Rearing horse

[Scotsbadboy]

OP its very easy for people to get carried away and frustrated when responding to this kind of post so as this is the good 'ol interweb take it with a pinch of salt and chin up. You obviously like this horse and when they are lovely on the ground it can feel so one sided. She is new to you and her new surroundings so this is going to take time BUT you need to surround your self with a good team of experts.

I bought a 9 yr old project 8 weeks ago, she was backed, hunted at 3, then became a broodmare and then its a bit vague blah blah blah back under saddle .. dealer, dealer .. me. She is the sweetest (and god she is pretty) and cleverest horse i have met and she is BIG, hot blooded and sassy! Things have not been going well until VERY recently!

Surround yourself with a good team of professionals. I have a stunt rider who does natural horsemanship and his advise and help on the ground the last few weeks has absolutely been invaluable which is translating brilliantly into the saddle. I honestly cant tell you how important it is to get this mare listening to you on the ground and getting those skills transferred to the saddle so you know how to deal with her when she has her moments and she knows clearly what you are doing, when and why.

I wrote a story about my last 7 weeks with this new horse but decided to keep it short and sweet. Happy to PM you as its turning into a right success story i have to say

 

[Freck.19]

OP its very easy for people to get carried away and frustrated when responding to this kind of post so as this is the good 'ol interweb take it with a pinch of salt and chin up. You obviously like this horse and when they are lovely on the ground it can feel so one sided. She is new to you and her new surroundings so this is going to take time BUT you need to surround your self with a good team of experts.

I bought a 9 yr old project 8 weeks ago, she was backed, hunted at 3, then became a broodmare and then its a bit vague blah blah blah back under saddle .. dealer, dealer .. me. She is the sweetest (and god she is pretty) and cleverest horse i have met and she is BIG, hot blooded and sassy! Things have not been going well until VERY recently!

Surround yourself with a good team of professionals. I have a stunt rider who does natural horsemanship and his advise and help on the ground the last few weeks has absolutely been invaluable which is translating brilliantly into the saddle. I honestly cant tell you how important it is to get this mare listening to you on the ground and getting those skills transferred to the saddle so you know how to deal with her when she has her moments and she knows clearly what you are doing, when and why.

I wrote a story about my last 7 weeks with this new horse but decided to keep it short and sweet. Happy to PM you as its turning into a right success story i have to say

Yes please PM me.
I came for some advice but people are being nasty and unhelpful which isn’t solving anything, is it?
My mare was ridden by a 13 year old girl who managed her rears. They done dressage, SJ, beach rides, schooling, clinics, arena hires, hacking etc. It’s just something she had to put up with though. But they still achieved everything. The reason they sold her was because she really was just too tall for the mare now and wanted to advance her jumping.

 

[holeymoley]

So the horse was sold as being a rearer. I'm afraid you have no come back on a return unless they're genuinely nice people that will agree to take her back.

Pain aside- I think she's thrown the toys out the pram as you've said no to the taking off. Which naturally, probably resulted in a lot of 'pulling back'- horse has no where else to go + spat the dummy out and up she goes. If she was sold as a rearer it sounds like she pretty much does this at any point. I'm not convinced all the money in the world can prevent an established rearer from reacting that way, but finding a pretty good trainer could be a start.

 

[Bellaboo18]

Yes please PM me.
I came for some advice but people are being nasty and unhelpful which isn’t solving anything, is it?
My mare was ridden by a 13 year old girl who managed her rears. They done dressage, SJ, beach rides, schooling, clinics, arena hires, hacking etc. It’s just something she had to put up with though. But they still achieved everything. The reason they sold her was because she really was just too tall for the mare now and wanted to advance her jumping.

I gave advice- don't keep this mare.
I was kind - I wouldn't like to think you got hurt or worse.
Other posters have done the same, you just don't like the views you're getting.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

OP, to echo others, if the horse has scared you then please get professional help from someone who specialises in rearers in particular.
I used to specialise in this back in the 80s and 90s, (when I was younger and pliable) mostly with tb's and can advise that it's a long haul work plan not a short fix at any point, that's after all medical and saddlery issues have been ruled out.

Shils, sorry to correct you but yes they can rear with nose in......

 

[Shilasdair]

OP, to echo others, if the horse has scared you then please get professional help from someone who specialises in rearers in particular.
I used to specialise in this back in the 80s and 90s, (when I was younger and pliable) mostly with tb's and can advise that it's a long haul work plan not a short fix at any point, that's after all medical and saddlery issues have been ruled out.

Shils, sorry to correct you but yes they can rear with nose in......

Happy to be corrected - but errr... I have never said they can't rear with 'nose in'. What is 'nose in' anyway?

