4 Year Old Thoroughbred Keeps Rearing?
We have a 4 year old gelding who just will not stop rearing. We’ve tried about 4 diffrent saddles after we confirmed my dressage saddle was hurting him to no avail. I’m sure these saddles fit him perfectly since we lunged him lightly, took them off and the sweat mark was perfect and we felt all around and there was no tender spots and even put some pressure on his back and there was no pain at all. Ears were forward the whole time.
Every time I ride him he’s a perfect gentelman at the walk but after about 10 minutes, when I ask him to trot, he goes completely bonkers and runs off with me. I’ll pull him back down to a trott and he’ll go around maybe once before he darts off to the gate and then the rearing starts. He’ll rear and rear and rear and rear. No matter what. I’ll take all pressure off his mouth and just cluck and the clucking is enough to make him pin his ears and start hopping up. Today he planted down and just jumped up every time I tried to make him move. He only does this by the gate, never out in the ring. He’ll gallop across the ring to get to the gate so he can do it. There’s no holding him back either, if you turn him he’ll just go sideways or keep backing up till he’s at the gate. It’s getting completely ridiculious. I’ve NEVER let him get away with doing this and still keep after him every time but it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse and he’s doing bigger rears and more of them. Usually, these rears aren’t even little hops. He’s rearing up, striking out and thrashing his head around. I know his bit is fine because it fits his mouth perfectly and it’s a lighter bit that he accepts very well and comes nicely round on when he decides to listen.
Does anyone have any idea why he is doing this? Do you think it’s just disobedience or something more? The vet is coming out next weekend to check his back just in case and I’m getting a trainer soon but I’d like to know if there’s anything else I can try to get him to listen, any tricks to stop him from rearing. I’ve tried the keep him moving technique but he just plants down and doesn’t move, AT ALL. You turn his head and he will literally throw himself to the ground if he feels he has the opertunity. He’s done this to me twice already ._.
Keep in mind, this problem just suddenly developed, he hasn’t always been like this. I trained him myself and he was a perfect gentelmen up until about last month when the small rearing started. I thought it was just him acting up but now it’s just insane. He won’t trott, he won’t canter, he’ll barely even walk around the arena with me on his back yet in the pasture he’s running around like crazy, playing around. He’s perfect on the lunge line but he’s a mega pain in the ass on the driving reins. Any advice? D:
He’s NEVER raced before and he’s had 8 months of training so far. He was completely fine until recently when he just decided he wanted to start rearing. To correct him, I usually turn him in a circle but since that doesn’t work now, I just put my hands up on his neck, release the pressure on my reins and keep asking him to go forward.
Yes, he’s on my own property but I don’t really have the option to put him in a stall since we feed roundbales and they free graze on our property. I’d hate to see how wound up he got from being locked up in a stall.
This horse use to be a stud before I had him, and while I had him until last year. I have hit him with the crop and it made the problem worse. Smacking on the shoulder causes him to rear higher and hitting him on the butt makes him just jump and sidestep until he can rear again. He never really goes anywhere when I smack him, just spins and rears when he can. Using a crop is what cause him to resort to throwing himself to the ground. He’s very sensitive to pressures when it comes to crops and such.
As he definantly always has had an attitude. He’s chased a man for punching him in the nose and jumped over a trailer hit just to try and get at him. He’s very much a one person horse, my horse, and will buck and rear to let you know he doesn’t like something. He’s very spirited and has a strong will but he’s never given /me/ any trouble until recently. We have a VERY good relationship and we’re very bonded. Like I said, this was all very sudden.
Yeah, I was definantly planning on highering a training to help me with this. I don’t like the idea of shipping him off for someone to deal with him so she will be coming here to teach me how to help him. My horse, my problem you know? I just want to know some reasons as to why he could possibley be doing all this.
That’s a really tough one to sort out without actually meeting the horse. You’re on the right track in having a vet come out and check him out -but it must be a vet who specializes in lameness issues especially those relating to the back. A DVM who’s also a chiropractor would be ideal.
From what you’ve described, because of the sudden, random onset, it sounds to me like it’s a pain issue. I’d really need to know what kind of temperament he has. Is he the kind who generally tries to figure out whatever you want him to do and tries to do it, or is he the type who gives you back talk? This is really important to know. People make a big mistake by jumping to the conclusion that the horse is just being a "brat." Some horses will definitely rear in an attempt to get their way, but this doesn’t sound like your case.
