# How do you fix a rearer?



## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

*How do you fix a rearer?*​
Can anyone say loaded question! But it's something that's been on my mind today. Of course, I've got my own ideas about how to answer that question, but I don't want to inject my ideas into this (at least not in the OP). I'm sure anyone that's been around long enough has heard the old "crack an egg over their head," "use a tie down," or even the very aggressive "hit them over the head" which I sincerely hope people do not try (and if one of you readers/potential posters did do that, I would recommend not admitting that because I won't be responsible for any potential damage done by an angry HF mob). But let's go beyond and outside of those.

I would like to hear from everyone but most especially those HF members we have that have been living and breathing horse training their whole life. What are your experiences? How do you fix a rearer?

(ETA: This is theoretical. No need for the standard "get a trainer" response because I am not dealing with a rearer. Actually not around horses of any kind at the moment, sadly.)


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Once I make sure there are no I'll Ness or lameness issues, I work on anticipating the behavior and avoiding it. 

Move their hindquarters. Drastic change of direction and/or speed. Spook the heck out of them. Different things work for different horses. 

I only have my toes in the stirrups and am ready to bale off if I believe they are going over. I have had only a few go over and of those I did tie two down and leave them to ponder life. I don't see many. The last one was maybe five years ago.

The ones I worked with did stop rearing. But I never, ever considered them trustworthy for any one but really good riders.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Agree with @boots, good input.

It depends, I'd say. To me it seems like different horses have different "go to" moves that they use if they get upset or overly excited. When you say "a rearer," to me that means a horse that habitually rears rather than a horse that has just reared once or twice.

If a horse rears with me once, I just lean forward and try to get the horse thinking and moving forward. My first thought is that I made a mistake, and either overfaced the horse or made them feel trapped. If they start doing it more often, I have to evaluate other things. My mare didn't ever rear except she did it a few times when she had hind end weakness from vitamin E deficiency. It was a reaction to feeling unbalanced - she'd pop up the front end and spin back.

As far as a cure...I believe that depends on why the horse is rearing. My friend had a fright rearer, and she rarely ever reared once she became more confident going out and being ridden.  For my mare, it fixed her to treat her vitamin deficiency. Another horse I rode needed to be pushed forward into a trot on a looser rein if she got excited at the walk, because if she started to jig and you held her back she would rear.

As @boots said, a horse that has had a habit of rearing when upset will always have that tendency, so a rider needs to be aware of that.

One thing you don't want to do is pull them hard to the side when they are in the air, because you can pull them over. However, my friend did this to a horse, and that horse never reared again.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

In the case of a mare I had who liked to pop up in the front end (constantly), not a complete rear, I changed things up from what her old owner used on her. Took off the tie-down, exchanged the high port curb with a roller for a simple grazing curb and stayed out of her mouth. She would revert back whenever I let someone else ride her though.


Pause while I put on my flame retardant suit. The pony I had as a kid tossed her head bad, like bust you in the face bad. I cured her of that by holding my fist above her head at the height I didn't want her head to pass and let her give herself a few smart bumps. Flame away all you want, it worked and I don't feel a bit guilty about the method I used.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I have heard one person tell me, and this was a long time ago, to use a quirt and slap their exposed belly, if they rear up. Sort of an 'under' of the old "over and under". 



the thought being , . . if they leap upward and expose their belly, it's get a good whack.




I have no idea if this is good or bad or what.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Most of my experience with horses who rear is with the foals when they're learning how to lead. Most of the time when they do it, it's because someone has not been paying attention and takes the mare too far away for the foal's comfort. In that case, I ignore it and get the mare back in range. Once they've graduated to leading without their dam present, then it's because they've decided "I don' wanna!". I give them a tug to the side as they're going up, usually unbalances them enough to get them back on all 4. In the rare occasion when 1 develops the habit, "Come on, let's go over here." "NOPE!" rear, brace, rear. Then I make sure they're on a LONG line and I go to the end of it. If they rear, I give a good tug, hard enough to pull them onto their side and just stand and wait for them to think it through Usually the looks on their faces goes something like this, "WTH?! What just happened?" "That sow, she just knocked me over.....WAIT, she's 25 ft away, she couldn't have done it. OOOH wait that means I did it to myself." and when they get that figured out, that's usually the end of the process. 

For a full grown horse, under saddle to rear with me in the irons? Once maybe I was too in their face or they felt trapped or blocked and felt they had nowhere else to go. I'll let it go one time. 2nd time, they're out of here. Period. No exceptions. I will not deal with one who has developed the under saddle rearing habit. 

Any horse can/will rear under the right circumstances. Even Mr. Laid Back, Skippy, has gone up on me once. We were going to live cover Honey Boo Boo and he walked in to the arena calm, cool and collected as usual. In less than 2 mins, he was up on his hind legs, waving his front legs around (not striking) and yelling. "WHAT?" So I took him back to his stall to cool his jets. About the time we reached the door of the barn, I started feeling the ants biting me. Come to find out, he was in the middle of an ant hill and they bit the FIRE out of him, literally (fire ants). We killed that ant hill and he has never repeated the rearing or acting like a fool during breeding.


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## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

I've been riding for over fifty years and here's how I fix a horse that habitually rears:
SELL HIM.

People have tried unsuccessfully to stop this behavior. Eggs, crop or wiffle bat between the ears, tie downs, quick cowboy step-off, nothing works. You might tire him out for a day, but that determined horse will rear again because it works.

Anyone would be hard pressed to find an experienced trainer that would even attempt a fix. There's no way I would risk my life or livelihood for one rearing horse. And there's a reason you can't find anyone specializing in fixing this behavior - they are paralyzed or dead.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

@Dreamcatcher Arabians - Poor Skippy! 
@Boo Walker - You make the point well that rearing is the most dangerous of bad habits. 