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Happy to be corrected - but errr... I have never said they can't rear with 'nose in'. What is 'nose in' anyway?

Sorry, you said can only rear with head and neck straight, not nose in (must be the heat dummying my brain!).
They can rear with head or neck or both bent too

 

[Shilasdair]

Sorry, you said can only rear with head and neck straight, not nose in (must be the heat dummying my brain!).
They can rear with head or neck or both bent too

Not in my experience, they can't.
We'll have to agree to differ.

 

[Nari]

I bought a known rearer from one of the most honest horse sellers in England, as well as one of the most talented riders. I don't know why, I simply fell in love with the horse. I resigned myself to the fact that, if I could not manage the issue, I had just bought a huge, expensive field ornament.

The horse quickly came round and became my immense Jay Man, who was my soul horse.

However, I was already a professional rider and had worked with rearers before. It is a dangerous thing, rearing. It is also easy to make the problem worse (not to mention easy to unbalance them if you ride the rear wrong).

It also depends on the type of rear. I have seen a pony simply go straight up and over on the rider, if a horse has no self preservation, I would not ride it.

My horse was very sensitive to the saddle. Needed a flexible tree, or rear facing tree point. That was the turning point, not me. I simply had to manage the condition until I found out what the issue was. He had a lot of holes in his confidence, needed a lot of ground work, needed a new saddle of a particular type, needed time, needed his brain keeping busy and organising.

In the end he became a wobbler. I suspect he was always a wobbler. I suspect we worked round that by me being sensitive to what he could or could not manage. We never did achieve what I wanted to competitively as I always thought there was 'something wrong' even when he was going great guns at eventing. We only did BE100, I had done to intermediate and he should have been a 4 star horse. I only did 2 BE100s at that, it felt wrong. We hack round a few BE90s, mainly.

The last 2 years, he was pretty much a pasture ornament, with a bit of light hacking and occasional play in the school. Then, one day, he said no more riding. I didn't listen and he told me stronger. That was the last time I rode him, he was his own pasture ornament after that, for 6 months more, before the wobblers took over.

I am trying to say that rearing can be a many faceted issue. The previous owner had tried to tell him off, it didn't work. The immediate issue solved gave us some fun. But there was still a physical issue that any work up would not have found. Even as a medium wobbler, his X rays weren't that bad. I never regretted buying him, he was my pal. I had physical issues too, we rubbed along just great.

I think if you buy a horse with issues, that the previous owner tried to solve, then it is a big risk that you have simply bought a pasture ornament, or that you will have to PTS.

You don't sound very experienced. I would get a very good trainer, after a full work up by a vet and then a physio, who will also check saddle fit.

I'm close to going right off you as a poster Red-1, you just made me blub on my danish pastry! What a story, and what a very lucky horse though it sounds like you got back from him just as much as you gave to him. I'm sorry there wasn't a better ending and you didn't get more time together.

 

[Nari]

OP please don't lose sight of the fact that some 13 year olds are far better riders than some older riders with many years of experience will ever be. "Ridden by a child" means absolutely nothing, but is sounds good in adverts and makes people think they can do better.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

OP I feel like you've had a bit of a tough time on this thread, but please know that it'll be coming from a good place. No matter how blunt the message there's an absolute wealth of experience on these forums and ultimately no one wants to see you get hurt.

FWIW I think it's a fair question to ask why you chose to buy a known rearer when one ride in your confidence is already dented from it rearing, but really it's all a bit of a moot point as you've bought the mare and no amount of dwelling is going to change that.

In your shoes I'd firstly want to be 100% certain the mare wasn't in pain, before I pushed the rearing issue any further. Can you speak to the previous owner and ask what tests they did to ascertain the mare isn't rearing in pain? I would ideally want the supporting vet reports to pass on to my own vet to review, followed by getting my own vet to check them over and possibly x-ray and bone scan depending on what tests had already been done. Ultimately for my own piece of mind I'd want to know with certainty that there are no physical reasons for the behaviour before putting time and money into training to fix the issue.

Once you know it truly is just a learned behaviour, I would enlist the help of a trainer that can help get you through this. I mean this with no disrespect, but the fact that she scared you on the first ride with her rearing means you'll be on a hiding to nothing trying to crack this alone, especially when the behaviour is long ingrained so it really is worth enlisting help early doors to prevent the behaviour escalating further and you either getting hurt or losing your confidence completely...start as you mean to go on and all that jazz.

I really hope you manage to get this sorted, for both you and your mare's sake. Horses are meant to be fun afterall!

 

[AmyMay]

Two questions from me:

1. Did you see previous vet records?
2. Was she vetted?

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Not in my experience, they can't.
We'll have to agree to differ.

