One of the equine failings hardest to set right is rearing. It can be fatal for both rider and horse, and at its very finest, could be a horrifying experience for the rider.

To cure a pony of his rearing habit, you have first got to work out why he does it.

A lot of noise is generated about tie downs being the ideal solutions. Other proposals laud martingales and “popping”. Tie downs and martingales don’t address the main cause, they just touch on the symptoms. They essentially refer to the technique of forcing down your horse’s head if he should rear. Popping involves slapping a rearing horse between his ears, to give him the impression he hit his head on something when he reared. Various ideas about popping advise using rolled up newspapers, although where the rider suddenly is going to get a rolled newspaper is not explained. Some more exotic recommendations advise hitting the pony on the head with a bag full of water, so that the pony gets the mistaken concept he has been hurt and is bleeding. Again, this would suggest that each time you ride, you take along a plastic bag full of water.

In fact horses rarely rear. You can confirm this by watching wild horses, or maybe horses in a paddock. They rear only when at play or in a fight. Horses are fight or flight animals, and prefer to flee from perceived danger. If the pony feels forced to battle, he uses biting and kicking as his weapons. You can well understand that rearing is not an inborn reaction to any kind of circumstance.

Well then, what does make a pony rear? A horse rears in response to a heavy hand, or as a reaction to a bit that’s not fitting well and isn’t comfy or injuring him. If the horse has wounds or other problems in his mouth, that can cause rearing. In such cases, a horse rears as a reaction to agony. A pony also rears out of frustration if he is in a stressful situation and finds no way out of it. Whenever your horse rears, inspect his mouth and his teeth straight away and change his bit to the softest one you have on hand.

Reading and stopping rears

Generally, you can make out if your pony is about to rear. If he is at ease and moving as you need him to while on the bit, he is not going to be rearing. If he does intend to rear, he will telegraph his desire early: he’ll back up and go down in a crouch on his hind legs. When faced with this scenario don’t pull back on the reins; bring the horse’s head round in either direction and give him a leg cue in that direction. He’s going to move that way and forget rearing.

If your horse does rear, what do you do?

At any cost, avoid pulling back on the reins. Maintain your legs in normal position and see if you can lean forward. Put your hands around your horse’s neck and hold on. As he hits ground after his rear, nudge him forward in a new direction to discourage another rear. If you get the impression your pony is going to flip over, get your feet out of the stirrups and get off the horse by sliding down his back. Horses that flip over should be handled by a professional, as they can be deeply dangerous.

Always use soft hands on the bit and keep your pony going forward. Make sure you have a bit that will not chafe unnecessarily, and ensure your horse’s mouth and teeth are in healthy shape. Generally, leave it to the professionals to deal with a pony that has a bias to rear.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse blanket