Rearing

[Nichcole]

I have a little mini stallion(my first) and he loves to rear when he is tied plus he will try to rear in the cart. Anyone have some training tips? Anything is greatly apprectiated

 

[disneyhorse]

Stallions, just on the merit alone that they are not gelded, require special handling. You are going to get a lot of advice to geld him so that his extra hormones don't make him prone to unacceptable behaviors and he can focus more easily on YOU and not other things.

This forum is very difficult for even experienced advice-givers to diagnose medical problems or behavior problems because we cannot see why YOU or the HORSE act the way you do. Just because you perceive things does not mean that is why it actually is happening.

I suggest finding an experienced horseman in your area to help you.

Good luck!

ANdrea

 

[Nichcole]

Thank you for your responds, He has been check out medically and is in perfect health. I have handle and been around stallions before plus I have big horses . Usually it is a respect issue but doing the training I do with the big horses is not helping when he is tied or in the cart. The trainng I have done has stopped him from doing it while leading , luging ect. When I ask people in my area for advice that say it is typical of minis and shetlands to do this which I know is not true, also most say I can not train it out of him b/c he is 3 and set in his ways . There are alot of ponie and mini haters here

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I guess my first question would be what it is that you do as he is rearing?

 

[Nichcole]

When he is tied I usually let him be b/c i'm thinking it could be a that he needs to learn patience. He is getting better at standing tied the more I do it. If he is in the cart we just try to get him moving, we do this by some one leading him or asking him to move foward. He only does it if he wants to go back to his paddock or he thinks he is done. He will only do this under that cart when we are in our field but when he is on the road I can stop him , stand and ask him to go with no problem. When I first got him he could not even be touch and rearing was the way he would try to get away when he was caught. He could walk on his hind legs, I started to correct him and teach him respect with lunging and desensitzing him to all the scary stuff around him.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Rearing in the cart is just about the most dangerous thing, short of bolting, that a horse can do.

I agree with Andrea on this one- you need experienced help from a driving person- and you need to go back to basics, get him out of the cart before he tips over on you and ground drive him.

Good Luck.

 

[Jill]

My coming 2yo stallion was rearing when I first started working with in in halter this spring. What I did for him (and have done with others) is to have a chain under (never over) his chin. Whe he starts to rear, pop down on the lead which "hurts" and corrects him. I also would walk into his space when he was reared up. Just worked with him about 10 minutes a day about not doing the rearing and got to the point that I was doing things to "tempt" him to loose his temper and do it so that I could correct him. He figured it out fairly fast that he's not to do it because he things he doesn't like happen when he does.

As far as rearing in the cart, that is not something I've had to deal with in any of my driving horses. I've had a couple who want to "bounce" but not a full rear at all. When the "bounce" happens, I drive them forward and do turning or something to give them something else to think about. One of my riding horses also used to "bounce" because he knew it scared me enough to want to stop riding. My former trainer had me do the same with him, make him go forward.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Well of course the best thing to do is to keep them going forward it is very difficult for a horse to rear if they are continusly moving forward.

In hand I will not use a chain often that makes them go up again, (of course i am just not a fan of chains period on big horses let alone minis) I will keep them going forward or turn into them which seems to help, turning away from them tends to sometimes give them more momentum for there rear but into them does throw them a bit off balance

As far as tying I would do exactly what you are doing. Make sure he is tied safely with supervision.. and leave him there to get over himself.

 

[Reble]

Our Stallion was refusing to back and go forward, and started rearing at a show one day, and we had the vet out to float his teeth and changed his bit to a french link snaffle. Made a big difference.

But if he has just been broke to drive, I would say go back to the basics and start again, he is not knowing what you are trying to tell him.

Patience is the first rule

:

 

[Nichcole]

Thank you all for your information, I would like to try and show him next year and want to get him over this so I can make this possible.

 

[Tiny Tiny Horse]

I'd really like to help but I don't have a Mini quite yet.However I may beable to give a few educated gusses...Perhaps you havn't been giving him enough care or attention,it's very possible and I hear it happens often.If he misbehaves then I belive you should spend a few seconds making him think death is near (for him) and then go back on. Don't scold him for a long time... :nono:

 

[shane]

:new_shocked: WHAT??????

i dont think anyone should presume that because ahorse rears its the owners fault because she doesnt give enough care or attention :no:

my stallion has the same problem and i think the person who started this thread just needs advise

 

[Manda]

....