Our experience must differ, so yes, we will have to agree to disagree on this

 

[Freck.19]

OP I feel like you've had a bit of a tough time on this thread, but please know that it'll be coming from a good place. No matter how blunt the message there's an absolute wealth of experience on these forums and ultimately no one wants to see you get hurt.

FWIW I think it's a fair question to ask why you chose to buy a known rearer when one ride in your confidence is already dented from it rearing, but really it's all a bit of a moot point as you've bought the mare and no amount of dwelling is going to change that.

In your shoes I'd firstly want to be 100% certain the mare wasn't in pain, before I pushed the rearing issue any further. Can you speak to the previous owner and ask what tests they did to ascertain the mare isn't rearing in pain? I would ideally want the supporting vet reports to pass on to my own vet to review, followed by getting my own vet to check them over and possibly x-ray and bone scan depending on what tests had already been done. Ultimately for my own piece of mind I'd want to know with certainty that there are no physical reasons for the behaviour before putting time and money into training to fix the issue.

Once you know it truly is just a learned behaviour, I would enlist the help of a trainer that can help get you through this. I mean this with no disrespect, but the fact that she scared you on the first ride with her rearing means you'll be on a hiding to nothing trying to crack this alone, especially when the behaviour is long ingrained so it really is worth enlisting help early doors to prevent the behaviour escalating further and you either getting hurt or losing your confidence completely...start as you mean to go on and all that jazz.

I really hope you manage to get this sorted, for both you and your mare's sake. Horses are meant to be fun afterall!

i really don’t know where people have got the idea that this is my first ride on her. It’s my fourth ride...my confidence isnt shattered, I suppose I’m just aware there is actually a chance this could happen now.

 

[Nari]

i really don’t know where people have got the idea that this is my first ride on her. It’s my fourth ride...my confidence isnt shattered, I suppose I’m just aware there is actually a chance this could happen now.

And the seller telling you the horse is a rearer didn't make you aware that there was a chance this would happen? Your confidence clearly isn't that great if you had to get your boyfriend to lead her.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I’ve had my new mare less than a week, I went to try her out and she was perfect, the owners were very nice and also told me all her good and bad points - including her napping, rearing! On my second viewing for her she did actually rear with me, 3 in a row, but I sat them all and they weren’t that big. They have assured me that the horse has been turned inside out and there are no health issues, It’s just a learned bad habit. She’s 14 and has got away with it for many years.
So she’s been home and settled, and today I took her out her first hack! She was an angel, but she ended up dragging me into a massive field wanting to take off! She didn’t, but every time I tried to turn her back she rested, and the rears got bigger and bigger, she done about 5. I was really scared, she’s the first horse I’ve ever dealt with that rears. Luckily my boyfriend was on hand to clip a lead rope to her and then she was fine.

what should I do? It’s made me lose my confidence a little bit.

I should think it is the phrases that I have highlighted in bold that have informed the responses that you don't like.

 

[Freck.19]

I should think it is the phrases that I have highlighted in bold that have informed the responses that you don't like.

I have schooled her at home prior to taking her out.

 

[HollyWoozle]

OP, I just stopped by to echo others to say please do be careful and get some professional help with this mare, rearing is no laughing matter as you've realised. I ended up retiring my mare as she started rearing with me - she would go right up, out of the blue, and luckily for me I slipped off the back in each case before she went over. Once she reared when I had one foot in the stirrup to get on and enough was enough for me.

I didn't wish to send her off for more thorough investigation or to a professional as she was very nervous at times and I felt that she would never be happy as a ridden horse (there was nothing obvious wrong with her physically so would've required x-raying and so on). Even if the issue was purely behavioural, I am not an experienced, skilled enough rider to work through such things and the risks with a true rearer are too high for me. She is now a field ornament essentially and I have never truly regretted my decision not to ride her again.

I remember reading a lot about rearing at the time and generally being horrified by the number of people who have been seriously injured that way. I'm not saying yours is a lost cause of course, but please, please do get some more investigation done and take some advice for your own safety. I hope you can work it out.

 

[doodle]

No one is being horrible. You didn’t get the replies you wanted so you are not happy. You said on first post you were very frightened. And also it was your first hack out. My opinion sticks that you should not have bought the horse in the first place and I am confused why you would then be concerned when the horse shows the behaviour. You need serious help and should not try and fix this issue yourself. You said she was rearing higher each time. She could get to the point she could flip over and land on top of you killing you. If you do not know how to handle the build up, which is why you are posting, you may well be the unbalancing factor that flips her.

 

[Lillian_paddington]

I have schooled her at home prior to taking her out.

