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| Bad new experience! |
(And a very long post in which I try to sort out my brain!)
Today, a ride with A-Horse-I-Will-Not-Name (in interests of privacy) introduced me to one of the few horsey things I had really hoped not to experience--and that I hadn't experienced before today! (Let's just say it was not the Rhapsody girl, in case anyone is worried!)
I got reared with. Not just once, twice. With another half-hearted attempt thrown in for good measure.
Said horse also bit at my leg and bucked pretty good, at different times.
I did not come off, or at any point feel like I was going to come off, for which I am rather proud of myself, and we finished in the round pen with two steps of decent walk and a stop that I asked for. I did get a little freaked out though as I did not want said horse to flip over. It wasn't going up that high, but not knowing what was causing this issue, and knowing it hasn't reared under saddle in the past, I was afraid it might end up getting unbalanced up there and cause us all some major grief.
I am greatly puzzled though. I was not holding said horse's mouth. Once or twice I forgot and pulled on the reins to slow down, but overall I had either a slight loop or a very, very light contact. And I know Horse is used to a stronger contact, so I doubt it was my holding its face that was bothering it. I didn't have a martingale or any sort of gadget on it. When I felt that "lightness" in the forehand preceding the rear, I really threw the reins at it.
I was also very much encouraging forward, even though we were only walking when all of this occurred (we only walked for the whole ride). Horse was very "stuck" behind my leg though, and extremely resentful of leg cues (hence biting), as well as taps on the shoulder. I felt like the rearing/etc. was more of a response to my aids for forward than anything. But we had no trouble with girthing or with hand pressure where my heels would have been (on the ground), so I doubt ulcers or colic or some such thing.
I did put Horse in a different bit. I don't know what kind it was. Ha I am terrible at remembering bit names. It was like this only a full-cheek. But perhaps it was too much bit? It isn't supposed to be harsh though. But I will definitely go back to my standby simple full-cheek snaffle for our next ride. Still it is a scary response.
I did get unbalanced just prior to the bucking fit (which preceded the really-refusing-to-go-forward and the rearing). It was a quick collapse forward that I fixed quickly. So I didn't get after Horse for the bucking as I felt it was more than half my fault. Perhaps I should have. Either way, I didn't.
I did get off the first time it reared, as I didn't want to make things worse and didn't want to endanger myself or other people. We went straight into groundwork and longe work though. The second/third time I stayed on till I felt we were pretty well on earth, then got off and did groundwork and longe work, then got back on. Rinse and repeat about 2 more times and finally we got that walk and stop when I asked and at that I praised extravagantly and got off.
Horse worked okay on the longe. Moved forward w/t/c with some encouragement. Some sassiness and attitude but not much. Is it my hands? Or is it that my balance is not 100%? But my balance is not that bad. I mean I can stay on a great many things and not get unbalanced. Was I nagging with my legs? Either way I am not happy with this method of expressing unhappiness!
Baffled. Need ideas. I will be asking people-who-know, but in the meantime thoughts? :)
Not much help here... Eek!
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah. It was freaky. Don't aim to repeat it anytime soon!
DeleteSounds like a horse with discomfort or pain, expressing itself in the only ways it knows how. The bit or your hands would not be my first guess....
ReplyDeleteI know, but what IS causing it? The saddle I had was a Western one we use on any horse that might have saddle fit issues. Could be dental/chiro stuff I suppose...it's about 4-5 years old so teeth might be changing. Hope not as it might take some persuading of the owner to spend money on it to get that fixed...
DeleteSince my husband is an equine vet, I can imagine WAAAY too many things it could be, unfortunately. But you CAN do some things to try and parse out the problem. Think in terms of determining food allergies. Take nearly everything away, then slowly add back one thing at a time to see what triggers the symptoms. "Hot reactors" like the one you were riding can be easier to figure out than the stoic ones like I've had....
DeleteHaha I suppose that would be good and bad. I must say in general I envy you your vet-husband though. :) I suppose food allergies are a possibility. The horse is on 24/7 turnout with no extra grain/hay, but it's spring and everything is growing now, and the pasture it's in is new as of this year.