Just because you check your saddle fit by looking for dry spots or sore spots and find none does NOT mean your saddle fits correctly. You need to try a different saddle on him or, if you dare, use a bareback pad. Don’t blame you if you don’t dare to do this though, but that’s what I’d do if I were you. I have dealt with some rearers who would stand straight up and paw the air. And in that case, it’s very tough to stay on, impossible really, without a saddle. Anyway, as for the bit, if his mouth, teeth, gums are all in order, I doubt he’d have that response unless you were one of those riders who were excessively rough, pulling him back severely, but rearing is almost always a horse’s way of telling you he does not want to move forward. The fact that he’s only doing it in certain areas, near the gate. . . sounds to me like he wants out of the arena because he associates it with work/pain. That’s really my assessment, without knowing your horse’s temperament. I have ridden horses like this who suddenly out of the blue started rearing – it was totally uncharacteristic, and we eventually found miscellaneous pain issues, that were exacerbated with my/our weight on their backs..
Best of luck to you with this. I wouldn’t ride him if I were you until you can have a good, very good, DVM/Chiropractor check him out. But do groundwork with him, stough he’s good at and will comply with, and reward him for this.
PS Also, the fact that he no longer will trot or canter with you on his back, also is a sign that it’s painful to him. If you were to start "whipping" him, and it is indeed a matter of his trying desperately to tell you that what you’re asking him to do hurts, then you will end up with a monster who will be virtually untrainable. Better to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, and if he checks out clear, start back slowly, at square one, (with different tack). What does he do when you drive him? (grounddrive)
PPS – Oh, so he was a stud until a year or so ago, and has a strong sort of aggressive response to things – - well, after you rule out the pain question, get a saddle fitter to check your tack or just find a different saddle to use, and then get ready to go one better than he does. I"ve never cracked a bottle over a horse’s head, though have certainly heard about this one forever. What I would do is to throw him down, which, if done correctly won’t hurt him at all. Some horses just need this, because of past experiences they’ve had with people. If he’s super sensitive, then spurs and whip used in the wrong way will make the problem worse, but you need to be able to use your whip, and he has to decide that it’s not in his best interest to argue with you. Getting a trainer to help you is a good idea, obviously. But you’re smart to keep him on your property.
Okay. He’s definitely being a little brat. Is he at your own property? Or do you board? Because it sounds like he’s pasture sour. He wants out of work, going back to the gate is a clear sign he’s barn or pasture sour. Maybe buddy sour. If you are able to, since he’s in a pasture, I’d put him in a stall, or separate him from a buddy. I’d start slow.. you can actually do a lot at a walk. Walk for a day or two. Do some patterns, work on pivots or sidepasses. Keep it short, 30 minutes will do. I wouldn’t give him any treats either. Then you can start trotting. Even if he gives you seven strides. Take it. Remind him working is good, and fun. Since you said your dressage saddle didn’t fit him, he’s probably scared of the pain and is associating working in the arena will hurt him. I would also contact a chiropractor too. Well good luck, I gave you a gist of what you can do.. good luck!
EDIT–
You know what I’ve heard(DON’T TRY THIS) but some old cowboy was telling me that when his horses used to rear he’d get a bottle fill it with warm water and when the horse would rear he’d hit the horse over the head and the bottle would break causing pain and when he felt the warm water the horse thinks it’s blood and he’ll never rear again. I think he was just teasing me, but it makes sense if you ask me, lol.
well try whipping him!!!!! i know that sounds mean but he thinks he is the leader so just show him he is going to do what you want him to do. as for the bottle thing ive heard the same thing. i have never tried it but i never had that proble. my arabian tb cross mare was trying to do it and everytime her head would come up i would smack her between her ears. she now carries her head low. and her feet stay on the ground lol. as for being pasture sour just make him work in the pasture if you can ride him in there make him work there also so he thinks ok if i dont work there i got to work at home it worked for quite a few people i know.
ok people i dont knwo y ur giving me thumbs down im just telling her what works for me. and i knwo my horses are not in pain just being but holes. or trying to show off as they try this stuff when new people are around. and its not mean to smack your horse. if you dont then how will they ever determin who is boss? and if you let them be the boss then there is something wrong. i look at it this way horses get kicked and bit by other horses so me whipping them is not going to hurt them. they only get it when they are bad. (like trying to hurt me or someone else) and rearing is a sign of trying to hurt you. sorry to say it. weither it is in pain or not. you should know your horse well enough to kno when they are in pain
He’s probably associated the saddle with pain. A certain point comes along in your ride, and he remembers that point as "Ouch! That hurts!" Even if the saddle is a perfect fit. I can’t really tell you how to stop the rearing, other then sending him to a trainer. Either that or keep working with him, but I would recommend a trainer or instructor to help you.
Best of luck : /
Okay, here it goes
Horses don’t often forget traumatic experiences. My horse got spooked going over a bridge because a bird flew into him, and to this day he will not go over that particular bridge. I’m thinking that your saddle may have traumatized him because it caused him pain, and as the person above me said, he got sour, even though you’ve switched saddles. He still associates any saddle with pain.
