# Young Arab rearing



## Vetetpony (Mar 20, 2021)

Hi, i have a 2 year old arab. When she gets excited, stressed or if you ask her to do something that she isn't happy with even something as simple as circling her from her hind quarters she rears up. If you tell her off she gets more angry with you and just gets worse. 
I have been given contradictory advice on the best way to handle it. 
1. To ignore it completely and pretend it hasn't happened. 

2. Yank her back down 

3. To have a rope that when she rears up tap her on her stomach with the rope. 

Any advice on how to handle it. 

Now i know arabs are different to handle to i am hoping for advice from people's who have worked with arabs and people who hasn't. 
Thank you


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

For me she would be in a round pen with no lead and worked from there to see how she handled that.

If she were completely new to me and I knew nothing about her background I'd likely give her time off and not ask anything. She'd be out with a small group and I'd spend time in the pasture watching first (sitting reading and also observing) to see her interacting with them and then to see what she does if I interact with them.


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## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

All 5 of my Arabian fillies were very emotional at 2, and with time they were able to get a hold of them. Two were definite rearers at two when they were confused, but they outgrew it quickly.
If the rear was not an aggressive move, I felt ignoring the rear was the correct answer (particularly if it is them not being naughty, but just because they are feeling stuck) if you don’t want to escalate the issue. They outgrew it as they became more confident and learned about how to handle pressure properly. 

If they were rearing to be fresh and coming at me, then I would go at them and make them back up and away from me. Then very quickly release the pressure and let them think and be quiet. But it is hard to tell over a forum.


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## Vetetpony (Mar 20, 2021)

QtrBel said:


> For me she would be in a round pen with no lead and worked from there to see how she handled that.
> 
> If she were completely new to me and I knew nothing about her background I'd likely give her time off and not ask anything. She'd be out with a small group and I'd spend time in the pasture watching first (sitting reading and also observing) to see her interacting with them and then to see what she does if I interact with them.


I have had her for about 7 months now, never asked anything of her for the first 2 months i just spent time in the field with her. then i started brushing her and leading her around the field. I have had her in the round pen just doing a bit of light free schooling but she got too close to the boards and spooked herself and went sideways over the fence at the highest part and with a drop at the other side of the fence and broke the wooden rail. 

I bought her off the breeded and she has spent a lot of time in a heard amd in the garden being around children and adults but did have much done with her, just before i bought her she was taught to be lead. She is now very good at being led from the field to her stable and back but if i take her anywhere else she rears up


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## Brian Jones (Mar 20, 2021)

Vetetpony said:


> Hi, i have a 2 year old arab. When she gets excited, stressed or if you ask her to do something that she isn't happy with even something as simple as circling her from her hind quarters she rears up. If you tell her off she gets more angry with you and just gets worse.
> I have been given contradictory advice on the best way to handle it.
> 1. To ignore it completely and pretend it hasn't happened.
> 
> ...


I am very new to horses.. I am however a bit of a pioneer in unique ways of interpreting information from animals.. I just in the past month began applying my approach to horses, and I was quite pleasantly surprised to find out that I am able to access much from them in the way of personal information... Maybe we could look at your horse and see if she will let you know directly.. I am not offering my help as a professional or looking for any fee... I am conducting experimental research in this and require test situations.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

What do you mean by circling her from her hindquarters?
None of us know the whole story, but my general feelling is that when a young, sensitive horse gets 'told off', they often resent it, and female horses often more than males. (again, my llimited personal experience). All I can say is if you see her expressing a willingness to fight back, you are headed down a dangerous road. You do not want a young horse to ever 'learn' that they CAN fight back, and win. Don't go into that country, just don't.

I would not do a lot of round penning . If it's a problem that she won't go forward when you 'drive' her, put a lead on and lead her. Don't put too much pressure on her hind end. Remember, a mare is programmed to keep that area of her body out of reach of the stallion, until SHE is ready. She has it in her DNA to say "No!' to any push on that area, until she changes and says, "Yes!". Instead of pushing on her hind end, get her to think forward by some gentle feel on the leadline, and if she gets stuck, use a slight sideways pull , first one side (getting her to take a step that way), then the other. it can 'break out' her feet if they get 'stuck'.

you need to outwhit her, not out force her.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Vetetpony said:


> Hi, i have a 2 year old arab. When she gets excited, stressed or if you ask her to do something that she isn't happy with even something as simple as circling her from her hind quarters she rears up. If you tell her off she gets more angry with you and just gets worse.
> I have been given contradictory advice on the best way to handle it.
> 1. To ignore it completely and pretend it hasn't happened.
> 
> ...


With a young Arab, you're most likely dealing with a reactive horse that is very sensitive. Basically, none of the above answers would be the best. The best thing would be to recognize that you are applying too much pressure and getting her too excited, so you need to reduce what you are asking and the pressure to a level where she is less excited. 

So for example, if you have worked with other horses, you might think it is "simple" to ask her to circle, but if she rears, the amount of pressure and/or speed you are asking for this is far too much for her. Arabs are very light horses. Often they will respond just off of our body language and don't need any reinforcement with other tools. If you have a lunge whip and she rears, drop it. If you're raising your hand and she rears, lower it. You need to reduce the pressure until she can calmly do what you are asking without getting too excited about it. 

You can turn a sensitive horse into a reactive mess if you apply too much pressure. Begin with the lightest approach possible, and stay very quiet with your body language. Only add pressure if you get no response at all, and reward any try.


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## Aprilswissmiss (May 12, 2019)

Vetetpony said:


> I have had her for about 7 months now, never asked anything of her for the first 2 months i just spent time in the field with her. then i started brushing her and leading her around the field. I have had her in the round pen just doing a bit of light free schooling but she got too close to the boards and spooked herself and went sideways over the fence at the highest part and with a drop at the other side of the fence and broke the wooden rail.
> 
> I bought her off the breeded and she has spent a lot of time in a heard amd in the garden being around children and adults but did have much done with her, just before i bought her she was taught to be lead. She is now very good at being led from the field to her stable and *back but if i take her anywhere else she rears up*


If she's doing this on the ground too, I think you really should be addressing it from the ground first. Two years old is young to start under saddle (even though plenty of people do it) especially when she's showing signs she's not mentally mature enough to handle it quite yet, and you should probably take a step back and get a trainer involved if you haven't already.

When you're taking her somewhere that isn't the field or the stable, what seems to cause her to rear? Is she refusing to go somewhere because she wants to go back to her horse buddies? Is she spooking at an unfamiliar environment? Or is she just not understanding the pressure put on her, aka not educated enough at leading?


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