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[RC] Rearing - Arabs4sprtI have to step into this one for just a few comments. My 18 year old Arabian mare reared when I got her as a 4 year old. We would begin a trail ride get to the point where we were about to go out of sight of the barn and she would plant her feet, I'd kick her forward and she'd just stand there. I'd kick harder and she would start backing up. I'd kick her again and finally she would rear. Not very high, more like a levade than a rear. And she would stay there, in the air, just hanging there. Since this was my first experience with this sort of thing I didn't really know what to do. So since kicking wasn't working I just leaned forward and waited. After about 15 or 20 seconds she would come down. I'd kick again, she'd rear up again, I'd wait, she'd come back down. After a while she got tired of it and just walked a few steps forward. I praised her. After a while she reared less and less. Now keep in mind that she was never dangerous when she was rearing, she was more like the Breyer statue of the rearing horse, poised, balanced, but not really doing anything else. Since I'd had a QH racing mare who was spookier than any Arab I've ever ridden the kind of rearing my Arab mare did didn't bother me. What bothered me was that she wouldn't go forward. My point is that I accidentally did the right thing by being patient with her. She got past her balking (which is what the rearing really was), and I didn't lose my temper and make it worse. I can recommend a proceedure for a rearing horse who is just balking because I later used this technique to get her be happier out on the trail when what she really wanted was to go back to the barn -- get a friend to go out with you on a walking trail ride, this person should be on foot. Make sure your horse is wearing a halter with lead rope attached, or a halter-bridle with lead rope, as well as a bit and bridle. When the horse plants the feet and stops, the person on the ground takes the lead rope and walks the horse a little further on, say 20 feet. (Caution don't do this if the horse is rearing in a dangerous manner or doesn't have good ground manners.) If the horse has any decent ground training at all the horse will walk along and have a very confused look on its face. As soon as the horse seems to be walking well the person on the ground hands the lead rope back to the person riding the horse. You continue on as if nothing has happened, talk about the weather etc., nice and calm, until the horse plants its feet again. When that happens the rider once again hands the lead rope to the person on the ground and that person walks the horse forward. You continue this way until you have made the complete riding loop that you intended. (Don't walk your assistant's legs off, a half mile or a mile ride is all you need.) The idea is to get the horse used to being away from its fellow horses, to begin to trust the rider, and to fall back on previous positive experiences (being led is hopefully a positive experience). To make it an even better experience have the assistant carry some treats for the horse and before turning back toward the stable stop and praise the horse and give it the treats. This reinforces the idea that "out there" away from the stable is a good thing as opposed to an evil scary thing. This really worked and to my dressage teacher's chagrin transformed my levading/rearing horse into a horse that loves going out for trail rides, she has never levaded again. It only took 2 of these rides before my mare was happy going out from the barn by herself. I've read a book recently that would have saved me a lot of time developing that method for getting my mare over her fears (14 years ago), it is called "You Can Train Your Horse To Do Anything!" by Shawna and Vinton Karrasch. I got it for Christmas this past year and I love it. They use clicker and target training with a totally reward based system to train and retrain all kinds of bad behaviors into willing enthusiastic partners. Now I will use the occassional slap on a horse, but I reserve that for situations in which other horses would do the same thing for example when a young horse tries to assert dominance over you by threatening to bite or kick, but I use that only under those circumstances and I always try to provide a good reward for correct behavior. I never use physical force with a horse that is scared, that only reinforces that there is something the horse should be scared of. Other than that I have been trying to use reward alone and let me tell you it is amazing how fast the horses catch on that there is something in it for them -- if they can only figure out what you want them to do! It works with scared horses, I've been able to retrain a horse that was afraid of trailers because she had been in a trailer accident using a reward system where other systems using release of discomfort (you know irritate them by tapping with the whip until they move forward) failed utterly. She now practically runs to the trailer to jump in because of the reward system. This is not some "horse whisperer" system, this is the same system that they use at Sea World to train the animals there! This is basic psychology, people and animals learn much faster and easier with positive reinforcement than with negative reinforcement. In fact it is the same system that you should be hoping the schools are using to get your kids to learn enthusiastically! And best of all it really works. My two cents. Tracy Scheinkman Misty Mountain Arabian Sport Horses Tucson, AZ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= http://www.endurance.net/ads/seabiscuit.html Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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