Rearing horse?

Question

i took a horse to a show this past weekend 4 pleasure and ended up not being able to ride him. it started with him having trouble loading into the trailer (usaly fine) then when we got to the show and went to unload him he reared and was still conected while trying to back out and falling and cuting his face open. When i got him he was fine then reared straight up. i got off tied him to the trailer and later he reared got loose and broke the metal that you tie a horse to off the trailer. after the show when we got back to the barn he reared again unloading(went into trailer just fine) and broke the clip that snaps to there halter.......any ideas y this is happening....any advice ...help(anyone have simular problems)

Answer 1

Rearing is terribly dangerous for both you and your horse. Now that he has been "rewarded"  (aka gotten free) from pulling back and rearing he may continue to do so when he is tense, afraid or acting non-compliant.  Pulling back can cause injury to to your horse in their poll, neck and spine as well as injuries you can see. They are also dangerous to you as you can be struck by a hoof coming down or the backlash of the rope and anything attached to it.   Do NOT allow this behavior to go on or escalate.  You should involve a professional trainer who will come to your place, so you don't have to load again until this is resolved.   You may then need to send your horse to the trainer's place to be sure the issue is fully resolved. You might also need to have the horse checked by a vet or equine chiropractor for other injuries.

good luck

Answer 2

Sounds nasty - hope he's okay now.

If he has travelled fine before then I'd be wondering what was different this time - is there something wrong with the trailer that he noticed and you didn't ( maybe not even structural - we had a problem with a wasps nest in a trailer once) I would give it a thorough check over for anything unusual ( strange smells, squeaks etc etc)

Then practice loading and unloading till he's bored with it again.

Answer 3

I don't know how much trouble you had loading him up to head to the show, but it sounds like the problem really started with the unloading incident, wherein he got badly hurt.  This kind of thing scares the dickens out of a horse, and the subsequent rearing is either related to this emotional trauma and/or injuries to his spine or musculature which he might have sustained.

ChipinCa is right.  That incident was nasty, and you really ought to have him checked for injuries.  After he's given the ok by the vet, the retraining will have to begin.  He has now learned to pull back, so you'll need to be very careful about tying him.  Do not tie him with a nylon halter and lead rope, as these won't  break if he should try to pull back again.  You'll need to use a leather halter or one with a leather breakaway - unlike nylon, these will break before his neck will, should he pull back, but really, you ought not to tie him until your're able to address the problem, because if and when he pulls back or rears and breaks another piece of equipment, it will just reinforce the behaviour.  

To work on retraining him to tie, you'll need a tie ring attached eye level or higher, to something very solid (but not something he can run around, like a tree), and a long 30' or so, rope.  Clip it to the halter (under his chin) and run the rope throught the ring.  It's easier if you have someone to help you with this, as he needs to be "encouraged" to pull back, so that you can fix the problem.   You can give a little tug on the line, or the person helping you can gently (or not so gently, if he doesn't react ) "scare" him into backing up.  You'll be holding the end of the rope, away from your horse off to the side.  When he starts to fly backwards/rear, you need to feed the rope out to him, but KEEP THE PRESSURE  even on his poll (via the rope).  The SECOND he stops, you must release the pressure.  So you're teaching him that when he STOPS, the pressure goes away.   Wait a few seconds (I count to 10 slowly). Take gentle pressure (hard enough that it's a little uncofortable for him), and encourage him to take steps forward (if you need to, using a buggy whip or longe whip, gently).  The very second he steps forward release all pressure.  Repeat.  This will take many - 100's of repetitions.  But he eventually will learn that when he steps forward, the pressure (on his poll)  is released, rather than thinking that when he flies backward or rears the pressure is released (which it was, as the equipment broke).    For this training you can use a rope halter, which will be more effective than a flat halter, but you do need to be good with your timing, and never ever tie a horse in a rope halter.  

This is not an easy habit to correct, and if you have any doubt  about your abitlity to do it, it will be much more fair to your horse to find an experienced and calm person to help you.  

Two very useful pieces of equipment to have are the Blocker tie system - you can google it - it's a very safe way to tie your horse  and helps in the retraining - and a thing called the Face Saver which you'll need when you're ready to start retraining him to load and unload in the trailer.

Also, it sounds like when you got to the show, you had removed the back bar before untying him, which could have started the whole problem, as he tried to back out and hit the end of the line, causing him to feak out, rear,  and get all cut up.  Never, ever, take the butt bar down while the horse is still tied in the trailer.  Unfortunately he will never forget this incident, but you can retrain him with consistency, a lot of repetition and tons of patience.

Good luck, and I hope this helps somewhat.

Answer 4

I have had many experinces like this. If your horse is excited at a show, lunging the horse can help relive some of the horses anxity. Also for loading in the trailer and tying to the trailer practice these things at home with your horse in a relaxed envioment. One day just work on taking your horse in and out of the trailer. Soon this will become an old habbit for your horse.

Answer 5

hes probably afraid of tying now, so you're going to have to start slowly to get him used to being tied again, you dont want him hurting himself or other people

he also might be afraid of you so try being very gentle with him

good luck... whatever you do, dont hit him though! that will only make him more nervous and will probably make him want to rear up again

Oh and lastly, you could try getting a lunge line and using that as his lead rope, then if he rears up, you are safer and he will learn that when he rears, something isnt going to pull on his face. then you can just make him turn around in a circle around you until he calms down. he'd eventually realize that theres nothing scary about you or anything else