 

[Cairney]

I agree with Shane...the horse may be rearing because of something a PREVIOUS owner did, not the current one.

 

[Minimor]

Um, I'd point out that Tiny Tiny Horse is a mere 10, soon-to-be 11, years old.

I'm with Lisa, I don't use a chain under the chin to correct rearing--I'm not big on using chains at all; I seldom used them on the Morgans, and have never needed one on a Mini yet. Too often I've seen rearing caused by chain use, and have seen others use them to try & correct rearing, & they were nothing but counterproductive.

In any case it sounds like you've got the in hand problems solved, and it is now just when he is tied up or in harness that there's any problem. Sounds like you're on the right track on the tying--leaving him (supervised of course) to fuss & fret & fight it out & get over it seems to be having some effect, & I'd probably just continue with that. He will learn patience when fussing & fretting don't gain him anything, ever.

For the driving part, I would take him out of the cart & go back to long lining him. It's much easier to correct this problem when there's no danger of him going up & over & tipping the cart. Take him out in the field where he tends to do his rearing, and long line him there. If he wants to rear, get after him good to drive him forward. You might have to get a little bit tough with him, but rearing in harness is a very dangerous thing & he needs to get over it. Since you're progressing so well with his behavior in other situations, I'm sure that you'll soon have this issue under control too.

 

[Marty]

I'm with Lisa I don't need a chain.

I'd tie him up and let him get over himself.

You'd be surprised how much you can get accomplished with a horse by just tieing them up and letting them chill. They aren't dumb. They do get it.

 

[Nichcole]

Thatnk you guys, I'm not a fan of the chain either. I got him in Febuary of 06 as a almost 3 year old.. It took the owners a good hour to catch him, previous to that I don't think he has any handeling which I think is the main problem, he is getting better as we go but the rearing in the cart is very scary... I will go back to ground driving for a while , Do you guys know if there is a mini club in Oregon? I would love to find someone to take me under thier wing

 

[spazkat]

have a chain under (never over) his chin. Whe he starts to rear, pop down on the lead which "hurts" and corrects him.

In my experience having the chain under the nose often causes a horse to rear as the chain is pulling up so they go even further up and back with their head to escape it. Everything you teach the horse is based around the idea that they move away from pressure, so when the chain pushes up from underneath.... it doesnt really give the correction you want. If you want to use a chain I would use over the nose, to encourage him to come down, although this is almost a moot point as from what you have said he doesnt rear on the lead, just when tied or in harness.

I agree with the others to get the help of an experienced professional. This type of vice often turns into a vicious circle, especially in harness. Once he rears, the first instinct is often to tighten the reins (which will bring him further up and possibly over) and sours you on working him in general (which is what he wants and inadvertantly rewarding him for his misbehavior)

 

[horsesmakeubroke]

OK... at the risk of being shot down for cruelty, here's what we do. First and foremost we must be sure there are no sharp teeth or fear issues. Rearing is a killer in our discipline (sport horses). My full time rider has already had his shin bone broken and pushed out through both his skin AND his leather boots by one rearer and severe concussion by another so we don't take it lightly. First rule is he gets off the horse, second rule is the horse gets one single hard whap in the belly with the whip. We also stand stallions here and handle young colts most of whom mature well over 16.2hh. Rearing comes naturally to them so has to be taught that it's not acceptable when being led or ridden. Also, let's face it, some handlers love to be seen with a "prancing rearing stallion". It seems to be an ego thing but it's not funny. Same rule applies to horses in hand. If any stallion rears in hand, he gets a sting on the belly. It works every time, none are permanently offended or in the least bit afraid of me, just RESPECT me. I handle all the stallions used for natural cover and if they were afraid of me they wouldn't do their job, believe me. Their belly is one of their most vulnerable places to attack by predators and they quickly learn not to expose it to me! I don't want a shod hoof with half a ton of stallion on the other end, coming down on my head! The behaviour of many mini stallions I've seen here leaves a lot to be desired. It's darn dangerous and totally unacceptable behaviour. Too many people are afraid of disciplining bad and dangerous behaviour at the risk of "offending" their beloved animals. Crazy!

As for driving... I got run away with once years ago so never again, and will leave that to the experts

:

Kate

 

[horsesmakeubroke]

Just wanted to say with regard to rearing when tied, I agree with Marty, let him get on with it and only go over to him when he's standing quietly. You may need to tie him a little shorter too. Horses soon tire of dirty tricks once they don't work.

K