A friend of mine rode my horse a few weeks ago, and said that she reared out of the blue and completely flipped over onto her back. Both walked away without any injuries thankfully, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to help prevent rearing? She has never reared before, and I'm not sure if it was an isolated incident or what. She is VERY sensitive on her mouth, which is why I've been riding her in a halter and she has been fine with it. When my friend rode her, she rode her in this hackamore:
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?...
which seems pretty light, even though it has long shanks. Do you think maybe this hackamore may have been too rough on her?
Answers:
This is probably something caused by your friend, but pay attention to the water balloon on top of the head.
Never hit your horse in the top of the head with anything else, even the lightest little crop. A friend of mine did that and it landed just right to blind her horse. The sight came back 3 weeks later, but she had a totally blind horse for 3 weeks and the vet thought his sight might never return. My brother in law hit one on top of the head with a light whip and wasn't as lucky...it blinded his permanantly.
Hopefully, if you are careful with that sensitive mouth, it won't happen again. Maybe your friend was just a bit rough.
Best wishes
If this is the first incident, I wouldn't worry too much. Had you ever ridden her with the hackamore on?
Likely she got a fright from something.
Bad thing for her to do!! Water balloons over her head!!
I'm not sure if it was the hackamore, but the next time she rears hit her between the ears hard with a crop. She shouldn't do it again.
I doubt it was the hackamore that made her rear. I can't believe that she would be that sensitive. But, you never know with horses. Could it have been a spook? Or was it malicious? Or was she just being playful? If it was malicious, then you need to bop her between the ears or give her a good smack somewhere because that behavior is dangerous and uncalled for. You could try a martingale to keep her head down which could in turn prevent a rear. But if it was a spook or she was being playful, she'll most likely grow out of that. But again, if she doesn't work with a trainer to help her become more bombproof and relaxed.
If it seems really out of character something could have scared her (maybe something moved under her feet) or the hackamore could have been bothering her, especially if it was the first time she was being ridden with it. If it becomes a habit, though, you should look into hiring a trainer to help with the problem.
That hackamore is not harsh, if used properly, although that is the long shanked version and would have more whoa---unless your mare dislikes hackamores, it is not likely this was the cause. No offense, but maybe your friend just doesn't ride well; put your mare into a situation where she felt she had no other option but to go up and once up, she lost her balance and fell over or your friend panicked and pulled her over. A lot of horses that rear, have no intentions of flipping over, it is more of a warning to get off their face--- the rider can pull them over by yanking on the reins when they are up in the air.
Since this was a one time thing, I wouldn't be too worried, but I wouldn't let my friends come ride my horse without me there.
You could have been held liable had she been injured.
Glad both are ok!
There is no way to prevent rearing, but you can get her used to a bit in her mouth.
I would use a short shanked training bit (I use long shanks, but in your case, use short). You can get one @ Millbrook for $20 dollars.
Then you can switch her to a Tom Thumb after you feel comfortable using the training bit.
I've done this, %26 it works.
I have a 20 years experience riding and training horses and have rarely found hitting a horse in the head to be the answer. Rearing can be a dangerous problem, but with the right training your horse will probably be fine. I would recommend looking into natural horsemanship for your horse, especially since she is sensitive in the mouth, I've done it both ways (conventional and natural horsemanship) and I've found that I have much more success using natural horsemanship methods. Clinton Anderson is my favorite natural horsemanship trainer (downunderhorsemanship.com) Depending on your experience level I would recommend a professional work with you and your horse, so that you both become successful together. Good luck, and please don't hit your horse on the head while you are riding, you could both be seriously hurt.
LET IT FREE! if i doesn't like you than why keep it? find another horse that has already been trained to be nice.
Geez! A good tie down will help stop that! Better get control of that situation! Thats more then just "Bad! Bad! Horse!" People get killed that way you know! Either you smack him between the ears when he comes up (Make it uncomfortable for him) or keep a cell phone with you to call 911, if your still breathing!
right before i would've buy this horse, he started having a rearing problem. we found out that he felt trapped in the bridle. we tried a hackamore and a bridle with a bit. what saved my life was a tie-down. if he hadn't had it on, he would've flipped with me on him and most likely would've killed me. that was a great gaming horse, but because i didn't buy him, i got an even better gaming horse! don't have anyone ride that horse until a trainer comes and works with him. my trainer also had a rearing horse, and sold to a trainer who broke her out of that habit, and she hasn't reared since, but you can never get it out of a horse, you help them to get rid of the urge. tell your friend to sell to a trainer who can help him, and use the money to buy a better, safer horse!
The hackamore acts by applying pressure to the nose, chin groove ( by curb chain) and poll. This can be quite severe if used in a heavy handed way and is a lot different to a halter. I could believe that the rearing was simply an attempt to escape from uncomfortable pressure on her head.
If she has never done it before or since I wouldn't worry too much but take care of how other people may ride your horse.
It sounds as though you are describing what's called a mechanical hackamore, and not a regular hackamore or bosal. Mechanical hackamores can actually be very severe if they have long shanks, if they are in the wrong hands and used roughly, just as any bit can also be severe. Mechanical hackamores use leverage as a principal, and that leverage could possibly cause a horse to rear if jerked or pulled roughly.
I agree this is a serious problem. But I have no clue how anyone manages to hit a horse on the head when they rear up. Yes, I suppose it could be done if your horse is doing the little "half rear" thing where they are just complaining and fussing and you have some spare time and you can swing something and whack them on the head. Is it a good idea? I'm not so certain, there is the possibility of harming your horse but even more than that there is the possibility of getting yourself off balance and flipping off. But I have a mare that has reared once or twice this year, and when she rears up she really, really goes high very quickly. If anyone thinks they could stay on and somehow still manage to smack the horse on the head, then they are by far better bronc riders than myself or my trainer. I would assume that if your horse flipped over she reared high, fast and hard, and I seriously doubt that anyone could have bopped her on the head to stop the rear.
Rearing is one time that it does not pay to try to pull your horse's head to the side. In fact, the best thing to do is to keep your weight forward so you don't pull your horse over backwards and yell "whoa". A tie-down might be a help, if you adjust it to fit properly. More than that, my first suggestion would be to find a less harsh hackamore or smooth simple snaffle bit. If this was a one time event you're probably going to be okay. If it happens again you are going to have to consider whether you want to sell this horse or send her to a trainer. Rearing is a serious and dangerous problem - I should know since I ride one that has that streak deep inside her when things get really rough. And I don't like it one bit.
Good luck and keep safe.
Well, if it was an isolated incident, it was probably a combination of the hackamore and your friend. Some horses do not like the pressure that a hackamore puts on their nose and chin(and poll)...I know one of my horses will do a half-rear with a curb chain - he absolutely doesn't like the pressure. I have never had a problem in a regualr snaffle, so I just avoid curb chans(he's a Hunter anyway). If your friend is heavy handed and pulled too hard, that is probably why your horse reared. I perosnally, would not allow her to ride my horse...what if she causes the mare to rear and hurts or kills herself or the mare. Rearing, and especially flipping is EXTREMELY dangerous! I wouldn't allow her to ride just to be safe. If it doesn't happen again, you will know the cause. If the mare starts rearing more often, then she is probably in pain and a thorough vet check will be in order to rule out physical issues before dealing with it as a training issue. I will say what I always do, rearing is not something to mess with...if she becomes a chronic rearer with no reason I would not deal with it. My life is worth more than riding a rearer. But, hopefully this was an isolated even cause by your friend and will not happen again if you don't allow her to ride your horse.
try bitless it has no bit lol but its still a bridle
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