Does your horse urinate while you’re on him? I’m saying that because my horse sometimes will drag his feet returning home on a trail ride (and I thought he was the only one), at first I thought he wanted to stay out but one day, after he reluctantly stopped to pee he walked out just fine. We’ve gotten to the point now that he knows it’s OK to stop and take care of business while under saddle but maybe your guy could have had a very unsympathetic rider in his past.
Tying up can happen at any time, had a horse tie up after a 10 minute walk away from the barn so yes tying up has nothing to do with how hard the horse is worked. Since you don’t have a long history on this horse as you probably know once a horse has tied up he is prone to it again.
everything you write shouts PAIN not behavioral thats why it doesn’t make sense ,you keep looking for a behavioral reason and unless the horse has dementia we all know they like to go home…….
Leased a horse that didn’t want to leave the stable and would not go out on trail on her own only with other horses, yes sounds behavioral but she was sold and failed the vet test, she had kidney or liver problems which was making her feel awful so she wold s only work if she had to.
Your horse needs a vet not a beating….listen to him
You are absolutely right . I did miss that she had him for 8 years. 
[QUOTE=Catalyst;8211956]
Bolded is mine, and you are incorrect.
I did not hit him with anything while I was mounted. Every time he balked, I got off him and got after him with my split reins. After he reared, I beat the crap out of him. I don’t know what happened to him before I purchased him, but I never carry a crop, pop him with my reins while riding, etc because I know how afraid he is of that. He’s gotten a thousand times better- I can use a lounge whip without an issue, and I use a dressage whip when I do ground work with him. I do not carry a crop while riding, and I do no hit him while riding.
I did not purchase him at an auction. I apologize if my OP was unclear. The woman I purchased him front had originally bought him from the individual who picked him up from an auction. I have no past history on my gelding.
Until these past two times, he has never reared. I knew him before I purchased him, and I also cannot recall him ever rearing back then.[/QUOTE]
Sorry I was wrong about you hitting him while mounted. Discipline is best done at the exact time of the disobedience. When you dismount to discipline he has no idea what he has done. I admit I have never had a rearing issue. I don’t know what the normal / safe method of discipline is when that happens.
What I do know is that hitting multiple times is overkill . If you have had him 8 years and this is just happening, I would have a vet look him over. He is telling you something is not right.
[QUOTE=candyappy;8232645]
Sorry I was wrong about you hitting him while mounted. Discipline is best done at the exact time of the disobedience. When you dismount to discipline he has no idea what he has done. I admit I have never had a rearing issue. I don’t know what the normal / safe method of discipline is when that happens.
What I do know is that hitting multiple times is overkill . If you have had him 8 years and this is just happening, I would have a vet look him over. He is telling you something is not right.[/QUOTE]
A rear starts with a balk. You have to nip the balk in the bud before it progresses to a rear. This begins with ground work, and if you get a balk under saddle, you pull the horse into a circle and kick him around and around, then let him walk off on a long rein. But you have to do the ground work first so the horse really understands GO.
Very true that moving feet forward makes a rear impossible.
If your route home is downhill, I would think pain, going downhill is hard on joints. If he is not particularly fit tying up (rhabdomyolysis) could be a problem too.
It is time for a visit from the vet.
[QUOTE=Posting Trot;8218577]
In general I would scale things back for a while. Do less strenuous warm-ups before heading out on the trail, go for shorter trail-rides, come home, untack and give him a treat (assuming that all has gone well).
If he seems to be okay with that, maybe mix in some variations–longer trail rides, very brief trail rides with more ring work, etc. Try doing some of your ring work exercises out on the trail.
I’d try to keep everything as positive as you can. Lots of neck scritches for just being a good boy on the trail; maybe get off him on the trail when he’s being good and walk him for a minute or two before hopping back on (and do this while you’re still going away from the barn).
I’m going to comment on a previous suggestion just because it bothers me so much: I would not just tie him up on the trail and leave him alone for an hour. That’s asking for trouble in a major league kind of way, in my opinion.[/QUOTE]
It depends, I suppose. My horses are taught to be tied as babies and as they get older, the length of time increases. I have a “patience tree” that provides shade and a breeze. By the time they are 3 y/o, I can leave them tied for 2 hours; they learn all the pawing and throwing a fit doesn’t get them anywhere, so they learn just to cock a leg and doze. Anyway, I guess if a horse isn’t used to being time for any length of time, it could be a problem.
Hi Guys -
Thanks for all the suggestions; it gave me a lot to think about and some different options to try. I didn’t want to update too soon while I was looking for different triggers and trying out some of the suggestions.
He hasn’t had another balking episode since this one. I’ve added short, 1 mile trail rides at a walk (with him being untacked and immediately put away) 2x a week to our routine. He’s does longer rides once a week (17 miles one ride, 12 miles for another) and I’ve gone out both alone and with other riders at varying paces. He’s been his usual pleasant self, and with the short walking rides he ambles along, still slower when returning to the barn but I have no noticed anything that would point to pain. As far as downhill = pain, he has always done steeper downhill grades and willingly gallops up and down his field, so I’m not convinced it’s a pain issue. He has never done it while we were trailered out somewhere, just those two times at home.
We ride at home and trailer out. He’s on field board, so he has access to grass and free choice hay at all times. I’ve been in contact with my vet, and his ERU is under control and closely monitored. There’s no obvious link to connect his tantrums with his ERU and his affected eye is bright and clear. His last shoeing my farrier did not see anything to indicate an issue anywhere. I did put hind shoes on him as the varied terrain we travel through does get rocky, and he’s been moving the same.
