Rearing :(

[DLee]

My 6yo TB homebred mare apparently has a rear in there. Ugh. She has done it now three times, once last year and twice (within a few minutes) this year. Both times were higher stress situations than normal.

I did NOT feel it coming and it was a bit spectacular, unfortunately. I was definitely not in her face any of the times (i.e. with a short rein restraining her or anything like that.) All three times it was actually quite smooth, I just leaned forward and rode it out, we came down and I put her to work. But it’s incredibly disconcerting to know it is there.

The last times it happened, this year, I was in a week long clinic situation (wish it had been Buck, but it wasn’t) and I became hyper aware for the rest of the clinic, after it happened. If she started to paw (she has always been a pawer) I put her to work and then brought her back and gave her an opportunity to stand. Rinse, repeat. I really want to prevent this from happening again but also, is there anything to be done WHILE she is doing this? I’ve been so surprised I couldn’t even growl at her or anything. I am not about to touch her mouth, or pull her to the side (which was actually suggested to me) or knock her in the head with a bottle (also suggested, I didn’t think that answer was even still around).

I honestly feel like when she did it she had just ‘had enough’ (it was AFTER the lesson), she was sweaty, flies were bad and she had been exposed to quite a bit for the two days leading up to it and was DONE.

Any other thoughts on plans to prevent it (other than my ‘go forward and work’ plan) or anything to discourage her during the act if it happens again?

I don’t believe she was sore anywhere (teeth have been checked) but she had worked harder than normal and went on to work the rest of the week without incident. Thanks for any thoughts.

[Bluey]

I wonder if you would get more answers in the Off Course forum?

Horses that rear as a defense to whatever bugs them are generally not considered that safe as riding mounts.
Some you can train past it, some you just never know when the situation may set them off.

One fellow I know was injured severely when his horse reared and slipped and fell on him.
He was left with a light brain injury and stuttered after that.
Almost killed him.

Rearing, bucking hard, those are motor memory behaviors that, if they are in a horse, you never know when they will show up.

Your mare has had a reason to rear that you can figure, she is young and may get over it.
You already know what to do, keep her working and forward and out of those situations where she is getting upset.

[Fillabeana]

OK, so first, rule out serious pain issues, sounds like you’re on that one.

Second, find yourself a copy (rent it from Giddyup Flix if you have to, the’re REALLY hard to find) of Ray Hunt’s video called Turning Loose.
A horse should be able to let go of trouble when you ask it of them…even if what you are asking is perhaps not altogether fair of you to ask.
This is a skill, that must be practiced in small ways all the time.

Which brings me to the third bit of advice…last year’s Buck clinic, i was riding along very proud of my horse’s nonchalant reaction to dragging a log. Husband remarked how his ‘gentle’ horse was bothered, my hot TB was not, I said something to DH along the lines that yes, TB isn’t bothered…and the fire came. Buck said very loudly, in a displeased sort of voice that gave the impression that my pride in my horse was entirely misplaced, “THAT HORSE JUST TOOK 30 STEPS AND DID NOT GIVE TO YOU ONCE”

At which point, I wanted to disappear. But I think about that ALL the time, that our horses need to be giving, all the time, as we ask things of them. Sometimes we will be asking ‘easy’ things, when we want the horse to be feeling peace, other times we will be more demanding. But in any case, we need to be asking (and I do mean, politely, on a FEEL) a LOT, and the horse needs to be giving to us.

Which brings me to my own difficulty with Buck’s ‘rectangle’…there are plenty of times that I let things slip just a bit so my own horse doesn’t explode…but there are lots more things that I accept from him, that I shouldn’t, because they are his way of blowing me off just a bit. Like, I want a big walk, and he speeds up from totally lazy to mediocre. He just moved my feet. He just hit the back of my rectangle, and if I want to be the leader here I need to rectify that. I need him giving to me, I need his feet to be MY feet, I need him to stay inside my rectangle. A green horse, of course, has a larger leeway, a bigger rectangle than an experienced one.

But if we let the horse NOT give to us, if we allow the horse to ignore or partly disregard our rectangle, we are telling him that he has the option to not do as we are asking. And such a horse will be expected to give his opinion, and stick to his guns.

