The rearing horse, part 2: when it's not the horse's fault

Oh lord.

You know how I said the other day that there's nothing that terrifies me more than a rearing horse?  Especially if the rearing is sudden and unpredictable, and has little to do with the rider?

This video is an example of the OPPOSITE of unpredictable rearing (thanks to Fugly Horse of the Day for leading me to a distinct rise in blood pressure and these few minutes of my life I can never get back).  Watch on...





There is so much wrong with this video it's hard for me to even know where to start.  In no particular order:

1. Unbroke horse in huge shank bit on a tight rein
2. Stupid idiot on horse in shorts and tennis shoes
3. No arena (not a requirement for breaking horses, but a darn good idea)
4. No helmet (this one's debatable, but it's a still good idea given the circumstances)
5. Hightly distracting and stressful environment
6. Uncapped T-poles for the pasture near enough to get impaled on (uncapped t-posts anywhere are a big no-no...I have a personal story about that one for later)
7. Stupid idiot is wearing spurs too (OH HE ISN'T?? That's a miracle!  We have to give him credit for one thing, I guess)

 Remember how I said before (I did, didn't I?) that horses will rear as a result of too much information that a horse can't make sense of?  This video is a perfect example of that.  He's hauling back on the reins which are attached to a truly horrific looking bit (on an unbroke horse!), which the other guy pulls her head, and he attempts to kick her forward.  It doesn't look to me like she could be much more braced and tense.  She's getting so many mixed messages that she doesn't know what to do...so she rears.  And I think it was completely justified.

He also just leaps up there with no finesse or concern for her well-being, lands hard, and screws with his stirrups FOREVER.  And what does she do?  Nothing.  She stands patiently, even though she's nervous.  She thinks that is what she is supposed to do.  She is a good horse.

So who didn't see that coming?  Was she just going to stand there being pulled all sorts of directions, in pain forever?  Nope...

This is also a perfect example of: Brute Force Ain't No Way to Train a Horse.

This is so far away from "feel" that it's not even in the same universe.

And what has this horse learned from this...ahem, "training session"?

Looks to me like she's learned that someone will get on her, hurt her mouth, yank her head, and kick her sides until she rears and dumps them.

I also love how the other spectator runs away from the horse after the guy falls off, like she's some sort of "crazed, dang'rus an'mal, y'all!!"

What a terrific start.

Lord, that poor animal.

I think we all need a little "brain bleach" after that one, don't we?  So here's one of my favorite rides of all time:  Dr. Klimke and his marvelous horse, Ahlerich, performing in New York in 1987--and still brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it.  I wish I could have found a clip that was better quality. Enjoy!

The rearing horse

I have been suffering from some pretty hardcore insomnia lately.

You may have noticed almost all of my posts are written after midnight.

Well, tonight's viewing of close to one million horse videos on youtube is not helping the situation.

A while back, after much hemming and hawing, I wrote I response to a woman who was wondering what to do when her (admittedly very green) horse turned to face her and started popping off his front end into a rear.  If you want, you can read the original thread here:  http://equine-mind-meld.2312922.n4.nabble.com/Stopping-rearing-before-it-becomes-a-habit-td4336642.html

I'm not going to lie--there is NOTHING that terrifies me more than the rearing horse.

I have seen them go up and over backwards on top of people.

I hope it is NEVER something I have to experience.  I haven't ever seen anyone killed by it, but with the rearing horse, getting crushed is always a possibility.  And I'm just not willing to take that risk.

Me and horses have an understanding: under NO circumstances, EVER is rearing around humans okay.

That is in regards to humans on the ground, and in the saddle.

Rearing, striking, squealing, bucking in the pasture with your horse buddies is all okay.  That's the appropriate place for that behavior.

Therefore, I don't feel a shred of guilt coming down fast and hard on a horse that is getting up in the forehand.

I had to teach Chev how to lunge.  She came to me able to be saddled, and someone could sit on her back.  She was mellow as all get-out, and I give her previous owners serious props for teaching her to load and not spoiling her in any way.