Decades ago I tried the egg smashed over the poll with no effect on rearing, but the horse was head shy after that for a time. I even busted a pop bottle filled with water over one geldings head with no effect on the rearing. Though he did go to bucking immediately. For those who haven't heard of these methods, the thinking is that the horse will think his head got cut and won't do it again. 

Fortunately none that I worked with were my own. I think it's awful that people will take one to a trainer, or in my case, for legging up and not be up front about a horse having this habit. 

Once I learned of it the horse's reputation was spread so they couldn't be pawned off on anyone else unknowingly.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

JCnGrace said:


> Pause while I put on my flame retardant suit. The pony I had as a kid tossed her head bad, like bust you in the face bad. I cured her of that by holding my fist above her head at the height I didn't want her head to pass and let her give herself a few smart bumps. Flame away all you want, it worked and I don't feel a bit guilty about the method I used.


That is not the kind of hitting over the head I was thinking of. I was referring to the "hit them over the head with a board" or other such extreme, extreme things. 

Besides, IMO, you didn't actively hit that horse over the head. You let her basically run into your fist. I've used similar methods with horses stepping into my space on the ground and other such scenarios.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Boo Walker said:


> I've been riding for over fifty years and here's how I fix a horse that habitually rears:
> SELL HIM.
> 
> People have tried unsuccessfully to stop this behavior. Eggs, crop or wiffle bat between the ears, tie downs, quick cowboy step-off, nothing works. You might tire him out for a day, but that determined horse will rear again because it works.
> ...


Very good point. This is the course of action I believe most people out there should take. It takes a special kind of person who is willing to accept an exorbitant amount of risk to take on the challenge of fixing a confirmed rearer. And a lot of times, yeah old habits die hard, if ever.

My own mare took up rearing for a short while. I'll be honest in that I don't remember why it started or how I stopped it exactly. I remember that encouraging forward movement and pulling her head around when she was thinking about it were key components.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

JCnGrace said:


> Pause while I put on my flame retardant suit. The pony I had as a kid tossed her head bad, like bust you in the face bad. I cured her of that by holding my fist above her head at the height I didn't want her head to pass and let her give herself a few smart bumps. Flame away all you want, it worked and I don't feel a bit guilty about the method I used.


My previous BO swore by tying a small, hard object to the brow band of the bridle on a short piece of string, so it would hit them in the forehead whenever they tossed their head. Make the wrong thing uncomfortable.

I have no direct experience with a training approach towards rearing. I once fell over with a horse that reared with me - he got his chest caught by a vine and tried to solve the problem by pushing forward rather than yielding to the pressure - when that didn't work, he panicked. It was his first month under saddle...and it was my fault for getting him into the underbrush. (Critically examine that little voice in your head that says, "Let's see where that path goes!" 

That same horse flipped over with a woman in the arena a little later (missed her by *that* much), for reasons only she knows. I got to take him on a trail ride immediately after - with no incident. I think "not trapping the horse" is the first step towards curing rearing. If in doubt, give the horse the chance to move forward, because the only alternative is "up".


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

A horse that gets light and pops up in front I ride them forward and then take a honest look at my riding/tack. 

A horse that is a confirmed full on rearer gets a lead poultice before they go over backwards and kill someone. Too many nice horses out there to mess around with a dangerous horse.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

The first thing you do is figure out why they're doing it
As Dreamcatcher already said - a lot of them learn to do it as foals when someone tries to teach them to lead - always push a foal from behind with either your other hand on the lead rope or someone elses just giving gentle encouragement - rather than try to pull it along
Mostly rearing's an aversion to work or being asked to go somewhere they rather not go and once they've done it and won they'll try it on again.
Mostly they're in control of it because its a calculated move and won't go over unless the rider pulls them over or someone does that stupid cracking over the head with something when they're at that 'tipping point' - happened to me once and didn't end well.

If the rider can sit the rear and not allow the horse to gain anything from doing it they'll often give up but might still try it with a new rider. 
Using the 1 rein stop technique will work if you can do it before the horse gets up in the air, I've used it on a lot of 'nappy' horses that used rearing to avoid leaving the barn/buddies along with making their work a pleasure and not a thing to fear and dread


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

My introduction to Horse forums was in answering a question about rearing. I was glad it was over the internet because I swear there was a pitchfork flame carrying mob chasing after me. My 34 year old was a rearer when I got him as a 3 year old. He reared until the day I retired him. I betcha if I got on him today - he'd rear if his old legs would let him.

Also - before reading my advice... Understand that rearing is the most dangerous thing a horse can do. It is not something to play with so while the methods seem cruel... I don't care.

The first thing you do is rule out pain, tack fit, and fear. Once you know that is not the issue, then you assume it's a training issue. 

As a teenager that owned a rearer I was given advice by every trainer, horse owner, old timer, natural horsemanship whatever... I actually took it all.

I have tried so many things....

Cracked an egg over his head (makes a big sloppy mess and is harder to get right than it sounds). The big thing is when you hit the horse on the head - it has to be done when he is on way up. If you do it on the way down, then you've screwed it up. The entire reason you hit them on the head is so that they think they are hitting their head. You get your timing wrong or you don't hit them between the ears then you blow it. The reason they say to use an egg is that the horse is supposed to think that he is bleeding. I don't suggest the egg trick - if you do it, try the water balloon, it's less messy.

Hit him between the ears with a rubber hose or a whip. It is the same idea as the above only I feel like with the give in the whip and the hose you end up not only hitting him between the ears but you get it along the forehead or eye as well.

