My horse rears, foams at the mouth and tenses musles when taken out on the road. she goes absolutely nuts.?

Question

she prances around and gives no warning when she rears. she will not listen to commands given and gets very stong to handle please help.

Answer 1

My horse was like this and I took a bad fall when a loud truck went by and scared him. The worst part of that fall for me was not my knee injury, but the fact that he ran loose into the road and could have been killed.  Thank God it was a quiet road and he was OK, but it gave me a real wake up call.

I don't ride him on the road any more because it is a real safety issue. However, he has become somewhat accustomed to traffic noises now, after being turned out in a paddock near a busy road.

Be very very careful! Please stay off the roads with this horse if you can.

Answer 2

Stop taking her on the road.   Does she do this anywhere else?

Answer 3

It seems like she is very nervous about the road (obviously). But anyways, this is probably because she had a bad experience in the past with the road. Maybe something happened such as a vehicle scaring her or something? How long have you had her, and how much do you know about her past?

I would stop riding her on the road, it doesn't sound safe at all, because there are always those inconsiderate people who will speed by and not even care, & you never know when she could decide to go into the road. Not good if she's hard to control.

I would also have a good riding instructor help you out with this problem.

Good luck & make sure to be safe for the sake of you and your horse.

Answer 4

Many years ago a mare I bred and I were hit by a car. It took me about 6 months to re-traffic proof a horse you could previously drive a semi trailer past without a problem. If you haven't always owned this horse she may have been in an accident or been rounded up by motor vehicles and have bad memories. Time and patience and repeating the lesson 4 or 5 times a week may  give you a good result. If you feel confident to lead her, then start out this way and be extremely calm yourself as it can be scarey/dangerous being beside an excited/frightened horse. If you can find a quieter traffic area to lead her through then take her along it as often as you can till she's ok with it then ride her along it till she's ok. Then find another road and start the trafficproofing again and add new roads to your ride as she becomes less spooky with them. Pretty boring, but it's you she has to trust to keep her safe and once she knows this it will make a difference.

If you haven't owned her long it may be better to sell her to someone who doesn't need to ride near roads or as a broodmare as she may be too mentally damaged to ever get over it and the trauma of retraining could be too much for both of you.

Answer 5

Well, I'm guessing she has a major aversion to being ridden on the road! Perhaps something bad happened to her, or maybe shes just barn sour. Are you taking her out alone? If so, try riding out with some other horses. If shes doing this in company, my only advise is to either stop trying to ride her on the road or send her to a trainer. This is very dangerous behavior in an uncontrolled environment, can you imagine what would happen if she went over on you on the road and ran into traffic?

Good luck!

Answer 6

Droversgirl is on the money.

You'll need to find a nice quiet road and I suggest having a seasoned road horse along to help with your mares nerves.  I think she needs some confidence and someone to lean on during this frightful time.

A quiet hand walk may also be nice.

Walk up to the end of the drive and stand there next to the road.  Do this for a few days then go out onto the road for a few feet then walk back and stand there.

If she's calm when hand walking, do a walk down the road for a bit.  When she's calm and cool now you can go for a short ride down the road a few feet and back.

(I'd just sit at the driveway end as cars go by just to see if she's good with that when you are on her back.)

Slow and easy.  No pressure (at least not alot).  Give her a chance to think and adjust to what you are asking...to trust you.

Good luck!  Roads are pretty scary!

Answer 7

It could be one of many different issues. If you have a place to tie her next to a road to get her used to traffic that's what you could try safely. Personally I would sell the horse, I have no use for a horse that continuously rears, no matter what the situation. A man I new who had rode all his life was killed by a horse that reared up with no warning, and good friend of mine has a titanium knee because of it. Please be carefull unless you are very experienced you should not try to fix this horse by yourself.

Answer 8

Foaming out of the mouth is a great sign.I use to think that when a horse foamed out of the mouth...that it meant the horse was being hurt from the bit,but it actually means that the bit fits perfectly and the horse is comfortable!

Answer 9

if its just the road, and not a trail in the woods, then take her on a trail next to a road with some trees in the way. she will get used to the noise and will calm down. try riding with a calm horse.