Horse went up and over with me today

Holy moomin, BAD BAD BAD ED.

I think it is time of year, they can smell spring, and just get so full of themselves. Also you have been on a mission to get him fitter have you not? The fitter they are the more likely to do summat like that IME.
 
I was thinking of putting it on the milder ring for now and really getting him used to it in the school and roadwork, before I venture onto the common again.

I wouldn't be suprised it it was the poll action and frustration together!

ETA - Yeah Lex, been riding the arse end off him in a bid to outwit the green stuff and the giant gut of doom he cultivates, come summer.

Definitely will do as someone said and gallop him off before I try to get any good work out of him - while schooling outdoors...
 
Providing he shows no ill effects tomorrow or the next day, I'd be tempted to stick him back in his old bit, lunge him til he's pooped then take him out for a short ride, somewhere he won't be anticipating a hooley. And of course get him checked over properly as you plan.
 
Yeah? TBH the last thing I want to do is not ride him at all until he's checked over - I know this sounds really mecinary but if I leave it too long without getting on, well...

I might not.
 
I'm glad that you are OK.

If it's any consolation, my horse reared with me completely out of the blue once. Thankfully I just slid off and she didn't go over, but she has never done it again. A short while later I had the saddle-fitter out and she has been much much happier since, so don't panic that it will become a habit! :)
 
Kitsune said:
Thank you HW, that's really encouraging :) I really 100% hope its something innocuous or something I can fix!
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You're welcome. :) Perhaps he was just afraid or didn't expect the feeling from the new bit, something like that. It certainly sounds like there was no malice in it whatsoever. Perhaps the best way to deal with it, in a mental sense, is to think that it's highly doubtful he enjoyed tipping over backwards and landing in a heap! So he probably won't be inclined to make the same mistake again.

When Belle reared with me a girl on the ground just said "well, she's got a good rear in her." :p
 
Yeah it must have been scary for him too, lets hope its scared the bejesus out of him and he had nightmares for weeks over it and never ever does it again - I love my boy :)
 
Crikey, can't blame you for being knocked for six confidence wise, speically when it's so out of character and of course knowing what happened to you mum, that can't help.

But, (there's always a but :D) could just be a totally one off situation, perhaps something nipped (perhaps to do with this other bit) or he just objected to not getting his own way, in fact it may of taken him by suprise, specially going over so he may not actually do it again.

Finger's crossed it was just one of those things and it won't happen again.

Glad to hear you were ok, lets keep it that way!!!!
 
Thanks Kenzo, very kind :) definitely totally out of character for my rock of a horse - and with the other little niggles I have had lately, it could all be down to something else. x
 
I would be thinking that you got to the gallop place, her wanted to go, was overfaced by the new bit, so went up as the only option in his eyes.

I had exactly the same thing with my mare.
 
Crikey that sounds scary.

I've never had a horse go up and over on me, but I have had horses that are as good as gold 99% of the time suddenly rear vertical [out of frustration at being made to wait on a xc course] or suddenly turn into a she devil out hacking and buck me off for no reason [too much feed, not enough exercise in that case.]

What it sounds like is what everyone else has said; freshness and frustration at not being allowed to gallop, and then the restriction of a harsher bit to normal, sounds like it all boiled a bit out of control.

It doesn't sound to me as though it is something that is likely to turn into a regular habit, particularly if you take steps to try and change his behaviour now. There's been lots of good advice so I won't repeat it, but I'd definitely change his bit back [for now at least], and perhaps don't gallop on any hacks for a little bit, but do lots of trotting and some steady canters to get him listening a bit more.
 
I've not read all the many replies so apologies if i'm repeating what's already been said.

It might be a good idea to get his eyes looked at as something may have appeared very frightening to him. It's very, very worrying when something so major happens and you can't find an obvious cause.

Also, it's a very fine line between standing vertical and going over backwards, and when a rear like this comes out of the blue, it's entirely possible that your position was just not right to keep him upright and in balance. It may also have given him the shick of his life and he may never do it again.

I hope you get to the bottom of it. I'd be scared to death too :(
 
From what I have read , I would say he was keen in his usual gallop spot, your new bit was a bit too sharp for him, he felt the pressure, went to hop up, you aren't used to this or ready for it so without being offensive ( honestly) you prob unbalanced him casuing him to come over. If it helps, this happened with one of our horses, he never did it again.
 
Not read all the replies either, but this happened to my daughter on my horse. We had had him for about 8 months when he flipped over backwards on a hack for no reason whatsoever. She was riding out with company at the time which he was used to. The hack was familiar to him and nothing else was "out of place" i.e feed, change of routine etc etc. Unfortunately she sat through it and he landed on top of her, breaking her pelvis badly. We never got to the bottom of it, despite all sorts of investigations, and she maintains to this day it "wasn't his fault". I was the chosen one to have to get back on him, and was pooping my pants for quite some time after the accident, probably for about 12 months or so. This happened in 1999 and I still have him and ride him. He has been a fantastic horse, and has never displayed behaviour like that since.
i think it's like one of the other posters said, sometimes these things do just happen, it's just a case whether you can get past it or not. I must say, it's not a nice situation to be in tho...
 