Used a tie down. I tried many different tie downs. The on that I liked the best I think was for barrel racing. It was a plastic coded wire that hung around the nose and tied to the girth. It did NOT train the rear out of him. What it did was keep the rear down to a 2 foot safer range. When that wire pulled against his nose it hurt so he came down. BUT... he knew when he didn't have it on and you can't show with it. You also run into a ton of people that think it's a cruel device.

Tied a piece of twine from his tail to his halter (under the belly) this was supposed to make him not rear because he is pulling on himself. All it did for me was rip a chunck of tail out.

Flip him over. That one I never tried. It's dangerous for the horse and for the rider and should only be done by a professional.

What worked the best for me was keeping him moving. If they are moving, they can't rear. If he did start to the rear I would yank his rein to the right or left because that forced him to throw his feet to the ground so that he could keep himself balanced. Once he landed on the ground I kicked him forward. I kicked him forward in the rear a few times but that was always an explosive leap forward and got scary depending on where we were. 

My brother made me a beating stick that I also carried. It was a broom handle that he fashioned a loop on the end of so that I could hang it on my saddle horn. We got to where all I had to do was show him the stick and we could ride with only one or two rears. He never thought he was bumping his head. He knew I was behind the beating stick. As I said, it's a lot harder than it sounds to wack a horse on the head while he is on his way up in a rear. If the timing is not right, it doesn't work.

I never was able to cure my horse of rearing. It's a very very dangerous habit and it is really hard to fix. Now I was a teenager that bought a green horse that already had a horrible vice. As a teenager - I knew... everything so maybe there was a way to fix it. I don't know, but I do know that if I ever run across another rearer, I will run the other way. 

Good luck.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I have a question to add to this. I hope I'm not hijacking this post, but most of the replies were about a horse that rears when ridden. Does anyone's thought change if it's a horse that rears, occasionally, on the ground? Like if it's afraid or spooks? Would you all still run from such a horse?


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

A horse that rears when being led will get a good whack across its back legs - its only means of support. I had two stallions hat would do this when being taken to cover mares. They soon stopped it. 

I have ridden many rearers, big Tom thought nothing of going up when he first came to me. He was, however, safe. He wouldmstop, do a mini rear, always on the road, if he slipped he went on, of he didn't then he would go right up. Of a vehicle came along he would stand still let it go past and then resume! 

One little mare that came to stay for the owner to use as a second horse out Fox Hunting, was a terrible reader. The groom was frightened to rode her so I took her out. Took me about five minutes to realise that it was her mouth. On examination she had a broken wolf tooth on one side and a complete one on the other. I rode her off her noseband- not a lot of brakes but all four stayed on the ground unless jumping some big hedges. Bought her for next to nothing had teeth removed, put her in a rubber snaffle and she never went up again. 

Others, I too have left them tied after they have gone over backwards, some stopped some didn't.


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## 3Horses2DogsandaCat (Apr 19, 2016)

My friend said she trained out her horse's rearing habit by riding with a running martingale. Has anyone else had success with that? I took lessons on him for years and had no idea he had a history of rearing in the past.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

ACinATX said:


> I have a question to add to this. I hope I'm not hijacking this post, but most of the replies were about a horse that rears when ridden. Does anyone's thought change if it's a horse that rears, occasionally, on the ground? Like if it's afraid or spooks? Would you all still run from such a horse?


I'd have to give you an "It depends" on this one. It would depend on the horse's age, why are they rearing, how are they rearing (little pop up in front or full on full height rear), how are you trying to educate them that this is not acceptable and they can express themselves in other ways? A horse who will go up on the ground as an evasion (don't want to go over there, or don't want to lunge, nuh uh) will do it under saddle. A horse that rears once or twice on the line because something jumped out and scared them (runaway gum wrapper, flappy tarp) then can be taught that's not a good answer.

Once that horse has figured out they can go up and get out of work or situations and that becomes their "go to" answer, once it's an ingrained habit, nope, no way, no how, won't deal with 'em.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> ...
> 
> Once that horse has figured out they can go up and get out of work or situations and that becomes their "go to" answer, once it's an ingrained habit, nope, no way, no how, won't deal with 'em.


Thanks, this was helpful!


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

ACinATX said:


> I have a question to add to this. I hope I'm not hijacking this post, but most of the replies were about a horse that rears when ridden. Does anyone's thought change if it's a horse that rears, occasionally, on the ground? Like if it's afraid or spooks? Would you all still run from such a horse?


I'm fairly tolerant of rearing in hand if it is the result of high spirits. A verbal correction and tug on the lead usually settled that. Never had one rear out of fear. Dash sideways 20', yes, but not rear. 

Really mean horses never really reared, either. Nope. They lunged with teeth bared and might try to strike, but haven't had one rear.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

ACinATX said:


> I have a question to add to this. I hope I'm not hijacking this post, but most of the replies were about a horse that rears when ridden. Does anyone's thought change if it's a horse that rears, occasionally, on the ground? Like if it's afraid or spooks? Would you all still run from such a horse?


Pistol used to rear in hand as well. Some of his issues were from being neglected and abused. Honestly neglected and abused. As in you could put three fingers between his ribs when I got him. He had also been physically abused. As a teen... I guess I was Parelli before Parelli was cool because I attributed all of his behaviors to abuse and refused to correct anything with a harsh response (IN THE BEGINNING). You get smart... eventually... and realize that a correction is not abuse. it's training.

Anyhow... He always reared on the ground but that's because of me not knowing how to fix it.