She didn't have a clue about lunging, which is just fine at about 3 when she started her education.  There were brief bouts of airs above the ground, as young horses do--but she quickly learned that rearing got her NOWHERE.  Well, nowhere but a whole heck of a lot more work.

I deal with the rearing horse very aggressively.  If not due to pain, rearing is the biggest finger your horse can give you.  It is the most basic gesture not only of disrespect, but active aggression.  And, I'm sorry.  But I am the head honcho any time I'm around a horse.  When I lunge I carry a lunge whip, and I am not afraid to use it.  That being said, my main weapons are always stomping, rapid arm waving and screaming like a banshee.

As soon as the horse is going at a respectful clip away from me and has completely forgotten about rearing, I back off.

It's pretty simple.

Aggressive behavior from horse = THE MEGAN OF ABSOLUTE TERROR!!

Horsey rears, and subsequently thinks he is about to meet his maker.  That's how terrible I become.

'Course, you have to be fair when you have this kind of power, or else you're just a Terrorist.

I always back off when I get the response I want.

Notice I didn't say "back down".  I back off.  I remove the pressure I was putting on horsey so I send a clear signal about what behavior is okay.

Therefore horsey becomes respectful of my position without being afraid of me.

A lot of people think this is cruel.

Personally I think what happens to a horse after he's labeled (with good reason) a rearer and a man-killer is worse.

So it's better to avoid this whole problem as much as possible.

Tonight I watched a lot of videos of horses rearing, trying to pinpoint the moment they set their mind to it.

The really terrifying thing about the rearing horse is they can do it with almost no warning.

This video stopped my heart.  Fortunately for both horse and rider, he did exactly what needed to happen to save the situation.  Had he pulled back or not held to the horse's neck, I think it's very likely the horse would have gone over backwards with him aboard.




Didn't your heart stop for a few seconds when you watched that?

I want to stress again, this rear appears to have nothing to do with the rider whatsoever, and everything to do with what they say is an abscess that burst from his hoof the next day.  I think it's pretty apparent from the video that the abscess was in the right front hoof, as you can see the horse avoiding putting weight on it throughout the video--one hard step onto the hoof seems to be what sets him off.  When he feels his rider has heard him, he stops.  Much to the man's relief, I'm sure.

So that, my friends, is why I don't tolerate rearing in any form.  I consider even a little pop off the front legs a certain precursor to full on rearing, which once the seed has been planted, is a tough thing to "un-train".

The woman with the young rearing horse got all sorts of advice from people who said she was pushing her horse too hard.

The horse is a 4-year-old Arabian gelding who has enjoyed a cushy life as a pasture puff up until this point.

Unlike the horse above, and while I'm hesitant to say anything without actually seeing said horse, I'm pretty sure he was just expressing his displeasure about being asked to do anything more than eat carrots and hay all day.

I don't think 4 years old is too young to learn to go around in a large circle on the line.

Nor do I think you do your baby any favors by keeping him on a short rope--it just causes more stress and torsion on joints that aren't yet well developed.

Get him out on the line, and make him and his little uneducated hooves stay out there.  It's about time for your little young'un to learn about personal space.

The girl in this next video doesn't seem to have any clue that her poor riding seems to be this horse's primary reason for his behavior.  She doesn't even seem to understand how dangerous this can be, since she describes this as "just goofing around".




I think to the horse-tuned it's pretty obvious how unhappy this horse is throughout the whole ride--I feel like I saw no fewer than 7 moments before the rear that told me that ride was going south, FAST.  And she ignored all the warnings.  So, there you have it.  It's a great contrast to the video above, because this poor horse's entire problem seems to be his rider!  She doesn't even have a clue that she's training her horse to respond with this behavior every time.  Not that she deserves better behavior, since she's listening to him so little.

No wonder comments are disabled.

I'm sure pretty soon the horse will be "too naughty to be ridable."  Sure.  Totally his fault.  Poor thing.

Nip it in the bud!