Horse rearing - help!?

Question

I own a beautiful and sweet Haflinger mare. She is 5 years old currently, and has a 3 month old foal. I was told when I bought her that she was given professional riding training when she was 2 years old. I got a trainer to put 30 days of training on her just to be sure that I would be safe riding her. My trainer and I have been working with her for 3 months, and she has never even given us a bad attitude about being ridden.

However, when I was riding her on Sunday, she reared up, and I fell off. I was able to get back on her after about 20 minutes(I wasn't hurt, but I needed that time to compose myself), and she didn't do anything else, and was very willing as she always is.

I'm confused why she would just start doing this - hopefully there is someone who could give me some advice to try and get her over this! Or if I should even really be concerned about this issue...

Answer 1

I'm guessing she might have been a bit spooked by something. She's probably fine. She did it just once and you were able to get back on. The important thing is, that you did not accept her behavior and got right back on. Now she knows that kind of scare tactic won't work with you, if that is what she was trying to do, but I doubt it.

Answer 2

i would not be concerned.  it may have been something as simple as a bug in her eye that startled her.  or  maybe you hit a nerve when your weight shifted.   some horses spook easier than others.

Answer 3

You may have done the girth too tight or someting was crooked and hurting her. Or she could have just spooked. A horse doesn't rear for no reason

Answer 4

make sure you didnt put the saddle on to where it was pinching her. did you look around to see if something spooked her?  every horse will have thier days or moments where they rear or buck. you just have to look at all the options of why she might have done that.

Answer 5

Maybe your horse got spooked. But I don't know. Next time to prevent falling off, make sure you're relaxed and push on your horse's neck to try to get her back down. Don't pull on the reins, they'll pull her back from going down. Hope this helps! (: Good luck.

Answer 6

there are no clues in what you describe.  My guess is it was a fluke and you shouldn't worry about it...stuff happens.

Answer 7

rearing is a sign of unconfidence and/or disrespect.  The fact that her foal was at the other end of the arena can definately be part of the problem.  Can you have someone hold the foal in the middle of the arena?

Rearing is a very dengerous behavior (worse than bucking).  A horse that rears and loses it balance can fall over onto the rider and cause extensive injuries.  even fatal ones.

I would 1)make sure her tack fits well  2)make sure there is not a medical explanation 3)start ground work with her away from the foal.  if she is still explosive, then you have your problem, and this can be addressed the same way that you address a herd-bound horse.  with approach and retreat, patience, and ground work.  When she is acting up, make her work.  Make her move her feet.  When she is being good, give her a break, and reward the good behavior.

check out www.parelli.com

good stuff there.

Answer 8

Well in my experience horses that have never done that before are usually taking the mick or it cud be somthing to do with the tack but if shes had the same tack on i dnt think tht cud of caused it.

And if she did spook most horses dnt rear there flight animals not fight animals which means they wud rather run then fight wat has scared them. You should av got bck on straight away and not thought about wat she had done it was naughty and you should have punished her not tht im cruel to animals horses need to be put in there place and told whos boss if not they will walk all over u!!

if this happens again or keeps occuring shes probz being naughty

Answer 9

If this only happened once, then I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe she spooked at the shape of something etc. I don't think the foal caused it either. If she continues, you might want to 'test' her in another arena with someone on her that can sit the rears. Ride her around in the exact same senario she was in in the arena this incident happened. If nothing happens, it's probably something like the arena itself or what is stored next to it, etc. You might want to look into Parelli horsemanship to strenghten the bond between you guys. That way, you can understand why she does this with Horsenallity and a number of other things too!

Answer 10

Rearing usually results from one of three causes.  The first, and most serious, is bad behavior.  You need to make sure you are the leader, and that you are always in control of the horse's feet.  If your mare starts to stall, back up, or plant her feet--push her forward.  Do whatever you have to for forward motion.  The best thing to do is to turn her hard and throw her off balance so she needs to move to catch herself.

Rearing can also result from pain.  Check you tack to make sure it fits properly and schedule an appointment with your vet.  Also, make sure you aren't doing anything to aggravate your horse.  A bad position gives your horse an excuse to misbehave.

Finally, many horse's rear when they spook.  You said you where near a "spooky" part of the arena, so this could very well be the cause.  My best advice is to make sure your horse is paying attention to you, not the horse-eating chipmunk in the bushes.  Make a lot of turns, and keep her mind busy.  If you are confident, your horse will trust you and you can correct this problem.

Because you made this sound like a one time thing, I'm not too concerned.  However, you should seek help from a professional trainer.  Whenever a horse rears you must make it move forward so it doesn't lose its balance and fall over on top of you.

Answer 11

Yes, they likely are the problem - however now the problem of her rearing is there as she has learned the behavior might get what she wants! (back to her foal!)

You are best directed to a trainer after her foal is weaned.  Rearing is a horrible habit and can and does kill people!  Even a smallish haflinger mare could put you in the hospital - wondering where the past 3 days went! Please be careful, and have someone more capable deal with her!