I’m going to stick with the more varied riding routine, and I’ve also been adding additional ground work too. I’ve been working on voice commands with him in case his ERU ever gets the point where I need to remove the eye or he goes blind. It’s been helpful and enjoyable. It’s been transferring well under saddle!
How long has he been on the 1/2 g bute a day? I know it’s not much, but it’s enough to cause ulcers. I’ve seen a few ulcers cases present as weird behavior under saddle and might be worth a few tubes of gastroguard and/or a scope just to see.
OP, glad your horse is doing well. I’m a little concerned that you are focused on structuring your routine to make your horse happy. If you don’t take him outside his comfort zone, and address the balking/rearing issue, it is still there and can possibly show up at a really bad time. Instead of addressing your horse’s behavior issue, you are changing your routine to avoid it.
It greatly disturbs me that you so openly admit to beating the crap out of your horse for balking and rearing. This is a response for serious issues only like biting, striking, or kicking at you!
You have had this horse for 8 years and he never did this before. He is trying to tell you something and you don’t want to listen. He is either in pain or had a fear response. Perhaps a predator had crossed the path recently and he balked when he smelled it. The next time he got to that area and smelled it again, he remembered your response and reacted by rearing.
The last possibility is his balking is a training issue and that is all on you.
Beating him for pain, fear, or training issues is not acceptable.
[QUOTE=Flash44;8237288]
OP, glad your horse is doing well. I’m a little concerned that you are focused on structuring your routine to make your horse happy. If you don’t take him outside his comfort zone, and address the balking/rearing issue, it is still there and can possibly show up at a really bad time. Instead of addressing your horse’s behavior issue, you are changing your routine to avoid it.[/QUOTE]
My incorporating shorter rides was at the suggestion of another poster - perhaps he associates going back with more work. I’ve been trying to identify a trigger. We go out by ourselves and with others; he’s been out with the same horse who he initially was out with when this happened. I’ve done longer rides and shorter rides. I stopped using a pad I thought might be bothering him. I’ve done just schooling in the ring. I’ve gone off the property and trailered out. I’ve done our fast work and just slow walking loops. Both my farrier and vet agree he is OK health-wise, and my barn owner has not changed anything or noticed any change in him that I have not seen.
I’m not sure how you would like me to approach this? I don’t take him back to the barn when he exhibits bad behavior (and since this episode, he hasn’t at all), so I’m confused when you say I’m structuring my routine. I’m trying to vary it.
[QUOTE=dacasodivine;8237454]
It greatly disturbs me that you so openly admit to beating the crap out of your horse for balking and rearing. This is a response for serious issues only like biting, striking, or kicking at you![/QUOTE]
We will have to agree to disagree then. Rearing, IMO, is never acceptable and I will not tolerate it - ever.
I did not beat my horse for balking. Rearing - yes. I beat him for a hot minute and marched him into the ring where I lunged him, school him, and took him back out. When he balked, I dismounted and got after him with my split reins - which meant taking my split reins and using them like a lounge whip to get him to move. The goal was to move his feet. When he would, I would halt him and get back on. I’m really not sure where you’re getting that I beat him for balking. Here is part of my OP below for reference.
The last time he balked, I dismounted and got after him with my split reins and made him work. he will stand quietly to be mounted again.
Yesterday was the second time this has happened. I got after him 3-4 times and made him move, but the last time he balked he paused for a moment - not even long enough for me to get off - and he reared up, came down, and immediately went up again. At this point we were close enough to the barn that I beat the crap out of him, took him back into the ring, lunged him, rode him there, and then took him back out on the trail.
I did not say rearing was acceptable. I said your response to rearing was unacceptable. I will go further and say the rearing was caused by your response to balking.
Next time, take a breath and see if you can figure out what caused the balking before assuming he is just being stubborn and “getting after him”. If there is no pain, there are other things you can do to get his feet moving that doesn’t involved getting off and “getting after him” with his reins.
Galloping up and down a hill without a rider does not prove that his problem is not pain related. However, if you are getting a better response with the varied rides something is working.
[QUOTE=Catalyst;8237716]
Both my farrier and vet agree he is OK health-wise, and my barn owner has not changed anything or noticed any change in him that I have not seen. I’m confused when you say I’m structuring my routine. I’m trying to vary it.[/QUOTE]
OK, you’ve ruled out a physical problem, which is good, and I’m not explaining well. You should be able able to ride where ever you want and how ever you want, and not have to vary your routine to try to make your horse happy. If you want to do the exact same loop every day, your horse should willingly do it. I think you have a training issue. You generally have a good horse who is happy to do what you want him to do, but once in a while he decides he does not feel like doing it. Since you have not been able to identify a trigger, there probably is not one. And it doesn’t matter anyway.
I had a mare that would rear and/or run backwards while trail riding. I fixed it by doing ground work in the ring, emphasizing “Go.” The rearing/backwards behavior simply disappeared once we went back and reinforced the basics.
If you don’t already do ground work, Warwick Schiller is a good place to start.
One other thought because I just remembered that my horse did something similar once…
How are his teeth (or did someone else already ask you this)? My TB a few years ago had a random rearing episode (just once, TOTALLY out of character) when we were leaving the arena and walking up the path back to the barn. It totally caught me by surprise because he never did this, it totally wasn’t in his wheelhouse and it was so out of character. I had always been on top of having the vet do his teeth, but the next time (which was already scheduled for soon after that episode) I had a dentist check his teeth and the vet had not been doing a good job of getting all the way back in his mouth and so he had some sharp points. It could have been a pain response to something that happened quickly and suddenly (mouthing the bit and his cheek got caught or something) because it never happened again. It was the weirdest thing.
