Is it bad to teach a horse to rear?

Question

I have somehow taught my horse to rear on command is that a bad idea?

Answer 1

NO IN SHOWS IT CAN BE QUITE A GOOD THINGS IT SHOWS THE HORSE HAS STABLE BALANCE.

Answer 2

It's a bad deal....can become a "deadly" habit and a difficult one to break.... best left to the pros.  If you don't have a problem with your horse, don't create one like this!!!

Teach your horse things that you know will not backfire on you.  Taking a "bow",  "yes or no"...(head nodding up and down or a shake of the head), keep it simple.  

Some folks like to  have their horses know a few tricks...it's just not my thing but that does not mean it's all bad......just be careful what you choose to teach your horse.

Answer 3

Its only a bad idea if the horse does it on its own, because all horses KNOW how to rear, just u gotta know how to control it.

Answer 4

can be if the horse starts to rear left, right and centre not on command. if the horse will do it on command then happily "forget" so to speak, until the command is implyed again then i guess its ok

Answer 5

If you dont know how to ride then yes. The odds are of teaching a horse to rear will go 50/50. I say that because It could be dissipline depending on how you teach it.It may not be that you taught it. You may not be holding the reins right. You just may be losing connection with your horse by doing this,  since this may be dissipline, If you are doing this alot, I reccomend you stop.

Answer 6

I totally agree with Bobbi.

Answer 7

I for one think it is a great idea. I have taught horses how to rear before. It could be dangerous but not if you know what you're doing. Just make sure that everyone that ever rides him knows what that special word is so they can avoid it.

Answer 8

It is WITHOUT A DOUBT the WORST idea any novice EVER had.  That kind of stupidity has probably ended more horses lives than can be counted.

No kudos to you for creating a problem the horse will wind up paying for.

Get out of horses 'till you smarten up.

Answer 9

What a great idea - NOT

*head-desk head-desk*

That has to be on a par with training a chimp to fire a rifle.

He knows he can do it, you've taught him how to balance when he does it and you told he's a "Good boy" when he did it.

Brilliant thinking.

Answer 10

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!

It's a horrible idea!

You say that it ONLY rears on command, and thats what a girl at my [old] barn said as well. But the horse  continued to rear and rear, and then started rearing all the way up and flipping over. Long story short, the horse ended up having to be sold and I dunno if she is still rearing or not.

Don't teach your horse to rear.

Teach is a cool trick, like bowing or something.

Answer 11

If he does it when you want him to and no other time, and you and him enjoy it and have fun I cant see there being a problem, just be aware if he is the type to nap or makes a fuss if he doesn't want to do something then the rearing can become a problem.  

omg bobbi if its not causing her or her horse any problems and she has him under control why shouldnt she teach him tricks

Answer 12

haha, you must have also read the fhotd blog flim fest, a women there taught her horses to rear and took tons of pics of it and put it on ytube.... anyway. . . i guess if it is done "safely" then it'd be okay, but i dont see where that is ever safe when the horse could go backwards on you *my horse got spooked, thank god the girl was leading him and not riding him, he reared up and fliped over backwards, rolled down the hill  alittle. . . it wasnt a nice grass hill, we were crossing a road and he skidded down the road.... he was sore and only few scratches*

anyway, i find it funny that the new trend is teaching your horse to rear, i knew of people who taught the horse to bow tho. .  .the first thought that comes into my mind is the lone ranger. . . just be safe and mindful of your surroundings.

for more answers on how other's think about this topic the here's the video link. . . yeah they may be alittle bias and rude, but it has their opinions on your question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSk6YwUek...

Answer 13

probably not one of the best.  my mare would rear at me when lunging, when she was tired.  i would make her change directions for a minute before quitting.  as long as doing only on a specific command.  just don't let it get out of hand.

Answer 14

it would be OK but my friends new loan horse was an x trick horse and now rears when he needs catching from the field but it's also quite sweet as he 'begs' when he wants something

Answer 15

Its perfectly fine as long as he only does it when you tell him to. You didn't teach your horse to rear- only to do it on command. If your horse wants to rear, it probably will, just like any other horse. If it didn't want to rear when you said w/e word you say, it wouldn't. As long as no one riding the horse accedentally says the word, I'm sure you'll be fine.

I wouldn't make the horse rear a lot though. If you do that, it might become a habit.

Answer 16

well i do not think it is a bad idea just you have to watch it and make shore it doesn't get out of hand. if it does you need to call a professional trainer right away to get it fixed. but if she only does it when you say so i think it shouldn't be a big problem. but don't let other people ride her  because if the say the word and she rears they could get hurt. but just be careful with her. my horse before i had her used to do that but my trainer retrained her not to do that. But my trainer used to have a horse that was trained to do that and he was one of the best horse she ever had. he only did it on command. just make shore she doesn't do it off command. if she dose get a trainer out there asap to correct it. but i hope i helped Sabrina

Answer 17

Is it a bad idea?  Yes, yes and yes...unless you work for a circus...you have taught this horse to do something that is potentially dangerous to anyone who rides him...what on earth possessed you to do that?

EDIT****Oh please, what are you other guys talking about?  Yes, it is dangerous, for this person and whoever else has the misfortune of owning this horse,..it is NOT something that a true horsemen would teach their horse to do, just the opposite.  Teaching a horse to rear on command is not a big deal nor something to be proud of, why encourage it, unless you also lack the horse knowledge and experience to know the difference?

Katie S...I by no means meant to insult you...I was telling it like it is, you asked the question, I gave my answer, top contributor has nothing to do with it...if you didn't want the truth, why did you ask?  Furthermore, I am not the only person that has this opinion, did you not read the other answers?  If you want to apply what I said as a reflection to you "horsemanship", it's your privilege...

Answer 18

If you "somehow" taught your horse to do this, then I doubt you know enough to be doing it.  You are playing with fire and you could get burned!