He also may just be being a bad pony!
My trainers horse used to rear up and spin around then run sideways down the driveway when we tried to get him into a show ring. That horse was a warmblood, and all we had to do was stuff his mouth with food and he’d be so concentrated on his food that he’d jut walk in then go around perfectly. But thoroughbreds are trickier because they’re a little sharper than most warmbloods and wouldn’t fall for something like that. We also have an older thoroghbred who just went totally sour because he felt he was working to much; he’d run backwards and sideways for no reason, but he never reared.
Here’s my honest opinion. I know backyarders are going to be unhappy with this, saying it’s ‘cruel’ and crap, but as a high end show person who rides Torrance Watkins’ horses (olympic rider) I know what works best in this case. I would try what the person above me said about the bottle of warm water. That is true and it does absolutely work. What my trainer did with her rearing horse, because he was so big and bad he wa dangerous to get after, she’d have someone come out with her when she road. Whenever he reared, she jumped off as fast as she could and beat the snot out of him with a whip, then had the person throw her back on so that the horse thought she had still been on. She did this once and he hasn’t reared since. I also know that a great way to get one to stop rearing is to have a ‘cowboy’ flip them over. Find a respectable western cowboy who deals with the rogue horses if you do this though. They know how to safely flip horses over. Generally the horse will never rear again because they get so scared. I know of a horse that was brought to a cowboy because when you asked her to canter she’s stand up and walk around on her hind legs. The cowboy got on her with a western saddle and she cantered perfectly. He tried an english saddle and the horse went balistic. Western saddle, perfect angel.
This may seem harsh, but if you want the horse fixed it’s the only way. If you’re one of those people that doesn’t use spurs or a crop because they’re ‘cruel’ the horse isn’t going to get anywhere, and you ARE going to get hurt. Your horse will not get hurt during any of this training if done properly.
Also, maybe the vet will find something wrong with him that is the answer. If it’s treatable that’s the better option, unless the behavior sticks.
Good luck, I know this is long and maybe confusing, haha.
Once your vet has cleared him of any medical issue then the probable cause is "because he can."
Every horse and human partnership has a leader and a follower. There will be select times when the follower may be asked to lead, but in reality there is one boss. Your horse has applied for the job and assumed the leadership role.
If I were fixing this issue (and I’ve fixed many issues over many years and hundreds of horses) I would begin on the ground. You have to take back the leadership position. You need to decide when and how he moves his feet. Every time he wins the problem will get worse.
Stop riding him until you have his attention. What that will take depends on your level of expertise and the degree to which he wants to stay in control. It would be advisable to get a good trainer now. Find one who uses a natural method to train. That means a trainer who understands leadership and how to create obedience and willingness, not a trainer who dominates the horse and relies on punishment.
Longe him. Do ground work. Work on ways to build leadership without letting him take over. This behavior needs to stop and stop now.
With that said, here are a couple of things to think about. One way to keep a horse moving who won’t go forward or backwards is to yield their hindquarters. Once your horse knows this maneuver on the ground you can teach it from the saddle. When I mount a young horse for the first time the first step I ever let a horse take is crossing one hind in front of the other to yield the hindquarters. They know it on the ground and learn it quickly from the saddle.
With this tool a horse can’t bolt, rear, or buck. You must have control of the feet. If I have a bad actor under saddle I will yield the hips (creates a habit of obedience as well as greater safety) and then I offer the horse the opportunity to walk forward. If the horse doesn’t walk forward I yield the hindquarters the other direction. I repeat until the horse thinks that forward is a good idea.
Never escalate your cue if the horse doesn’t escalate his refusal. I can keep a horse’s feet moving no matter what they have in mind. That’s the entire matter – I choose where his feet go.
I would use a tie down and show him whos boss. it doesnt hurt them it just keeps their head down to where they cant rear.
ill make it short and sweet
he is young. u need to switch up his rutine a little. he is resisting because he doesnt wana do it so do some stuff thats fun for him then when its time to work he will work for you. just manipulate his thinking he sounds just like my barrel horse when i first got him. my cousin jumps and her horse hated her(this can happen to any style rider im not saying its just english) but thats all they ever did was excersise to get in shape for jumps and do jumps and all that jazz. she brought him over to my house cuz she was staying the weekend with me and she had a problem pretty much same to urs with him and we were just riding around in my arena he saw a barrel down and reared back with her cus he thot she was taking him to do more jumps. so i was like ok then, unsaddle so we both unsaddled and we have a big 40 acre cow field bhind my arena and we got on bareback and took off running thru that field and then went for a trail and they looked so much happier riding together after that. the most important thing is to remember why u started riding and do it. like when u were 6 years old and went runin bareback thru the fields. how free you felt with just you and your horse and no worries not a care in the world on how proper your riding was lol