Riley reared some as a baby. Groundwork and training fixed that. I had to learn how to push him forward form the ground and I had to learn how to keep his legs moving and get him to respect me. But the rearing was actually fixed with basic groundwork. I didn't even have to focus on the rear because it fixed itself...

So, in my opinion, a good solid riding horse that rears on the ground is worth looking at. If it's just a training issue it's worth the work or the money for a trainer. If it's a nasty paw and lunge at me rear, then I may walk away.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

A temper pop does not bother me, I do not consider that a rear. A full blown up on the hind legs rear? I don't care how you fix it, as a youth I saw a girl killed when a horse went over backwards on her. I still remember the blood coming out of her ears. If I see a horse that is a confirmed rearer, nope I don't care how you fix it. You want to risk your life on that type of thing, fine, I am not interested.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

Horses always rear for a reason. The reasons seem to boil down to:

You're asking the horse to go forward, but they don't want to.
The horse wants to go forward, but you won't let them.
Anxiety.
Habit.

If you can figure out the causes for A, B, or C, you might be able to isolate the problem and work it out. 

If it's gone on long enough that it's habit... not so much. That's when they either go out for serious training, or you move them along one way or another, because that's some serious danger right there.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

waresbear said:


> A temper pop does not bother me, I do not consider that a rear. A full blown up on the hind legs rear? I don't care how you fix it, as a youth I saw a girl killed when a horse went over backwards on her. I still remember the blood coming out of her ears. If I see a horse that is a confirmed rearer, nope I don't care how you fix it. You want to risk your life on that type of thing, fine, I am not interested.


Agree with you that there's a significant difference between a little "Noooooo!" rear from a horse and the BIG kind!

My last horse -- who was the type of wonderful one-size-fits-all type with enough go for advanced riders but enough chill to put a tiny child on and turn them loose -- had a day where she was in heat, and it was cold out and she was just in a MOOD. I got on her bareback and she did some tiny "Ugh NO THANKS!" rears when I tried to ride her away from the barn. She was hardly a menace, and she only did it that one day in the three years I had her.

I rode two other really wonderful school horses who would occasionally do a small rear or two as an evasion, but it never got big and I never truly felt like I was in danger.

Conversely, a green pony I was working with last year lost her mind one night, twice in a row, when i mounted her. While she didn't rear, she did scoot backwards, panic, and throw herself on the ground. (I'd been working with her for months, so this was not just her being green.) To me that was much more dangerous than the "rears" from the aforementioned horses, and I stopped riding her shortly after that. I was lucky to walk away with just some scrapes.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

waresbear said:


> A temper pop does not bother me, I do not consider that a rear. A full blown up on the hind legs rear? I don't care how you fix it, as a youth I saw a girl killed when a horse went over backwards on her. I still remember the blood coming out of her ears. If I see a horse that is a confirmed rearer, nope I don't care how you fix it. You want to risk your life on that type of thing, fine, I am not interested.


I couldn't like this. That is so terribly sad and traumatic. It seems that most of the horse related human deaths I've heard of have happened because of a horse going over backwards. I'm so sorry for that girl and her family, and for you having to carry that memory.

How many of you think that things like saddle fit can cause behavioral problems such as rearing? My mare is very hard to fit. She is high withered and has those pockets on either side of her withers that saddles tend to dig into, causing the shoulder to grind/hit against it while the horse is moving. My mare also had a general habit of just being an ornery PITA, and rather unpredictable honestly, despite a lot of consistent good handling and training. After I finally figured out that I had a saddle fit problem (it took a few years because it was so subtle. Lots of qualified horse people checked my saddle and never saw a problem) and found a way to fix the saddle problem, she turned into a different horse. Like night and day. All of a sudden she would move out, she stopped freaking out, stopped being ornery, stopped all bad behaviors like infrequently popping up/rear or bucking or balking or what have you. Now she is a horse that I have little to no qualms about putting mildly experienced people on. In fact, she has become so mellow and trustworthy that I am planning on her being my daughter's first mount in a few years when my mare will be about 18 years old and my daughter about 4.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

horseluvr2524 said:


> How many of you think that things like saddle fit can cause behavioral problems such as rearing?


Definitely. And if I knew it was just the saddle, I would have no qualms about putting an inexperienced rider on a horse that had reared before. The most straight up I ever went on a horse was on a TB I put on a saddle on that didn't fit. When I sat down, he went straight up, almost to the point of going over. Once I pulled the saddle off he was fine, and I put another saddle on that fit him, went for a ride, and as far as I know that was the only time that horse ever reared in his life. He was a beginner's horse before and after that.

If a saddle pinches just right it can stimulate a rear.

With a habitual rearer, I would wonder at those who say to sell the horse. Who are you selling the horse to? I would consider it unethical to sell the horse to anyone other than a remedial horse trainer that had full disclosure of the horse's issues.


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

I have to say, the worst rearer I had ever seen was cured with a good crack between the ears with a pipe. This horse had seriously injured a lot of people, and had learned that rearing and flipping over would absolutely get it out of work. I don't know how no one had shot it already. My father was about the only nut around that would dare get on something like that, and he loved it. What a fearless man. This was a do or die situation though, a last resort, his thoughts were "if it kills it, oh well, if it lives, he better learn." It was bound for coyote bait anyway. 

I was around 14, one of the last real nasty rank sobs he ever rode. He closed the gate, grabbed the pipe and hopped on, ready. As soon as that horse let out that squeal and lifted his feet, he swung. Knocked him out cold. He stayed on, waited a moment, the horse got back up, shook, and walked off nicely. That man got off, gave him a pat and let him back out to pasture. I swear to god, from that day on ANYONE could ride that horse. He wouldn't lift a foot off the ground. When he was fully trained he was a dream to ride, a fancy mover with a lot of forward motion. I rode him for a bit, before I had my accident on a different horse. That day saved that horses life. 

