One of the equine flaws hardest to set right is rearing. It can be lethal for both rider and pony, and at its best, can be a scaring experience for the rider.

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

A large amount of noise is generated about tie downs being the best solutions. Other suggestions laud martingales and “popping”. Tie downs and martingales do not address the root cause, they just touch upon the symptoms. They fundamentally refer to the strategy 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. Varied concepts about popping advise using rolled up newspapers, although where the rider suddenly is going to get a rolled newspaper isn’t mentioned. Some more exotic suggestions advise hitting the pony on the head with a bag full of water, so that the pony gets the mistaken concept he’s been hurt and is bleeding. Again, this would suggest that each time you ride, you take along a bag full of water.

Actually , horses infrequently rear. You can confirm this by watching wild horses, or perhaps horses in a paddock. They rear only when at play or in a fight. Horses are fight or run animals, and would much prefer to flee from suspected danger. If the pony feels compelled to battle, he uses biting and kicking as his weapons. You can well understand that rearing is not an inborn response 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 wounding him. If the horse has injuries or other problems in his mouth, that will cause rearing. In cases like these, a horse rears as a reaction to pain. A horse also rears out of disappointment if he is in a difficult situation and finds no possible way out of it. Whenever your horse rears, inspect his mouth and his teeth immediately and change his bit to the softest one you have on hand.

Reading and stopping rears

Typically, you can make out if your pony is preparing to rear. If he is at ease and moving as you need him to while on the bit, he’s not going to be rearing. If he does intend to rear, he will telegraph his intentions early: he will back up and go down in a crouch on his hind legs. When faced with this situation , 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 will move that way and forget about rearing.

If your horse does rear, what do you do?

At all costs, 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 feeling 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 extremely 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 confirm your horse’s mouth and teeth are in healthy shape. Generally, leave it to the professionals to handle a pony that has a bias to rear.

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