# Horse WILL NOT stand and he rears?? Help!



## Sis (Mar 14, 2012)

I have a 13 year old Standardbred gelding who was a harness racer when he was younger. Then, he was not touched for 7 years until I got him last year. I have been riding him for the past year, but I just started driving him again about a month ago. He does really well when he's in motion... I trot/pace him 4 miles every time I take him out, through a lot of traffic and distractions without blinders on. He does really well. He sidepasses and all that, but the one really annoying/dangerous thing about him is that he absolutely will not stand when the cart is behind him. If you stop him and try to stand still for a few minutes, he jolts forward or backs up, and when you try to correct him by pulling the reins or slapping them on his hindquarters gently (I don't carry a whip with him), and overcompensates and does the opposite. He just goes forward a few steps, then back when you pull, then forward, then back, etc....and if you pull hard or fight with him for too long, he will rear. He does that a lot, and it scares me, because I have seen him fall backwards before and he did it in heavy traffic earlier today. Please help!


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## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

i cant realy help with the whole driving thing because ive personnaly never done it but you say he was a racer before? so my guess is hes thinking about that and the fact taht hes hooked up is reminding him that "oh i should be going not standing here". 
i had a former barrel horse that i was leasing for awhile and she would go crazy when we were in the arena that had any barrels standing up. so what i did was i ponied her, and then rode here with an older calmer horse all around the barrels doing all kinds of differant things.

dont really know if you can do that with a cart horse? have somebody with an older calm/stedy cart horse driving/standing next to your horse while he has the cart hitched? or whatever idk.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Is it truly only when the cart is behind him? Have/do you do any ground driving sans-cart? If so, how does he react to stopping then? Do you have access to an arena that is driving friendly/safe - or is your only option to drive him out on the roads/in the open?


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## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

Have you ever thought that perhaps the horse see's the cart and it worries him? There is a reason that many of us drive our horses with blinders, this is a good example why. Have you tried ground driving him without anything hitched to him and see how he goes? Does he rear and act up then? 

I would bet his issue is the cart and being able to see it. Horses are fight or flight animals and having something behind him that makes noise, squeaks, moves or is "attached" that he can't get away from, could be causing his anxiety.


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*wont stand still.*

have you got blinkers blinders.
get a set of race ones that will save you buying a hole bridle with blinkers.
when you get blinkers blinders harness him up and take a few titbits with you walk him in hand so your beside him out of eye shot do intaval training woa then walk on woa then walk on and stand then walk on so forth when he is good reward him.as to him rearing falling backwards its lucky he did not end up with poll evil.
also try teaching him to stand out use a smaii wip for gidance only so he responds to you it takes time first lift fore feet place them for him and he will get smarter with his hinds as well.
so when he is right he will stand there willingley to be put to your sulkey-cart.
my pony tricky i drive him with out blinkers and he is in an open bridle i ask him to stand and i can walk away from him get his sulkey and put him to.
start from scrach and build up like i have said you should start to see results within a few weeks it takes time.
manny thanks stay safe.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

These racing horses are taught to move, not stand still. It is likely ingrained into him. It might be best to improve his groundwork, even offering a treat whenever he stands for even a couple of seconds. If you click when he's standing he'll learn that a treat will follow. It creates a lot of incentive for him to learn. When he will stand 5 min. then ask from the saddle, offering the click and treat each time. After 4 or 5 days of riding and c/t you can begin to offer every second stop and gradually wean him off. It's good idea to always carry a few.


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

IMO a horse that rears hooked should not be driven. There are things you can do to be safer is you want to keep driving him. The first is to get him in a closed bridle (blinkers). I can bet as a racer he was never not worked in one and he needs to focus on the task. You never,ever,ever get in a cart without a whip. You control forward and side to side movement with the whip not the reins. Do not slap him with the reins. You aren't driving a stagecoach
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

continue from previous post:

In a 60's western. When you slap him with the reins you loose contact with his mouth than as the energy runs up the línes you end up bumping him in the mouth. Conflicting signals. 

Do not think of a whip as something negative. Think of it as your legs and seat. Use it to cue him forward, swing left or right, regulate speed... You need to be able to reach his hip with the lash. Try out whips as they do get cumbersome and heavy over time. Have a whip holder mounted on your cart where you can easily grab it when needed.

'm sure he is a blast to drive when he's moving out but resist the temptation for now and keep things slow and collected. Have a header when working on standing. If he can only stand for 60 seconds, than ask him to move forward, never back, right before he starts to fidget. Make sure he know's it's your idea and not his. Walk a little bit and ask for another halt. It's a lesson all OTT horses have to learn.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AengusOg (Jan 18, 2010)

So, you pull on the reins sometimes, slap him on the hindquarters with them sometimes...and if you pull hard and fight with him, he will rear.

I don't think any horse would act any differently with that sort of treatment.

Your horse needs to be taken right back to basic training and restarted as a driving horse, and you need to learn how to drive a horse correctly before you have a serious accident.


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