Rearing when hacking out alone

[Pooley22]

Hello, so my horse has always had separation anxiety and has never liked hacking out by himself. When I first got him 4 years ago he would just whinny and jog all the way but as he settled in on my farm at home and got used to my hacking routes he got much better. I have recently moved him to a yard near uni and it took him a while to settle down again, he would whinny all the way around the fields and I got adviced to put him in draw reins (to bring his head down and his back legs under him) and to take a schooling whip and tap him every time he whinnyed. This worked for a while and he was much better, but then he started associating whinnying with the whip and would shoot forwards and throw his head up theatening to rear every time he whinnyed. I rode him for the first time today since moving him back onto the yard after Christmas and he was really frantic while I was tacking him up and kept trying to charge towards the field where all the other horses were. I started hacking him down the fields away from the other horses and he was being really naughty whinnying, stopping and doing little bronks and then for the first time ever he went up vertical twice and nearly came over backwards on me! This really frightened me so I decided to take him back and he reared again whilst spinning in a circle when the other horses came into view. It’s really put me off hacking him out alone now as it’s dangerous so I wanted some advice as to what to do! TIA

 

[LaurenBay]

Ditch the draw reins. They can encourage backwards behavior and if the Horse has a burst of excitement/anxiousness then he doesn't have anywhere to go other then up or backwards. He also won't be able to balance himself well in the reins should he rear again. Can you ask someone to go with you for the meantime to help settle him back into the routes, then try again in a few weeks?

 

[SEL]

Can you go out with someone else a few times? Gradually start asking him to go ahead so he is leaving the other horse little by little.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

I think you were given some terrible advice initially and are suffering the consequences which is awful for you both. No more draw reins or tapping with a whip when he calls just hacking with others until he is relaxed in company and you can go back to working on solo hacks when he stays horizontal rather than vertical for the majority of time.

 

[Orangehorse]

Yep, if he is too restricted in front then the only option is up, when they get really het up, same as having an iron grip on the reins. Hacking with someone else for a while is a good idea.

Although I'm not a fan of calmers, it might be worth looking into some in this situation if you can't find someone to ride out with and his confidence increases. I think Global Herbs do single use sachets so you don't have to buy a huge pot, you can see if it works first.

 

[CMcC]

Although I'm not a fan of calmers, it might be worth looking into some in this situation if you can't find someone to ride out with and his confidence increases. I think Global Herbs do single use sachets so you don't have to buy a huge pot, you can see if it works first.

Global Herbs Instant Supercalmer, great stuff. I would do a test run first before using it and heading off on a hack. I use it for one of mine for the farrier. There have been a couple of times when he has been over calmed and I have pretty well had to prop him up!

 

[OWLIE185]

I would initially ride him out with another well behaved horse and try to ride out each and every day to get him in to a happy daily routine again.
Then after 4 weeks of doing this take him out by himself and hopefully he will settle down.

 

[nikkimariet]

You need someone on the ground to help really...

Ditch the draw reins, deffo not for horses that go up!

 

[stormox]

At 7st i did find draw reins helped with a confirmed 16.2 rearer, she would stop and rear when she saw something she didnt like, as on wheelie bin day! I didnt use the draw reins normally, had them knotted on her neck. But if she went to rear I used them down and hard on one side, to pull her head round and kept her hind legs moving in a circle. She couldnt rear then and after a few circles she would give it up and ride forward and i could drop the draw reins.

 

[Orangehorse]

At 7st i did find draw reins helped with a confirmed 16.2 rearer, she would stop and rear when she saw something she didnt like, as on wheelie bin day! I didnt use the draw reins normally, had them knotted on her neck. But if she went to rear I used them down and hard on one side, to pull her head round and kept her hind legs moving in a circle. She couldnt rear then and after a few circles she would give it up and ride forward and i could drop the draw reins.

Yes, you are correct. If you think your horse is going to rear then the advice is to keep it moving, in small circles and then send it forward. If the back legs are moving they can't get them underneath to go up. But you have to be quite confident to do this, and also be aware so that you don't make the horse fall over! If you hold the rein just behind your thigh, so it is low, the horse has to follow his head and then you send it forward. This can and does work with a nappy horse threatening to rear, but it is only suitable if you are confident and positive so OP if you are a bit nervous don't do it.

Also, your horse is getting excited and het up and anxious, so you don't want to escalate the situation, but get the horse calmer and happy about going out for a ride.

 

[vanrim]

I have had my mare since she was 3 and she is 21 now. She has never liked hacking on her own. In the beginning I tried and she would plant spin and rear. I had loads of arguments with her. In the end I realised she was never going to be brave enough to go on her own. She still hacks out now but always with company. She is great in other ways - very talented at Dressage and gave me lots of confidence jumping as she was point and go. I just wish I had accepted sooner that hacking on her own wasn’t her forte.