Rearing

[horsestar]

My horse got scared of smoke from a fire on a hack yesterday. He stopped and I let him have a min to take what it was in but after that asked him to go forward in which he declined. He reversed backwards and I turned him to face it again. After a few more reverses he started to hop in front threatening a rear. I dropped all contact of reins and asked him to walk forward with my leg and he reared. And did so a few times one real big one. In hindsight I know I should have just changed my route immediately as he was so scared. After this I took him away but decided to head back away from home so he hadn't got away with anything which obliged perfectly. When we got home I headed for the menage and stopped at the gate whilst it was being opened when I asked him to walk on he reversed and changed to face other way. In which I got off and called it a day as he was obviously wound up. He's never reared before and my husband tacked him back up and ride him in no problem. Tonight I rode him in again no problem and he schooled lovely for me'. Do u think it was a one off cos he got scared? He's not nappy at all and with him being fairly new to me' it freaked me' a bit. The fact he walks awAy from home perfectly makes me' think it is a one off. Hacking is new to him too, he's only ever sj and is perfect with traffic, just a bit spooky at little things....and fires!!!

 

[TeamChaser]

It sounds like it may hopefully have been a one off but what I would say is try not to finish/dismount or change your route if it does happen again


When mine arrived at our yard (YO bought him initially) he reared for England!! I have never seen a horse rear like it. His was nappiness due to being over faced in a competitve (eventing) environment which caused bit of a breakdown ... poor boy. However, he'd soon learnt that this extreme behaviour meant that he could just get away with not doing the things he chose not to .... like leaving the yard .... ever

I'm sure people may say this is the wrong thing to do but YO had to reverse him to stop the rearing/napping ... it worked for him. The behaviour had got so ingrained though that it took 2 whole months of reversing out of the yard (and sometimes several hundred yards around the lanes) to break this. He will still revert now sometimes, but I find that as long as I'm calm and then back him up a few strides (in the direction I want him to go in) he will turn round and walk on nicely.

As an example, he napped one day, wanting to go in a homeward direction and had a proper head fit. I got off and walked him in the direction I wanted to go in beacuse he was being dangerous on a road. The point is though, he still had to go in the direction I had intened. I then got back on and we carried on. On the way home, I then made him go back and forth past the turning until he did this without argument. He has 2 choices basically, either walk nicely in the direction I asked, or we stand there all night (and I would of done!!) HE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GO IN HIS CHOSEN DIRECTION


I guess what I'm saying is that, although it is probably a one off, do keep on top of this. If they develop a habit as a means of evasion, it can be very hard to break


Good luck!