From: Kathy
I have a nine year old TB gelding that hadn't been ridden for a while before I got him. I'm schooling him but I have a problem. If he doesn't want to do something he rears. He's already fallen on me once and I don't want a repetition of that. I have tried some basic leg yielding exercises and I would like to teach him a rein-back. The problem is how am I going to go about doing this? I give him the correct aids but no such luck. I don't want to argue with him in case he goes up. So I really need help. This horse has a lot of potential that I don't want to waste. Help please! many thanx
Kathy
Before you work with the horse, even with help, have the veterinarian out to look at him. Not even the best trainer in the world will be able to help you if your horse is rearing because he's in pain. Tell the veterinarian what has been happening, and ask him to check the horse thoroughly, but with particular attention to his mouth (teeth and tongue and bars and cheeks) and his back -- and his feet. Show the veterinarian your tack, tack up the horse, and ask him to evaluate the fit and suitability of your saddle and bit. If there's a piece of equipment that's hurting the horse, you won't be able to put the horse's behaviour right until you've taken away the pain, and whatever caused the pain. A harsh bit or an ill-fitting bit can cause a great deal of pain, as can a saddle with a broken tree -- or a saddle that doesn't fit the horse's back, or a cheap, badly-made saddle that doesn't fit ANY horse's back, or a perfectly nice saddle that fits well but is placed incorrectly on the horse's back (too far forward is VERY common). And sore feet can make any horse reluctant to move forward. . .
While the vet is there, tell him about the horse's living conditions, diet, and exercise program -- even a quiet, naturally docile horse can become agitated and out of control if it is overfed and kept in a stall. If this is the case with your horse, you might have a much easier time if he were fed according to his work load, and allowed to live in a field.
If the vet finds a physical cause -- or suggests a drastic change in management -- don't do anything else until you've made the changes. If the vet can find nothing wrong anywhere, call the trainer, explain what you've just done, and confirm that appointment!
When you have someone to help you, and you are both wearing your helmets (meeting current ASTM/SEI or BSI standards), you can begin.
First, let me say this: the rein-back is the LAST thing that you or anyone else should be trying to teach this horse right now. His problem is precisely a lack of forward movement -- when you ask him to GO, you want him to go FORWARD, not UP, and certainly not UP and OVER BACKWARD. Leave the rein-back off your list of things to do with this horse -- don't even THINK about it until this rearing problem is put right.
In fact, if you keep this horse, I would leave off the riding, and go back to basics with this horse. Groundwork, longeing, and long-lining are indicated here! Take your time, make everything clear to the horse, and train him from the ground up, as though he were a green three-year-old just up from the farm. You're going to have to begin again, and establish -- nicely -- who is in charge of whom! It sounds as though the horse is in charge right now, and he's probably not very happy about that -- horses prefer to follow; they would like YOU to be the leader.
You have no way of knowing what his experiences have been, or what his expectations are -- he may think that you WANT him to rear! You've said that you don't want to argue with him -- he may think that when he rears and you stop telling him what to do, it's because that's the behaviour you wanted.
It's also quite possible that he doesn't know as much as you think he does. When you say that you "give him the correct aids" and he doesn't respond, have you considered the possibility that he doesn't know what they mean? Horses aren't born knowing the aids -- they have to be taught what the aids mean, and what responses the rider wants from each aid, and from each combination of aids. Repeating aids that he doesn't understand will simply make him frustrated -- just as you would be frustrated if someone were shouting at you in a language you didn't know. If the shouting continued and you couldn't get away, you would probably do one of two things: learn to ignore it entirely, or react violently, hitting or pushing the person who was shouting. So you can understand what the horse may be feeling -- the problem is, if he falls on you, it won't matter whether it was your fault, his fault, or whether he was struck by lightning. YOU will suffer for it.
You can't know, or change, his history, so what you will have to do, if you want to keep this horse, is create a NEW history beginning NOW. You can create new experiences and expectations in this horse if you are willing to invest the time and effort, and if you truly feel that it is worth the risk.
Think hard before you decide to keep a horse that needs retraining, that has a dangerous habit, and that frightens you. Riding should be enjoyable, and you would be better off with a horse that is well-trained and fun to ride. You can't learn or improve while you are tense, and you won't be able to relax on a horse you don't trust. There is NO SHAME in being sensible and giving up a horse with this sort of problem. And there's something else to consider: even with a "normal" horse, training is an art, and my impression is that you are not yet experienced enough to be training a horse, let alone one with a problem that makes him dangerous. You will gain that experience in time, but you need to learn on more suitable animals.
I understand that you don't want to waste this horse's potential, but what worries me is his potential to hurt you very badly. Horses generally develop characteristic resistances (usually for good cause, but that's no comfort to you when you're in hospital!), and revert to those resistances when they are frightened or hurt or in new situations. I would worry that this horse, even in the hands of a very experienced, kind, and competent professional, would revert to this behaviour at a show, or on the road. Many trainers are unwilling to take on a horse that rears and goes over backward, because they know exactly how serious this problem is, and how dangerous it is for the rider -- ANY rider.
There are many nice horses in the world, and many horses with good potential. It would be nice if you could live long enough to enjoy a SERIES of nice horses, and someday have the pleasure of training a nice young horse of your own! Please get some help, and let me know what the vet says -- and the trainer -- and whether they manage to put him right.
Jessica
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