Teaching to rear

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vieshot

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Why do some people feel this is acceptable! Just seen a Youtube video with a girl encouraging her pony to rear then patting it for doing so. Am I the only one who thinks its irresponsible!? Ugh ...
 
I agree, very irresponsible. I remember a girl when I was young, doing this to her pony. Of course then it reared when she didn't want it to.
 
showing off I expect - when I was young (many many years ago) there was a girl on my yard that used to make her pony buck when she was riding it, by either putting her heels in his flanks or tickling his flanks with her whip, or at worst smaking him with the whip until he bucked, the best part was when he eventally done such a huge buck he threw her off and broke her arm, shame of it was because she was a spoilt bratt, the pony got taken to market "as he was dangerous". So sad.
 
vieshot said:
Why do some people feel this is acceptable! Just seen a Youtube video with a girl encouraging her pony to rear then patting it for doing so. Am I the only one who thinks its irresponsible!? Ugh ...
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Good luck selling that one on with aids in place for that :(
Not everyone will appreciate it and might be dangerous to pass on to another kid
 
I was going to post this subject a while back - its really irritates me, I think it's a fashion thing. Otherwise I really can't see the point merely then to show off.

I loaned a mare who's owner taught her to stop dead, when you asked her to rein back she would rear! It was very frustrating for both her and me as she really worked herself up and it took a long time to break the habit. Plus it's so dangerous.

There are some fantastic riders on YouTube and I love seeing their progress but there is a culture of posting videos of rearing. I wouldn't touch a horse that's been taught that trick, it's not their fault but I wouldn't risk it..
 
Plus if it's a pro stunt rider then yes I don't see a prob as they are experienced enough and the horses are educated both past and future properly, but when it's a teen on a horse then no, it's a disaster waiting to happen. Cue teen falls off as horse went over, horse then sold, does it again with new owner... And so on :(
 
i may have accidentally found the button to make mine rear, but its not something i have used since, and he has never reared at any other time. i do wonder where he learnt it as all i know was he was sold as dangerous from a 7 year old girl to an adult and then to me...
 
I taught mine to rear. I actually taught fergs to do it to stop him doing it without being asked (which worked well, it's no longer an evasion, it is now a different kind of work). The buttons for rear are completely different to rein back and neither should come from socking the horse in the mouth.
 
JFTD said:
I taught mine to rear. I actually taught fergs to do it to stop him doing it without being asked (which worked well, it's no longer an evasion, it is now a different kind of work). The buttons for rear are completely different to rein back and neither should come from socking the horse in the mouth.
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I'm glad you posted! I was going to mention you, but I thought you'd be here sooner or later. Just proves you don't have to be a professional horse trained (who did have to start somewhere!) you just have to have some brains.
 
vieshot said:
Why do some people feel this is acceptable! Just seen a Youtube video with a girl encouraging her pony to rear then patting it for doing so. Am I the only one who thinks its irresponsible!? Ugh ...
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I taught my mare to rear on command, as well as go off and jump jumps I pointed to, lie down and lots of other things. Why is that irresponsible? She never once reared under saddle or when not instructed to do so.
 
Nah, it may prove that to you, but I'm certain I will be insulted for irresponsibility and making my horses dangerous. A belief which is oddly not shared by anyone who has ridden them - and I am willing to put that to the test for anybody passing through the area ;)
 
Wagtail said:
I taught my mare to rear on command, as well as go off and jump jumps I pointed to, lie down and lots of other things. Why is that irresponsible? She never once reared under saddle or when not instructed to do so.
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What any individual trains their horse to do is entirely up to them, to most though, rearing is not a desired behaviour, even if trained from specific aids.
Its if these horses are passed on i think the problems might arise, if someone gives the aids without realising what theyve done
 
Well I have ridden Fergs and he really isnt likley to go up without warning! The buttons to get him to go up are very specific and and are hard to find if your not used to it, infact I had to have help to find them.
 
I read once you should never teach a rearer to rear.. but then what JFTD just said sort of makes sense too however I have a couple that like to rear as a part of evasion, I just prefer to teach them not to rear at all.

My horses are far from performers they wont be in the next block buster and I cant see the point in teaching them to rear or even do any fancy tricks - that seem to be the 'fashion' at the second. I think I would prefer to show off my equestrian skills by having some wonderfully behaved horses that anybody can handle and ride and never have the fear that some day some small child might find the 'button'.

Its all personal opinion though at the end of the day!
 
If you ask him properly and he is confident that he's offering what you want, he goes full height...

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If he's unsure, he only bounces and strikes one leg...

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The chance of someone finding the button is remote. The chance of him reacting to it is small, if you don't set him up. The chance of him doing more than a small rear/strike is almost non-existent.
 
