Thank you!
When I was young, I had this thing about reclaiming bad horses. As a result, I have had a lot of experience with rearing horses.
Increasing the severity of the bit only makes the horse more likely to rear. Think about it from the horse’s viewpoint. He is either mad that he can’t move on, or so steamed up that he has to do something, he can’t just stand there, so if he can’t move on, he will go up.
On a rearer, you want the least bit that will rate him.
You should use other techniques to combat the rearing. My favorite was the whirl or spin. That takes very little room and if the rider following you gives you the space courtesy requires, you will have all you need.
Also on a rearer, you must be very very careful when trying new bits. There have been several instances in recent years of riders getting hurt or killed when trying new bits on horses. I recall one that mounted the horse in a barn or indoor arena and was killed when their head hit a support beam.
Now comes the flames. If the horse must have a stronger bit, I have found the gag bit to work very well. The gag is the most maligned and most misunderstood of all bits. When used correctly and the horse is obedient, it is a mild snaffle. If the horse pulls, it pulls back.
I have used them on everything from OTTB to ordinary hunters with great success.
That said, there are some horses that get mad at any bit other than a plain snaffle so be careful when trying a new bit on a rearer.
Again, I found the whirl to work the best. A horse can not rear while spinning.
You will make some noise while spinning, so please don’t ride right behind the field master or any staff member who is straining to hear hounds. He will not appreciate the noise.
Claude S. Sutton, Jr.
You’ve not met my mare :no: Unfortunately for me in this particular situation, she is quite agile. She can and does spin while rearing…making her brand of rearing exceptionally dangerous.
You make some excellent points regarding bits/bitting and reaction from the horse. I did hunt her in a french link baucher that I took from her dressage bridle, and she still reared. I’m game to try a gag…no flames coming from me about that suggestion! I believe every bit has a use and a place. Only as harsh as the hands, etc.
The saddest part about all this is that this is the mare I retired from showing this spring, who was depressed because she didn’t have a “job” anymore. There is nothing she loves more than being outside and jumping. I wish I could just have 60 seconds where she could understand what I was saying to her…that I could explain that if she’d just not rear, she could go run and jump outside three times a week!
If you spin her before she can get her front up, it probably will work.
Start with a relatively mild spin as soon as you hold up at a fence, check or whatever, before she gets mad. That should keep her mind occupied because she will be doing something other than standing and losing her temper.
Don’t wait for her to start misbehaving, unless there is some clear signal she gives you well before she rears.
I would bet that this is an unusually “smart horse” (if there is such a thing) and that you have seen signs of that in other ways. Some smart horses are very hard to work with, but most get the idea if you can figure out what it takes to get them to see the light.
As I said earlier, don’t ride close to any staff member, especially the second field or hilltopper field master. Both of them must do a lot of listening because they are not in constant touch with hounds, as is the 1st flight, so they must do a lot of listening to know which way to take their field. The slightest disturbance breaks their concentration and is not very good for their disposition as they do not like getting lost.
You probably know all of that, and if so forgive me, but I would rather that advice I give you not cause you embarrassment.
Claude S. Sutton, Jr.
