rearing problem

[kirstin mcginnis]

hi i recently bought a 4yo unbroken ish and have been backing her. In the past i have bought horses who are just broken and produced them but she is my first one that i’m breaking in myself, Following advise we have taken everything really slowly, now had her over 3 months. The first two months we focused on ground work and just sitting on her, getting someone to lead me about. The last month and a bit i have started riding her properly and at first she took everything in her stride, she’s a really smart horse and was quick to learn. She was doing great, moving forward accepting my leg and the contact until one day she decided to plant her hoofs and not move forward at all. After changing things up a bit going back to some ground work and being patient with her and rewarding her when moving forward she was back to moving forward again for a few weeks, until over the the past week or so she has to started to rear, and it is becoming increasing dangerous (started off as just small ones and has progressively gotten a lot bigger to the point i’m worried she will flip over herself) we have had her back checked, saddle fitted and everything seems to be fine. The rearing will come out of no where so we don’t suspect it’s out of fear but more out of wanting to avoid working. Throughout the process of breaking her we have had professional help and guidance on what to do but nothing seems to be preventing her from doing this. We have thought about turning her away for a while to mature some more but have decided that we want to persevere with her and get to the bottom of this problem and solve it so any advise would be much appreciated.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would get a 2nd/3rd/4th opinion on the tack fit, tbh. And if nothing is found a 2nd opinion on her back, maybe x-rays.

 

[Equi]

I’d want to go straight in and get back xrays and the saddle checked again by a different fitter.

 

[kirstin mcginnis]

thank you i will have a look into that, she came with a slight blemish on her right front leg,(we suspect it was a wire injury that was never treated) it is just below the knee, it has quite a lot of scar tissue on it so we got it x-rayed along with her hocks as they had slight swelling to them a few weeks back and everything seems to be fine there as well, clean x-rays and swelling has went away. vet said it is most likely just because she has just started work hence the slight swelling but nothing to worry about, front leg has no significance just unsightly. Also had teeth checked and wolf teeth taken out when she first came here, Will look into getting more X-rays and getting someone to look at her saddle again, really want to explore all options as she has so much potential.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

She’s a baby. Get everything checked and give her some time in the field. She may be growing and feeling uncomfortable.

 

[kirstin mcginnis]

I would get a 2nd/3rd/4th opinion on the tack fit, tbh. And if nothing is found a 2nd opinion on her back, maybe x-rays.

thank you, will get someone else to look at her saddle again, she has had her legs x-rayed and her teeth done so if she was in pain would most likely be her back.

 

[kirstin mcginnis]

She’s a baby. Get everything checked and give her some time in the field. She may be growing and feeling uncomfortable.

Vet has been out and checked everything, legs x-rayed, teeth done, saddle fitted and back checked, although i think getting another opinion on her saddle or another few may be a good idea, before we got her she was untouched just left in a field, she came with awful rain scold, skin and bone and looked like her feet hadn’t been touched in months, she’s put on so much condition throughout the summer and my plan was to giver her a few months off over the winter to let her develop and bring her back into work early spring. Unsure wether, (taking into consideration that she is fine after being checked over again) that we should stop now or see if we can get out of this rearing habit before we give her some time off during the winter?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It sounds like you have done too much too quick a horse in that state probably would have been best left to just chill in a field until she was in a better place mentally and physically.

I think rearing is not a habit it's a strong indicator that something isn't right horses don't tend to rear for the fun of it, I think I would have had her back x rayed just to be sure before I got back on.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Vet has been out and checked everything, legs x-rayed, teeth done, saddle fitted and back checked, although i think getting another opinion on her saddle or another few may be a good idea, before we got her she was untouched just left in a field, she came with awful rain scold, skin and bone and looked like her feet hadn’t been touched in months, she’s put on so much condition throughout the summer and my plan was to giver her a few months off over the winter to let her develop and bring her back into work early spring. Unsure wether, (taking into consideration that she is fine after being checked over again) that we should stop now or see if we can get out of this rearing habit before we give her some time off during the winter?

Horses grow continuously until they are 6/7. I have a youngster than I have just done things little at a time with to allow for the fact that at points he will going through rapid growth spurts and his growth plates will be changing and fusing. Your horse may have been stood in a field for months but that doesn’t mean they stopped growing and changing internally.

If it were mine I’d have more checks done and give four weeks off then start again slowly. Some need more time than others

 

[PSD]

Vet has been out and checked everything, legs x-rayed, teeth done, saddle fitted and back checked, although i think getting another opinion on her saddle or another few may be a good idea, before we got her she was untouched just left in a field, she came with awful rain scold, skin and bone and looked like her feet hadn’t been touched in months, she’s put on so much condition throughout the summer and my plan was to giver her a few months off over the winter to let her develop and bring her back into work early spring. Unsure wether, (taking into consideration that she is fine after being checked over again) that we should stop now or see if we can get out of this rearing habit before we give her some time off during the winter?

I would turn her away for a few months. It sounds like a lot has happened in the time she’s been with you and she needs some mental rest. But as others have said I would double check her back before getting back on. If she were mine I’d turn away for the rest of the year and bring back into work in the new year.

 

[Goldenstar]

What I would would depend on the horse and what’s its end use .
But having been through all of this I would ultrasound scan her hind suspensories and X-ray her back .
Its the untouched feet that would make me get her hind Suspensories checked out .

 

[SEL]

My PSSM mare has a cracking rear on her - its her go to for a nap if she doesn't want to go forward. I knew quite early on in the backing process that the not wanting to go forward was something physical rather than training, but it took a while to realise what the issue was. The change in weather has caused her muscles to get sore and we had a fine display on the long reins yesterday (despite arthritic hocks and a dodgy suspensory)

I echo everyone else in that the youngster is likely sore 'somewhere' and telling you. Does this behaviour only happen under saddle or in hand as well?