Rearing

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ExtremeB

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My mare which I've had for 5 months went up in the air today whilst out on a hack. We had seen alot of traffic (for a quiet country road), big grain lorries, artics and horseboxes which she had coped with, though I knew she was getting a bit stressed. We were almost home and a horse box came around a sharp bend towards us, and with no where to go (no verge or path) she went up in the air. We then walked on home. What should I have done? How can I prevent this happening again? It's a real blow to my confidence as I really felt we were building up our trust in each other.
 
Its very, very scary when that happens, and no wonder you feel less confident now ... but it does sound as though she was a bit at the end of her tether, and scared herself - she had already coped with a lot, from the sound of it! So it seems like it might be almost a "one off" reaction when she was faced with a large horsebox and nowhere to go .....
Is it possible to hack out on roads/tracks that you can be pretty certain will be very quiet for the next few weeks, and if you have a school, do some work with her in the school to rebuild your confidence without having to worry about traffic? Good luck, and hope all goes fine
 
Yes, I keep telling myself it was a one off. It's a route we have done lots before but usually at weekend when there aren't the level of lorries and vans on the road. I will keep to the bridleways as much as possible and rebuild our confidence. I feel sure she was scared and because I held her tight she had no where to go but up.
 
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I feel sure she was scared and because I held her tight she had no where to go but up.

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I was just about to ask you this question. My mare has gone up with me a couple of times (when I had not had her long) and it was only the 2nd time that it happened that I had contributed to her reaction. I tensed, held the reins too tight towards me and she had no where to go... but up. If I find myself in a possible sticky situation now I just try and make sure that I have got a contact that is not too tight and push her on, reassuring her that it is all alright. Thank goodness I have not had any problems since.

Hopefully this is a one off as she had just had enough and you won't have any more problems. Try not to worry too much you will be fine
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my mare rears all the time, i think it is because she must of got scared and its all new. would not of helped if you where tense too. if you think that she will go up again just reasure her and push her foward x
 
My boy tends to stand up when he finds a situation difficult or stressful. I my opinion I think if you reprimand you will make the whole thing worse. I have found if I don't make an issue out of it and ignore it he seems to calm down again. When he goes up I just lean quietly forward, open my hands out wide and forward so that when he comes down I have the bit flat on his tongue and just send him forwards. Hopefully if you know she may do this, you will be able to prempt it by widening and lowering your hands. Don't worry about it, it may never happen again
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thanks to all for the reassurance and tips. Haven't been able to go out today but we have a schooling session tomorrow so hopefully that will not have any hazards to overcome.
 
It's weird but Ty started to play up a bit at exactly 5 months of owning him! She's probably settled in well now.

It's probably coincidence but I think that some horses take along time to settle in and once they do they get too big for their boots.

I'd suggest a bit of longreining/joining up to get her listening to you again - worse thing you can do (in my opinion) is ride through it if you're tense - we got into more and more dangrous situations where he felt that I wasn't coping so he couldn't cope.

It probably was a one off but you've got to make sure that you're confidence is back.

One tip that I always remember when I get a bit nervous, is whatever happens, make sure the bottom of your back and hands are moving with the horse in walk etc as it can help blag confidence! Works for me anyway

Good luck xx
 
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