How frightening. Thank goodness you are okay. Whatever the reason for the behaviour that is utterly unacceptable and I hope it is a true one off. Is he okay?
 
haven't got anything to add that others haven't already said... but didn't want to read and run.
i had a horse do this with me once, and she landed on me, breaking my ribs and knackering my back. it trashed my confidence.

is there another safe horse you can ride in the meantime whilst waiting for back/teeth/etc check... to keep you 'in the saddle', cos a break could make things worse...

glad you're okay though. phew! take care. xxx
 
I have one that goes backwards at speed. We have been in ditches, hedges, you name it.....but she has always been that way. The fact Ed has no history of rearing, and has been acting a bit bouncy lately, it might just be one of those "one off" freaky things that came about because of a whole heap of different things...new bit, change of routine out riding, bit full of himself...Nobody's fault, just a bit of a freak accident.
But if you are hacking out alone, dog tags on the horse and a phone on you just in case!
 
yeah funnily enough after the post in the other forum, I ordered them last week, thankfully this common is kind of gated - think gates and cattle grids, so he can't get far, however - still invaulable and will be adding them soon.

Just went up to catch him and he wouldn't let me, first time that's ever happened too. Not a good day all in all.
 
Sorry to hear about your accident Kitty, glad you're ok.

Have Ed looked over by a chiro as well as a physio, as he may have done something to himself falling over.

My gut instinct is it sounds like a build up of lots of things; fog and so strange vision (we know horses eyes are different to ours, so who knows what fog and objects in the fog (like a jogger) look like to them?), freshness, frustration, and objections to the new bit.

Is there another horse you can get on now, rather than wait for him to have a clean bill of health?
 
I haven't read all the replies with advice but my horse is coming back into work and I also used the NS Universal with a flash in a hacking group some weeks ago. My boy also got more and more "bunched" and ended up rearing!! He hasn't done that for years - since the first weeks I had him.:(:(

My advice - go back to your old bit for now and avoid your galloping spots :eek::eek:
 
Haven't read all the replies but, my pony went over on me when I was 10 ish out of the blue - in the middle of a hunter trials :eek:! It transpired that she had been stung on the hock - so maybe worth a quick check over to see if there are any obvious physical changes that indicate something happened to him if you haven't already?

Also, if he's not done it before, and it was a combination of excitment/spring time/whatever, then he's probably scared himself and won't do it again as he doesn't want to come over. A bit of an old horsemans remedy to cure a rearer was to pull it over backwards so it wouldn't want to do it again
 
He's ok yeah, well i say that - he wouldn't let me catch him when I went down to do him during lunch, so your guess is as good as mine! I have two days off, so will spend some time giving him a nice rub down and a groom to soothe his muscles til back person/dentist comes to see him.

TBH he's pulled the same, chin in, welsh D type neck thing before with his normal bit but not to this degree. Plus usually I wouldn't have the stength to fight him or will - because I knew I wouldn't stop him - so I wouldn't even try to - we'd go up - have a gallop and go home.
 
mil1212 said:
A bit of an old horsemans remedy to cure a rearer was to pull it over backwards so it wouldn't want to do it again
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I've seen it done to a real thug of a horse, who was the worst napper I have ever had the privilege of sitting on.
It worked... Not very PC though...
 
Thats awful - I had a horse who did this to me and it was unexpected. He was 6 at the time (I broke my back though and have some massivley bulging discs still as I didnt get thrown off and it was so quick and out of the blue I didnt jump). We found out afterwards that he had Wobblers - no obvious lameness just had been getting very gradually weaker behind. I had sold him before this was found out though (at the sales wanted nothing to do with him as was 15yrs old and very naive - just thought it was naughtiness when he went over and was terrified of him, to the point where i would break down in tears trying to get on) and he passed a 5 stage vetting. Hes now also is a field ornament. Poor new owners but no one knew!! He wasnt lame just as i said seemed a bit weak behind (didnt have the typical asymetrical crossing of the hind legs, didnt trip, nothing) and was diagnosed with an MRI, poor boy :(.
 
I haven't read all the replies, but the first and last time my old anglo arab reared was with a change of bit. So I would rule that out before getting too worried. I don't think its too far fetched to guess that he went up, you accidently took a hold to steady yourself, and the surprise/pain cause him to back away from the bit, thus rearing higher and loosing his balance.
 
I am so glad you weren't hurt and you are right to be concerned this is potentially very dangerous behaviour.

Only you can decide what you are willing to risk, but if he were mine I would get the vet out for a very, very thorough exam. These extreme changes in behaviour are either due to pain or just one-off bad luck, so I would try to rule out a physical cause first. If all is well, change the bit and keep things calm for a while to see how it goes.
 
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