So I do believe that it is completely different for individual horses, and it takes an extremely experienced horseman to know what method to use, how severe a method to use, or just not get on at all.

Personally, I would never get on one. I'd probably send it off to slaughter to be completely honest. A true rearer is not something I want to deal with, and not something I would trust in anyone else's hands, especially in my area. There are very, very few experienced horsemen left here. 

But for small rears and little pops, life a fresh horse or a horse refusing to, say - cross a creek- I disengage the front end, and swing that rear end around. If I have to I will grab a rein and pull that nose around.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

gottatrot said:


> With a habitual rearer, I would wonder at those who say to sell the horse. Who are you selling the horse to? I would consider it unethical to sell the horse to anyone other than a remedial horse trainer that had full disclosure of the horse's issues.


Excellent point. In some circles of the horse world, rearing seems almost common place to the point that it's not even a vice. I'm thinking of amateur barrel racing here. We've got some great barrel racers here on HF that are very good horse people and now how to train their horse for barrel racing without making their horse a nut (there is nothing more impressive to me than a competitive barrel horse that walks calmly into the arena before the cue from their rider to take off to the barrels). But for a lot of local gymkhanas I've seen and more amateur barrel racers ... those horses tend to not be so lucky in their training and handling. I have seen young nine and ten year old girls riding horses that toss their heads and pop up in the front down the alley before letting loose in the arena while the little girls yank them around the barrels, and the onlookers commented about what good riders they are. Well, that is not good riding to me, and it got to the point where I just couldn't watch it anymore and so stopped going to the gymkhanas.


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

horseluvr2524 said:


> Excellent point. In some circles of the horse world, rearing seems almost common place to the point that it's not even a vice. I'm thinking of amateur barrel racing here. We've got some great barrel racers here on HF that are very good horse people and now how to train their horse for barrel racing without making their horse a nut (there is nothing more impressive to me than a competitive barrel horse that walks calmly into the arena before the cue from their rider to take off to the barrels). But for a lot of local gymkhanas I've seen and more amateur barrel racers ... those horses tend to not be so lucky in their training and handling. I have seen young nine and ten year old girls riding horses that toss their heads and pop up in the front down the alley before letting loose in the arena while the little girls yank them around the barrels, and the onlookers commented about what good riders they are. Well, that is not good riding to me, and it got to the point where I just couldn't watch it anymore and so stopped going to the gymkhanas.


And that is precisely why I would send a true rearer to slaughter directly, or put it down. Those are the kinds of people where I would absolutely hate to see a true, dangerous, habitual rearer fall into their hands.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Has anyone heard of, or tried, the advice I heard, that of hitting the horse on his belly, when he comes up?


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## AndalusianRobyn (Nov 27, 2017)

I have dealt with this a number of times, so i'll chime in. 

The main reasons a horse might rear, to me, are as follows:

A) Spook
B) They have learned it gets them something they want, aka they have gotten release from it before 
C) Pain. 

EXCLUDING pain... the number one thing any under saddle rearer has a problem with is consistently responding to forward movement. Most rears start with a ''sucking back'' on the horses part, however brief. If in this moment, you can push them forward, then you don't have a rear. If you push forward and they ignore you, they rear. So, simply, they are not consistently responding to forward aids. 

I would also like to note- it is DIFFICULT for a horse to rear when it has side horizontal flexion through its body. Getting bend through the side of the spine really minimizes the chances of the spine then straightening and lifting. So something like a hind end disengagement/one rein stop can often prevent a rear if you can ask for and get it the SECOND you feel that suck back. Requires a lot of timing and feel. Anyways. To the root causes...

As I think someone already mentioned, a horse that rears when it is spooked can often be greatly improved through confidence building exercises and gaining some life experience. For them, a rear can almost be like a freeze. So, it is important to be able to snap the horses out of it. Anytime I am desensitizing/exposing a horse without much confidence or life experience, I make sure they know the correct response to new stimuli is to pay attention to me and keep all four feet still and on the ground. So, if I introduce them to something, I don't take that thing away until they are still and focused on me and listening. NOW, that said- if they are the type to freeze on the spot but they are ZONING ME OUT, I will move their feet to get their attention-but then I will give them the opportunity to be still again, this time looking at me. Train them as best as I can to look for my instructions when they're nervous. 

Now, a lot more horses have learned that rearing scares people and gets them to let up on pressure. So, they rear when they don't want to do something. Again- ANY horse that rears does not respond to forward aids. That will need to be addressed. However, it may not become obvious right away from the ground. For example, you ask the horse to lead and they do. You ask them to trot on lead and they do. So where i the forward problem? It's not SURFACING at those particular moments, because the pressure is not so much that the horse is bothered. 

I put rearers in a lot of situations on the ground where they are bothered. I purposely bring out the rear, and then I get them moving forward from there by driving them forward with whatever pressure it takes. Often it doesn't even take so much pressure- just confidence and persistence from the trainer and the right timing and feel. They do figure out they can't get anywhere from rearing and start actually moving out and forward. The other thing I do is make sure I can move every part of their body on the ground-haunches, body, shoulders, head. It all has to be accessible to me without resistance before I get back in the saddle. 

Honestly, once I've done that, they usually don't even rear again for me under saddle. They suck back, I disengage the hind then push them forward and they go. If they don't and they do rear, I stay on, I push forward, and I don't stop pushing until they GO FORWARD. Then of course I release the pressure.

Pain is the first thing to be eliminated of course. 