Well that’s sensible but to be fair there was no way for anyone on the forum to know. Some people have been a little blunt but not without reason, I’m sure you can agree it’s not been your best idea. Ideally you would have bought something you could feel confident and have fun on from the start.
I really do think you should ask the owners to take her back, and if they won’t (they’re not obliged to as private sellers) then sell on to a very experienced rider or pts. How high is she going? If you mean a proper rear, all the way up, then honestly don’t get on her again. She could flip over very easily, and you don’t have the experience to reduce the risk of that.
Any chance you just mean a low rear? Feet off the ground but not in any risk of unbalancing herself? Because that is totally different and can be dealt with.

 

[stormox]

No one is being horrible. You didn’t get the replies you wanted so you are not happy. You said on first post you were very frightened. And also it was your first hack out. My opinion sticks that you should not have bought the horse in the first place and I am confused why you would then be concerned when the horse shows the behaviour. You need serious help and should not try and fix this issue yourself. You said she was rearing higher each time. She could get to the point she could flip over and land on top of you killing you. If you do not know how to handle the build up, which is why you are posting, you may well be the unbalancing factor that flips her.

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

 

[scats]

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

I think that because she wrote on her first post that she was really scared?

 

[Lillian_paddington]

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

Because no one wants to encourage a (seemingly) novice rider to jump back on her rearing horse. The op has absolutely no experience with rearing. What if she got on, the horse reared, and flipped on to her? Potentially life changing or life ending injuries.
If it really is a big rearer then it is best left to pro or very experienced riders.

 

[doodle]

No one is being horrible. You didn’t get the replies you wanted so you are not happy. You said on first post you were very frightened. And also it was your first hack out. My opinion sticks that you should not have bought the horse in the first place and I am confused why you would then be concerned when the horse shows the behaviour. You need serious help and should not try and fix this issue yourself. You said she was rearing higher each time. She could get to the point she could flip over and land on top of you killing you. If you do not know how to handle the build up, which is why you are posting, you may well be the unbalancing factor that flips her.

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

I can’t get quotes to work properly.

My mistake tho, she said she was very “scared” (in her very first post which I can’t get to quite)not very “frightened” same thing tho. I also said it was her first HACK not first ride as you say I did.

 

[Nari]

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

I think a lot of people are replying based on what they've seen happen time after time in real life when someone has taken on too much. They aren't being negative, they're being realistic and not wanting someone to be hurt or killed. There's a time for being encouraging, this isn't it.

 

[ihatework]

Well the OP won’t be the first or last person to buy a horse with an issue thinking they are experienced enough and then rapidly coming down to earth (hopefully with not too big a bump!).

This is called learning!

OP, you’ve done a bit of a daft & naive thing buying this horse. So take the criticism on the chin.

What you do now is up to you. There is a reasonable probability there is an underlying physical reason for the behaviour and even if there isn’t then it’s an acquired skill to re-educate the behaviour. You need plenty professional input and don’t expect it to be a cheap or easy journey. If you go that path stay safe. If you choose not to then there is no shame in admitting defeat.

 

[doodle]

I was really scared, she’s the first horse I’ve ever dealt with that rears. Luckily my boyfriend was on hand to clip a lead rope to her and then she was fine.

what should I do? It’s made me lose my confidence a little bit.

 

[Ish2020]

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

I had seen a novice rider being seriously hurt by a horse with a rearing problem the rider ended up stuck in a wheelchair and cannot do anything for himself as a result of a injury. The op sounds very inexperienced and to me it sounds like she is struggling big time. It can get very dangerous loads of people have been killed by rearing horse.

 

[indie1282]

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

Tbf the OP never said that she has ridden the horse before. She said it was her first hack and that after 5 rears she was really scared - it's right there in the first post if you care to read it.

OP has bought a horse that is known to rear but is clearly not capable of coping when it does rears. I have ridden a fair few rearers and it's really not fun! I would never ever buy a horse knowing that it rears, and I have ridden for over 30 years.

Also maybe the 13 year old girl who used to ride it is a better rider than the OP?

 

[Teaboy]

There is a difference between what the OP said which was 'I have lost confidence a little bit' and what you are saying she said 'you said on the first post you were very frightened' ..... losing a bit of confidence is not being very frightened!!
It was her 1st hack. NOT her 1st ride.
Why are people being so negative and reading things that arent there? It isnt fair on the OP.

I think some including myself are sad at the circumstances, sad for the horse and sad for the op. As it’s horses like these that can seriously affect your confidence with riding and end up very dangerous if you don’t know how to deal with it. Hence some blunt replies.
It doesn’t sound like this horse should have been sold to someone who doesn’t have the confidence/experience and know how to deal with a rear.