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[RC] I'll take your rearing horse - Andrea DayI wasn't going to reply on the rearing horse issue, but the answers that have been sent in have me gritting my teeth. Biting, hitting on the head? Maybe for some of those ugly, cold-blooded "sevana" horses they used to get off the range, but NOT an Arab.When you're done bashing on your rearing horse, and he's totally goofy and throwing himself over backwards, give him to me so I can spend a year or more making him a nice horse again. Not trolling, the sarcasm comes from having rehabed three of the nicest Arabs with severe rearing problems. Actually, the problems were with the owners/trainers. One 5 yo horse was on the way to the slaughterhouse--same scenerio, he'd been trained and drilled in an arena until he would just throw himself over in frustration/confusion and lay on the ground while they whipped on him to get up. The final "cure" was to break a water balloon over his head--after they finished picking pieces of broken arena fence out of him, they were going to send him on the kill truck till a friend pursuaded them to give him to me. When I got him, I ponied him for three months and spent hours grooming him, sitting on him bareback with a halter and asking NOTHING of him, and working to overcome a fear of water by putting the hose on his legs and running mud puddles. It took 18 mos of quiet riding, never pushing, just asking, ignoring the half-rears and reassessing situations to make the horse the "winner" to get him over/through it. At the root of the problem was this horse's extreme sensitivity--when he was whomped on, he went mental. A loud tone of voice was enough to send him quivering. Even now at 16, he gets terribly upset in an arena, according to his present owner. And she can't sponge his face. The second horse was again a sensitivity issue. Too much bit, too much spur, too much cowboy, too much at once. This 3 yo Arab horse was pulled over backwards to "cure" her. She came to me after he pulled back on the lead rope one too many times and the owner smacked her in the rump with a 2x4, causing her to leap over the hitch rail and bash into a window, breaking the glass and cutting herself around the head. It took time, time, time, quiet handling, lots of touch and kindness as she was terribly headshy. After a chiro fix and teeth floating, things got much better. I finally got rid of the bit as she couldn't handle the least bumping or pressure at a bad moment. After that, it was pretty close to the instant cure, as long as she wasn't pushed and was allowed to think. This was a very shallow mouthed horse that was WONDERFUL to ride in an arena setting with a snaffle, EXTREMELY responsive to leg and bit, but needed a steady rider with perfect hands. Endurance was too much. She was much happier as a quiet trail horse for an older gal who loved her dearly. Unfortunately, she died at age 14 from a twisted gut. The woman then gave up riding at 65, as she said she'd never find a nicer, more trusting, willing, SAFE horse. The third horse was a 6 yo that I bought for $150. The owner and trainer had whipped and spurred this horse, put tie-downs on, bashed him on the head with a bottle, pulled him over backwards, and finally gave up. For my $150, I got a goofy horse and a lecture about how I was going to be killed, since nothing would cure this horse. I took off all the rigging and all the pressure. First, I brushed and brushed and brushed to gain his trust. When he was relaxed, I saddled him and led him everywhere till he could handle that. Then I got on and we walked. And walked. And walked. When the tension went out of him, then I tried a trot, no pressure. If he could only go ten steps without getting tense, that's all the trot we did that day. Everything was on flat open ground, down easy two-track trail, no water to cross or hills to climb. When I started to ask for water crossing, I picked the easiest, flattest ford I could find, and made sure the horse hadn't had water all day before working. Took him up to the water, he balked, and I just sat there. If he wanted to balk, fine. I sat. If he wanted to back up, I let him, and sat. If he wanted to fling himself sideways, I sat. Didn't get upset. When he settled, I'd ask him gently to go forward. Eventually, he drank. I sat. Just waited. It helped that home was on the other side of the creek. Probably took 45 minutes, but eventually, with me just sitting there, he crossed the water. The only time that horse reared with me in the three years I owned him was when he got his front legs into barbed wire on the ground when I was riding at dusk. My fault for not teaching him to hobble. IMO, with an Arab, force is not going to cure a rearing habit. Most rearers are over-bitted and pushed too hard. If it's a bad history, patience and retraining is the only thing. If the horse is a spoiled shit, then more patience and retraining. It helps to know how to sit a rear, and not to be afraid of it. LET YOUR REINS GO SLACK, grab mane, lean forwards, put your face to the side, but keep your weight centered. As he comes down, move him, turn him, do something to make him keep his feet on the ground. If you can feel the horse beginning to rear, gig him with your heels and try to get him moving. A horse can't rear if he's strongly moving forwards. If he goes up instead of forwards, you probably have a more serious problem than his just testing you. Figure out why he rears--is he afraid, hurting, being a shit, doesn't like water? Ground driving and ponying are great. You might even turn him out alone for two weeks and do NOTHING to him but feed and water him. Then bring him in and do nothing but brush and handle him from the ground for two weeks. Teach him to bow. Do Team Touch. Find his itchy spots and scratch them. Teach him to drop his head for a halter. Then you can start him all over again, pretending he's a colt that has never seen a saddle or bridle. Go slow. Have patience. It didn't get broke overnight, and it's not going to get fixed that way either. /end diatribe Andrea _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= http://www.endurance.net/ads/seabiscuit.html Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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