My mare would not go up under saddle because I taught her it from a hand signal on the ground. She is retired now though any way and will never be passed on.
 
Wouldn't be for me but each to their own :).

I fail to see the point of it unless the horse is destined for the circus or stunt work.
 
i don't have a problem with it but i wouldn't buy a horse that i knew had been taught to rear, i would not be able to trust that it had been done in a way that ensures the 'button' is hard to find. I would also be worried that a change of home and rider may cause enough upset for the horse to offer the rear as an answer to a question it didn't understand:(
 
there is a haflinger that has been for sale for months on facebook groups I go on and last week she losted a video of it rearing. It's being sold as a child/early teen's pony.... What parent is going to buy a horse that rears, whether it's being asked to or not? The next rider may accidently ask and then you have the potential for a nasty accident.

I would never teach that under saddle. Crazy. If you do, it would have to be on a horse you never have any intention of selling as imo you have devalued it hugely!
 
I have to say that although I did teach my mare to rear, I would not teach my gelding to rear. The reason I knew I could teach my mare without any possibility of it back firing, is that I knew her inside out and had the deepest bond with her (still have), more than any other animal. We are practically telepathic in our communication. My gelding on the other hand, is lovely, but he is more 'right brained' and reactive. I have a good bond with him, but it will never be as deep and thorough as it is with my mare. It would be completely foolish of me to teach him to rear, even though he will never be sold on or loaned to anyone else.
 
Ibblebibble said:
I would also be worried that a change of home and rider may cause enough upset for the horse to offer the rear as an answer to a question it didn't understand:(
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Isn't that a risk with any horse though, trick trained or otherwise?

In my opinion, a horse which has been trained to rear is more likely to offer a half hearted rear in the first instance, and if rewarded and re-asked, offer a full rear. An untrained horse, confused by the question and less accustomed to balancing under saddle in rear, may offer a full rear either in protest or mistakenly believing that was what the rider requested and (again, my opinion) is more likely to misjudge the rear and over-balance.

For me, it's an interesting training question - certainly not comparable to hitting a horse until it bucks, so you can look cool in front of your friends.


eta - Wagtail's point about personality is completely spot on. Fergs is not the sort to do things like that aggressively or stupidly. I haven't taught the 2 year old as I have no idea what he will be like to work with really - I think from ground training he will be similar to Fergs, but I wouldn't risk it until I know what he's like inside out...
 
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galaxy said:
there is a haflinger that has been for sale for months on facebook groups I go on and last week she losted a video of it rearing. It's being sold as a child/early teen's pony.... What parent is going to buy a horse that rears, whether it's being asked to or not? The next rider may accidently ask and then you have the potential for a nasty accident.

I would never teach that under saddle. Crazy. If you do, it would have to be on a horse you never have any intention of selling as imo you have devalued it hugely!
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Agree with this, as a parent and grandparent i wouldnt touch something thats been taught to rear for any of my grandchildren.
And if asked for advice by someone looking to buy, id advise to keep walking.
 
I'd buy fergie :cool: although I'm fairly sure he will never be sold. I think you need to have ridden a trained rear before you can point blank say that you wouldnt buy one that had been trained to rear. I'm not sure mine would be the best candidate to teach to rear as thats his default strop move and having sat it out for 3 hours in the past I dont want him being any more comfortable in it than he already is although in the future I may consider it.
 
I think your entitled to your opinion and i mine dafthoss
I would catagorically not buy a rearer, trained or otherwise to put a child on, to do so is sheer stupidity imo.
 
dafthoss said:
I'd buy fergie :cool:. I think you need to have ridden a trained rear before you can point blank say that you wouldnt buy one that had been trained to rear. I'm not sure mine would be the best candidate to teach to rear as thats his default strop move and having sat it out for 3 hours in the past I dont want him being any more comfortable in it than he already is although in the future I may consider it.
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I wouldn't sell Fergie (truly I can't stand the thought!), but if I were to, I would only consider someone like you - competent and sensible enough to handle him whether he messed about or not! - I'd never sell him as a kids pony or to a novicey home as he'd be truly wasted.

Rob would worry me at this stage, given his tendancy to fall over for no reason! But I think if you want when he's more mature, he'd get the hang of it ;)
 
marydoll said:
I think your entitled to your opinion and i mine dafthoss
I would catagorically not buy a rearer, trained or otherwise to put a child on, to do so is sheer stupidity imo.
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agreed

I can categorically say as an instructor who frequently gets asked by clients to help them find a horse that if I was asked to find a pony for a child, one of the biggest factors is always safety and I would always discount a horse that is known to rear.
 
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