, perhaps testing the boundaries. It wasn't ever malicious and if it didn't get him anywhere it was always pretty short lived. Doesn't mean to say he won't do it from time to time, but it is far less extreme and I am (if I have my wits about me and not in lalaland) generally able to sort it out pretty quickly!

What I would say though is that I am advising from my own point of view, and what I have done with my horse. I am not an expert, and if you think you are in any danger or the situation is getting out of your control, I would strongly recommend you sought an experts help!
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Excellent advice and is what I do myself except that I move them round in tight circles straight afterwards. If a horse does it once, I ignore, but if it becomes a habit then I use a Parelli type halter and long line and do tight circles in both directions as soon as all feet hit the ground. It's worked so far.
 
If gelded Friday why can he not go out in the field?
Being out and moving about will help any swelling subside. As long as he isn't in an area big enough to hoon about...
 
I would have at least a twelve foot rope so you can keep out of his way. He's still a baby, so I'd leave the chiffney and chains out of it, far too much far too soon, and the Monty Roberts headcollar is just a pressure halter, so I'd forget that as well.

I'd use a simple rope headcollar, and move his forequarters away from you when he comes down, then circles every time he rears.

I'd never pull him over. You need his respect and trust and you won't get that by hurting him.
 
If he's really bad or persistent you could invest in a Stephen's Controller headcollar or a Mikmar Training Halter. Expensive, but worth their weight in gold once you have one, especially if you're handling lots of youngstock or unruly horses. They're honestly a brilliant thing, plus it saves a horse's mouth from a Chifney. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280658860709&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT & http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stephens-Controller-Leather-Headcollar-Blk-FOC-UK-P-P-/170628008674?pt=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item27ba38cae2
 
joeanne said:
If gelded Friday why can he not go out in the field?
Being out and moving about will help any swelling subside. As long as he isn't in an area big enough to hoon about...
Click to expand...


Im on a livery yard and the fields are all mixed so have to wait 2 weeks on vets advice
will try the longer line and driving forward as he also stops before he does it so i mostly know its coming
 
My gelding did this at the same age.
I use a halter and 12 ft line all the time.
He did it 3 times and all I did was soon as he went up, I would vigourously shake the rope which bothered him. Soon as he dropped I stopped. Then walked him forward.
He very quickly learnt that going up meant irritating rope shaking and hasn't done it since.
Worth a try!
 
I would avoid pulling over the risk of injury is too great and would never ever do this, horses break things from falling all the time why risk this with your youngster.

I have a few young ones only ever use headcollar and lunge line when they do something i dont like they get a sharp pull and shouted at very loudly and i show my distaste, i find this usually works when they are being good i talk to them alot in a nice voice and the pull and scolding is usually enough of a shock.

If they ever get themselves in a tizzy i just stay calm keep safe let them calm down move on arguing can turn in to a battle.

I can bring all my in alone feed togethor in the field they all wait for their own buckets and are well mannered youngsters push the boundries sometimes,remember hes still got hormones raging and hes a baby they get carried away keep safe be firm fair and consistent, and please dont risk injury think how you would feel afterwards.
 
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