Honestly this is just scratching the surface, but a general idea of what I've had success with. These horses definitely need a rider that is strong and confident and won't let them slip back into old habits. 

Cheers

Robyn


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

tinyliny said:


> Has anyone heard of, or tried, the advice I heard, that of hitting the horse on his belly, when he comes up?


Yes, I've heard from a friend that she effectively solved rearing from the ground by stinging a gelding's sheath area with a lunge whip when he came up. Of course, that is only useful if the horse is rearing from the ground, which is a far less dangerous or difficult problem to solve. I wouldn't want anyone to try that when I was riding, LOL.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

A filly I was training came to me extremely spoiled. She came for me at a rear on the lunge line, I dropped the line, turned the whip around and came back at her with the handle, pretty sure I hit her on the belly but I was mostly aiming for her legs. That was a turning point for her, very respectful and a pleasure to work with after that. When I rode her, her first time, she was perfect, no buck, bolt and of course no rearing, never for the 3 months I trained her.


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## 3Horses2DogsandaCat (Apr 19, 2016)

ACinATX said:


> I have a question to add to this. I hope I'm not hijacking this post, but most of the replies were about a horse that rears when ridden. Does anyone's thought change if it's a horse that rears, occasionally, on the ground? Like if it's afraid or spooks? Would you all still run from such a horse?



Personally, I wouldn't purchase one that rears on the ground. I made that mistake when I bought a 9 month old. He reared when I went to visit him before purchase, and after that he only did it about once per year on the ground. However, after he began his under saddle training, that was his one major misbehavior (it may have been rooted in pain or not getting his way). It just seems to be his fall-back behavior, and I never want to deal with it with another horse. It's terrifying when you're up in the air and at the horse's mercy.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I agree with Alliance above. 

One mare I had come to me, a big solid WB trained to a high level dressage, hadn't been ridden in a long time because she was dangerous on the ground. I sorted that one out the first day and worked with her. She wasn't meant to be ridden but I asked if I could and was given permission to do so. 

I mounted with no problem, rode her into the field and she started to rear. Although she went high I never felt she had the ambition to go over so I sat her out. I didn't ask for anything, just let her go up figuring she would tire faster than me. 

I was right and when she wanted to go forward I made her wait. She went when I asked. I later learned that she had been doing this to all sorts of dressage people and they dismounted and put her away. 

I rode her for a couple of months and she never went up with me again.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

waresbear said:


> A temper pop does not bother me, I do not consider that a rear.


Now that I think about it, when I first started riding my green pony (and I hadn't ridden in decades at that point) he used to do that sort of thing (just pop up a little) when he got frustrated or I wasn't communicating well or something like that. Now that I'm a better rider and he's a better pony, he hasn't done it again (knock on wood).

Kind of makes you wonder why I bought him, but I love the little guy and he really does have a super sweet disposition.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I only have had a few experiences with a horse that rears. 

My paint mare rears if she is in season and if her boyfriend leaves her and is out of sight. In her case, i jumped off and slapped her with my whip and yelled at her. I'm not going to stay on a rearing horse, when the behavior can be corrected from the ground just as safely, especially since i know my mare very well. She isn't going to dare trying it again, certainly not when i am standing there with a whip. She tends to push boundaries, but she isn't really a mean horse. It was more of a protest rear than an aggressive rear and she really hasn't tried it since. When she was a baby she tried rearing at my old mare in play and my old mare told her to knock it off and nearly kicked her for it. She learned back then that rearing is not acceptable, nor should it be acceptable now.

I had a pony who would rear when you tried to separate her from her buddies. In her case, it was small hops, and threats rather than a true rear. We had one ride where she really tested me. My goal was to get to the next electric post, then ride back home, then go to the next post down, then back. After about 2 hours of riding the same path repeatedly, she gave up. She was a very smart pony and after that i had no more problems. The lady who had her practically gave her to me, because she couldn't get her to separate at all. It took one difficult ride and after that i had a nice horse. She was probably the best horse i had for being good at riding on roads with traffic and dogs, excluding my old mare. My old mare is a city horse- better in town then on trails in the wilderness.

I think the key to dealing with a rearer is figuring out why they do it, and under what circumstances. Getting in the horses head if you can. What exactly is it that they are protesting against?


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Trigger used to rear - badly and a LOT out of pain and nerves.



Supes HAS reared before, and it's scary and deliberate.



Oops has reared in the round pen, specifically during one ground work episode (Clinton Anderson can stick his method up his rear end when it comes to Oops. It may work on other, older horses already with bad habits, but for her, it confused her terribly - more below). She was confused and felt she had no where else to go.



I've had to figure out what caused it and adjust accordingly.


Trigger: MUST KEEP FEET MOVING. Forward motion, even if we're doing circles, means he's got somewhere to go with the feet. I also had to learn to let him use his natural walk, which is far faster than other horses. I was all up in his mouth, al the time, nagging him to slow down. Also had to switch bits around - a Tom Thumb makes him stand straight up. A life-saver Argentine Snaffle, with a properly fitting curb chain, and me riding on a fully loose rein = Pleasant Trigger. Also had to make certain people never, ever ride him again - because they tried to bully him with the bit, which scared and hurt him, which meant standing straight up.


Supes: If he hates you, and when he hates someone, I've learned to listen, he will do whatever it takes to rid himself of you. We don't let certain people who shall go nameless ride him, ever. Because he hates them and with good reason (Dude turned out to be a small time drug dealer, that alone is enough to dislike him.)


