My new horse reared today when we rode away from her friends,is she jst testing me?

Question

hve had her a week, she hates leaving her new friends in the field. i rode her in the school right nxt to her field. she has been slightly nappy, but today she reared as we rode past her friends. is she jst testing me or could she potentially be a rearer. she did it when i test-rode her, on turning to go home. hasnt scared me and when i push her on she does then go.

Answer 1

Your question was: Is she testing me?  Yes, she is testing you...if it scares you (and it does me, after over 50 yrs riding) just get off, tie her head around to the stirrup and let her fight herself and think about it...if you don't feel qualified to do this, get some help...the closer to the time that she acted up to the time of the correction, the better...a horse that rears is a dangerous horse...if they are rearing and you can't maintain forward motion, this is a dangerous situation.

Answer 2

horses are a bit like people

you would prefer to stay in bed all day then go out to school or work and horses would rather stay in the field with their friends than to go out working they also naturally move around in packs for protection so the natural instinct may be kicking in

try distracting her as you ride past her friends may bee

Answer 3

If she's herd sour, she's not thinking about you...she is in panic mode.  Give her more time to adjust to her new, insecure, place in the world before you make any final evaluations.  Since her rearing behavior did not get rewarded, it will probably pass.

Answer 4

Well, if she's rearing, then I would say you could call her a "rearer", especially since she's done it on more than one isolated occasion.  

She IS  testing you, so to speak.  Her response to not wanting to go forward is to nap and rear.  She's "herdbound" and doesn't want to leave her buddies.  Maybe she got away with intimidating a previous rider.

If you persist in not letting her intimidate you, push her on and carry on riding away from her friends and doing whatever you had in mind for the day, she will give up, and stop rearing.  Rearing takes a lot of effort.  It sounds like she isn't going up too high, and you're not frightened by it, so if you are coordinated enough, not concentrating on staying on (and not worried about pulling her over on you) it would be a good idea to give her a well-time smack on her bottom the second she thinks of going up.

I think you'll be able to stop the rearing without too much difficulty, judging from what you've written.

Answer 5

Think "forward" with this horse, keep a leg on her when you're riding near her pasture mates...she'll continue her obnoxious behavior if you allow her to do so.  Herd bound horses are a royal pain and can be dangerous in their protestations.

Answer 6

The other answer is probably right that she is herd bound. If you can keep her out of sight of her pasture mates then she shouldn't have a problem, but that is just a band-aid. You really need to work with her. I would start on the ground since it's safer. You need a whip and some maybe some treats depneding on your horse. Have a fairly long rope so you can give her some slack if she starts to go crazy without letting her loose. It would be better if you had one of those whips with the short rope on the end instead of the long lounge whip. Walk her by her pasture mates and before her she starts looking at them or as soon as she starts then distracte her. Try to keep walking, but give her a scratch if she like it or a treat if that is what she responds to. You need to teach her that paying attention to you is more rewarding than paying attention to her friends. Eventually wean out the snacks and try it from the saddle. You can distract her giving her ques like speed up or change lead or anything that she has to think about. Do the ground work till she is 100% ok and then repeat in the saddle. Eventually, it shouldn't be a problem. If you spend time with your horse besides in the saddle and become her/his best friend then they want to be with you as much or more than their pasture mates and shouldn't cause a problem. Good luck.

Answer 7

First she may have anxiety issues so she doesn't like being seperated from other horses. She also may be testing you. When she rears punish her by working her butt off!

Answer 8

Well in the words of Cesar Milan:

Your horse is just testing you. You have to show it you are the pack leader. Make it walk behind you and don't let it go through any door before you. Always yank its collar and make a pssssst sound so it knows you are dominant.

See it sounds stupid no matter what animal your talking about.

Sorry, I know it doesn't answer your question, but I just had to put my two cents worth in.

I have had a few horses over the years but have never encountered your problem.

I  had one that would try to start running when she saw the corral  and if I turned her away she would sometimes just stop short and ( I assume) try to throw me.

In your case this might have been a one time thing just to see what would happen. Or maybe like a kid she was just showing off for her friends.

All of this doesn't help, I know. But good luck and happy horsey stuff.