DeleteOops, I wasn't trying to imply that the bad behavior could be food allergies! I was trying to suggest a METHOD. Change one thing at a time – bit, saddle, location, etc. – to see if you can pinpoint a trigger to the bad behavior, which will give you clues to what area is painful or uncomfortable, i.e. teeth, back, neck, feet....
DeleteLol okay that makes more sense. :) I will be trying that for sure, while trying to keep us all safe of course! I also want to talk to the owner and see if we can get a general physical checkup done.
DeleteI used to have a horse that reared out of pain. I will tell you once thing: it can be SCARY. At least you have some sort of control with a buck and can pull their heads up and move on. Whenever a horse rears with me I constantly think of flipping over and that can be super scary. Once you learn to ride them it gets better but I would much prefer a buck!
ReplyDeleteHas this horse has any history of pulling these tricks with other people?
Yep that's what I was thinking the whole time--what if it flips?! Freaky. No, it's never so much as kicked out under saddle before. Which is why I'm wondering if it's a physical issue that has cropped up since it was ridden last?
DeleteThat is really strange! I hope you get everything worked out! I am interested in seeing how this progresses.
DeleteRearing is not for the faint of heart. Your description sounds par the course for the rearers I know. It may be a new behavior for this particular horse but its backed up unresponsiveness to leg and reinforcement sounds like the ones I've ridden.
ReplyDeleteIt may be due to a physical problem or horse may just be crafty and exploring new evasions.
So suggestions and questions I would explore...1. That bit should not have been a problem at least if it was as nice and fat as that one was. 2. Does horse move promptly forward on ground and longe? From whip (longe)? 3. No obvious sores in mouth or problems with teeth? 4. No obvious back pain? 5. You might check out some books on massage therapy for horses. 6. Under saddle with confirmed rearing horses go is where the focus should be. When rear if you can ride it drive horse assertively forward. If cant ride it turn it over to someone who can. Half way with a rearer is dangerous. You are on the right track with the loose rein. 7. You want to be able to anticipate and reinforce before the horse starts the rear if at all possible. I don't mean you should not reward the try nor am I saying that you should discipline the horse before it does something wrong but I am saying you need to step up the expectation that the horse eagerly and promptly responds to your forward aids. It is much better to have the horse move to quickly then balk. The bucking and rearing will both go away with forward. Ultimately you want the amount of go you intend from leg. An obedient response to the driving leg but in the beginning if you have a horse that is that backed away I would say go. Just go forward. No horse will run forever. Lol. Once the horse will go then you can worry about trying to get more controlled forward. I would even suggest going so far as working on downward transitions without any rein for the time being. Anyhow ask any questions you have have and I will ponder some and see what else I think of?
ReplyDeleteYour description makes me think this horse is reacting to pain. The first thing I would check is saddle fit. What type of body this horse have? High withers, wide back, etc? Some narrow, high-withered horses won't do well in a stock-horse type Western saddle with QH bars-it can come down too low and crush their withers. If it is a wide horse and the saddle has semi-QH bars, it might have been pinching his back. Sadly, no saddle fits every horse; even the treeless saddles aren't for every horse. (I looked into them at one point when I was looking at the 4th saddle in a 2 year period! Haha...So frustrating!) Of course, this can be a huge PITA when you discover the saddle on another person's horse doesn't fit the horse and you're expected to ride him, but the owner won't even consider having the saddle checked by a saddle fitter...had to go through that once, too. :/
ReplyDeleteThe sensitivity to your leg *might* indicate ulcers. We have a horse at our barn that suffers from gastric ulcers, and he kicks out when nudged with a heel while having a flare-up. This is fairly easy to check-is he sensitive when touched around the belly from the ground? Some horses are haven't been properly trained to allowing their entire bodies touched, but more often than not, a horse with pretty bad ulcers will pin his ears and cow kick when prodded along his lower belly. Be very careful when trying this so you don't get hurt in case he does react this way. The challenge then would be to get his owners to invest in Gastro-Guard...
And I agree: rearing is scary! I used to prefer rearers to buckers, but not anymore! Usually you can curb rearing by turning their heads similar to a one-rein stop and kicking them forward into a spin, then sending them forward into a trot. If they are moving, they can't rear. But I've had some very athletic horses (Ex: Lily!!) manage to semi-buck while doing this. For the average horse, however, this works well!