Oops: Youthful ignorance, but also: Clinton Anderson. The WORST she's ever done it is when J had gone to an Anderson clinic on troubled horses (Not starting a young horse, but dealing with adult horses with bad habits), and came back and tried applying those lessons to Oops, who is not a trouble horse, but a young, ignorant horse, but also one that wants to learn. The Anderson way backfired HORRIBLY and she reared up repeatedly because she couldn't figure out what J wanted, which was to stop when she stopped, and not run over the top of her. 



Previously, J's own way of working with her had worked beautifully and Oops was learning. Anderson's way was too aggressive and confusing for Oops. She does so much better being actively TAUGHT, not aggressively dominated.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

My horse, she is 5, she had issues rearing on the ground. ONLY on the ground, NEVER in the saddle. Not ALL the time, but sometimes when I would lunge her.

I recently took her to a trainer, & she has not done it at all with her :O Turns out, it was more of a discipline issue. She was trying to tell me SHE is the alpha mare. I know why she would do it more often, because I did not correct her which didn't help, but we found out she just didn't understand something & would react, rather than think, & she would try to get out of things.

I worked her in a super open area, at my private barn we have no roundpen or arena (I recently found an arena I can use in the future thank goodness), but that didn't help either. I just ignored it & changed her focus, thinking she'd just get over it if I didn't react to it. Which sounds silly, but there's reasons why. I didn't react to it because I wasn't sure what she would do, I did try to get at her & discipline her a few times & it made it even WORSE. She just got more & more upset, so I was like, I need help.

She just didn't know any better, & was never disciplined for it in the past. My old BO thought it was 'cute'. Nothing cute about rearing.


I came to a point where I could NOT do it by myself & had to reach out to a professional. I didn't want to risk getting hurt either, as I do NOT have a lot of experience with rearing horses.

She hasn't done it with my trainer at all, & I am learning more things as well with her so I am glad I took her to a trainer. Made me realize a lot about myself, as I needed to learn I have to really prove I am the alpha.

It's best to ask for help from an experienced professional. That's what I've learned, & my horse has not done it since. Really have to get to the bottom of WHY they are doing it. Whether it is pain, a defense mechanism, or they are just trying to get out of work (if it has worked for them in the past), etc.

Now, she doesn't rear anymore. I learned I need to REALLY show her that I am the alpha, NOT her. That's what it came down to! But every horse is different.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

gottatrot said:


> Definitely. *And if I knew it was just the saddle, I would have no qualms about putting an inexperienced rider on a horse that had reared before. *The most straight up I ever went on a horse was on a TB I put on a saddle on that didn't fit. When I sat down, he went straight up, almost to the point of going over. Once I pulled the saddle off he was fine, and I put another saddle on that fit him, went for a ride, and as far as I know that was the only time that horse ever reared in his life. He was a beginner's horse before and after that.
> 
> If a saddle pinches just right it can stimulate a rear.
> 
> With a habitual rearer, I would wonder at those who say to sell the horse. Who are you selling the horse to? I would consider it unethical to sell the horse to anyone other than a remedial horse trainer that had full disclosure of the horse's issues.



This is our Supes. The Old Man hated that one guy with a mortal passion, despite none of us seeing him do ANYTHING wrong. In fact, I started a thread about loss of respect in an older horse because it went from trying to buck him off, to rearing, to charging my daughter's now ex bf, then J, then ME in the pen.

We still don't know what that guy was doing to him, or if he just sensed this dude was rotten, but it turned out he was a small time drug dealer. Supes has never, ever acted like that again, but I can attest he loathed both That Guy and the Ex BF. 

SINCE THEN, he's taught two more young adults how to ride, my son putzes around on him in no bit, just a halter and lead, sits cross-legged in the saddle and snacks on the trail, shares beef jerky with him and he's just a lovely old horse to be around. He's always been a gentleman with everyone but these two guys and the day he ran us all out of the pen, he was angry. Straight up ticked off angry. We've decided he full on stood straight up because he didn't want that guy anywhere near him, much less on his back. 

It was calculated, it was deliberate, and had we off loaded Supes right then, it would have been a horrible mistake. Instead, we told That Guy and Ex BF to never, ever ride him again. (For their own safety, of course - that was our legitimate excuse anyway)

So, it's a huge echo of a lot of people here:

The course of action must be tailored to the horse and the reason the horse is rearing.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

When I usually refer to a rear I always think of a horsemgoing vertical rather than a few inches off the ground with their front feet.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Yeah, not a pop up, or a crow hop on the front end, not a bounce. 



I think of them as going Full Lipizzaner. 



THIS is what I consider a rear.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I fix a rearer by sending them down the road .....

I don't have time for that. 


Well, that is, for one that is a chronic rearer. Shotgun randomly reared on me ONE time at a barrel race this summer (full rear into the air), and he's never so much as gotten light on the front end. I think I figured out why he did it (confusion) and have made sure he doesn't have it happen again, and we were find the rest of the season.

And lucky for him, I didn't can him and send him down the road.:gallop:
Good discussion though!


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## ValerieR (Jun 28, 2018)

Good post! Recognize that every time you think you have a problem figured out, the solution very well might change with the next horse you ride. 
That said, so far this move hasn't failed me:
Back story, my mom grew up on a cattle operation in Texas and went on to put herself through college restarting race horses for the hunter/jumper arena. Many race horses have spent a good portion of their lives being pulled on and blowing through the bit. When you bring one up to restart them, you have a predicament; you have a horse with a lot of forwardness but who is out in front of the bridle. You can't ever get a horse light by pulling on him, but you also don't want to end up zooming all over the earth for the rest of the horse's life to maintain your slack rein. Many riders aren't comfortable riding a horse around on a truly loose rein, so that forwardness gets bottles up behind the bit because the rider's hands don't want to let go. If the horse hasn't learned how to respond appropriately and gets pulled on often enough, a lot of times that energy has nowhere to go but up. Behold, you have a rearer. 
I've spent a lot of time riding blown up barrel horses which are similar beasts. What I've found very successful is riding around on a slack rein for most of my ride (first few rides in the round corral), evenly asking for softness through the body (starting with the bit those first few times) and if he feels like he needs to rear in response to me taking a feel of the bit, no big deal. I'll keep a rawhide quirt or the tail of my mecate draped over my shoulder and if he feels the need to rear, I'll bring that quirt down across his butt and jump him out, then start over. Pretty quickly he'll realize that I'm not going to pull on him and if he's worried, just go forward and we'll start over. I can manipulate the feet when they're going forward but there's not much I can do with feet in the air. I don't do this with the intention to hurt and it has to be done with good timing; he takes that little pause to organize himself to go up, in comes that pop to get him out of there. Rearing fixes itself pretty quickly if you have good timing about correcting that direction of motion.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Have put my armor on and ready to head into the topic....

Growing up after the age of 10 rode with my good friend on teams of ponies/horses owned by the BO. Seems like one of them always tended towards rearing and the other always tended towards bucking. 

Somehow I became the one to ride the rearers and my friend rode the buckers. To this day I find it easier to deal with rearing than bucking. 


If one just keeps in mind that rearing is just another form of resistance as is backing or bucking, bolting etc. But first one must always rule out pain. I have purchased and "fixed" many 3-4 yr old horses bought from clueless people that didn't know about wolf teeth or long shanks or short mouths or any number of things that can cause bit problems. 


Often the problem stems from unfeeling riders with harsh hands teaching the poor horse to rear. 


A horse just cannot rear if they are going forward. Rearing can be thought of as over-collected so forward and long is the answer. Also bend as it is hard for a horse to rear when bent. 

With riding horses it is very important to know how much pressure or stress the rider can give the horse before it is too much. Keep the horse just below the level that causes the rear, and the horse will gain confidence in himself and in the rider. Then one can ask for more. 

IMO most horses that tend to rear are sensitive and need a gentle, supporting hand. 

The only time I have experienced an aggressive rear it was on the ground with a new, very big and strong warmblood who had been allowed to intimidate everyone up to my purchase of him. He reared and came at me pawing during our first lunging lesson and we had a "come to Jesus" moment. He never, ever tried that again. 



Can I admit that I still prefer a rearer to a bucker??


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Perhaps just by coincidence, I have gotten a bunch of rearers over the years and, as many people have said, each one was corrected in a different way. One thing doesn't work for all horses. Some of my rearers just needed a different bit, loose reins, and wet saddle pads.

My Isabeau was my most dangerous rearer, as she would come over on her rider. I fixed her by having someone pony her from a dependable horse when she would start rearing. She gave me warning before she went up and over, and I quickly learned to toss the pony rope to my riding buddy, as soon as she started giving me warning signs. She never rears now, and she is my "go to" horse for timid beginners. She likes to take care of scared helpless things.

My latest horse was a rearer. He was a bad boy in that after a high high rear, when you throw your body forward, he would land bucking. You get yourself back in the saddle quick, and then he'd be up in a high rear again. Ponying didn't work with him at all. He would jump at the pony horse. He wasn't that hard to "fix". I just had to spin him for a long time, and I don't mean 12 spins, I mean 40 minutes of spinning. And yes, I got really dizzy. But he doesn't rear at all any more.

I've had a bunch of other rearers, and oddly enough, each one needed a different solution to correct them. But I never gave up, and after trying different things, got them all going nicely.

Horses are each one unique and what works for one horse won't work for another.


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## Hackamore (Mar 28, 2014)

Before you can fix it you would first need to determine the cause of the rearing. In some cases rearing is a reaction a horse has learned to avoid pressure or may it be rearing to resist a command. Rearing as a resistance to a command may be because the horse does not know the correct answer to pressure or a command, and if not corrected in the beginning stages of training the rearing can become what the horse thinks is the correct answer to pressure. While its not the fix for every rearing horse I have found that in many cases if I can get a horse trained or re-trained to the point where I have good forward movement & control of the feet the rearing problem often goes away. Having control a horses feet and being able to put those feet where you want them can assist with & fix many behavior issues. Again this is not the answer to every rearing horse, but it has made a positive difference with many horses brought to me over the years.


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

I kept scrolling past this thread.. I've goofed with enough rearers. Heck I knowingly bought one. So perhaps I'm not the best person to speak logically on the issue. 


When I was 12 I thought rearers were "fun" but when you're twelve most things are fun. The pony I rode would occasionally go up and I'd throw my body at her neck and wait. I was told to never get in the mouth of a rearer. Especially when they are up. I have also been told that you should never ride a rearer with two reins. There's no good reason to (and I'd argue this for any horse) have pressure completely locking the horse in the face. Seems to be the #1 reason I've had horses go up- the collection was too much and it was being asked for badly (by me). I've also had it as an evasion (present horse Nicolas) and when overwhelmed (also Nick). Nick had a tendency to throw himself up in the air on trail rides. Kinda scary on a hill, but it was usually if he was really scared and using it to spin on his haunches and get away, so I just made sure he got used to working and trail riding with a level topline (which wasn't natural to him, he's a stargazer at heart). When it's a work evasion- for the love of God check saddle fit. The saddle has been his ticket. I've had him go up when I was bareback and pushing laterals, but 1 time to the 8 or 9 times he's been up when tacked (and he's ridden bareback over half the time) 

Rearers. And just one. Never two. Mostly I use a leadrope. 
I like a draw rein sometimes for


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