Now, if you KNOW your mare had had enough, you really need to ask for her forgiveness for pushing her too far, for asking too much of her. I’ve asked too much of a colt in a Buck clinic one day, and made things right the next. It happens.

Just do NOT EVER pull back on the reins and kick ‘forward’ at the same time during a rear, that is asking for the horse to go over on you.
And moving the hind quarters properly (horse bent at 90 degrees, you can feel the whole horse give to you) as per Buck if you feel any rear tantrum coming on.

Good luck and go get some excellent help (Buck clinic, go visit Mindy, etc).

[Beverley]

No disrespect to the excellent advice given, but rearing is not something to mess around with. Rider can get seriously hurt, and if not promptly fixed the horse would be dangerous to ride and that doesn’t lead to any good options. If it were mine, the horse would go to a good trainer for 30 days, more if necessary, and once the horse was sorted out I would want instruction from the trainer to carry the good fix forward. That month of training would cost less than one Buck clinic.

[DLee]

Bluey, I might get more responses there but I was really looking for responses from people on the same page as I am. Thank you for your response.

Fillabeana, I was really hoping you would chime in. I will find that video.

Boy I relate to what you wrote. I know I am guilty of letting her ‘partly disregard’ me way more than I should, especially as I was first getting her started. She doesn’t ever totally disregard me but I know I am easier to please than maybe I should be…?
And as Mindy pointed out last year, "This mare hasn’t done a day’s work in her life, she’s been living on the dole.’ Lol. True enough. I’ve brought her along fairly slowly and carefully, sometimes too carefully I think, as I’ve focused more on keeping her quiet than getting her forward enough. Possibly a result of having a lot of horses off the track and her being my first homebred TB I wanted to keep calm.

Interestingly, Mindy asked me last year when she got on her if she had ever gone up. She had not at that time. But she felt it (and it didn’t happen) and I didn’t feel it (and it did)… sigh. Always farther to go.

I’m not sure Mindy is coming here this year but I did just get really lucky and get in a Buck clinic this fall. It will be great to ride two years in a row with him, especially taking my mare back to him.

On a better note, here is a photo of us in her first gallop through water at that clinic.

[2tempe]

First, looks like a lovely mare.

Second, if you want to see other responses to the general question, scroll to bottom and check out “similar threads” - there were several over the last year or two.

Good luck with her.

[Wirt]

The general approach, and I’m willing to bet that this is what Buck would have you do, is to be able to bend the neck and move the hind quarters over, until you can “disengage” the hind end, consistently. You have to be able to take their head around in almost any situation, and move their feet. At least, you have to feel like you could, and your horse feels like you could.

[SportArab]

Rearing is the most dangerous thing your horse can do - if she flips over and lands on you it won’t be pretty.

In the past when I’ve had a horse that started to show an inclination to rear, I’ve pulled his/her head around to my knee. Worst thing that can happen in that scenario is the horse loses balance and crumples to the ground - but you won’t end up with withers crushing your chest.

[Foxtrot_s]

Rearing can be one of the evasions a lot of horses try – part of the rule book of evasions they seem to come by naturally – but it cannot be allowed to happen regularly or it becomes their go to habit.

I’ve always pulled them round in a circle and thought it looked very unhorsemanlike, but prefer that to a bad fall.

[Fillabeana]

So it sounds like you are not being good enough with your rectangle (that is one of my own worst difficulties) and it was very evident to Mindy last time she handled your mare.

When you ask something of a horse that is allowed to whine or give a halfhearted ‘answer’…that horse will comply just as much as it wants to at the time. Which can sometimes be 100%…but I think you’re right on track, that’s what Mindy must have felt, with ‘she hasn’t worked a day in her life’ and ‘has she reared?’

The pawing, as I have experienced it, is a prelude to the rearing. The horse is frustrated (is unable or unwilling to turn loose of a thought) and if the horse gets juiced up enough, will rear.
My mentor, when he rides my horse, is able to demand that my horse stand still and not fidget. I don’t have the skills yet, but I’m getting closer…I have to do as you do, when I get fidget I go to put the horse to work, to giving in ways I know I can get him to give, and then try ‘stand still’ again. My mentor just gets firm, says ‘cut the crap’, recognizes a very subtle try, and my horse will stand still. I am sometimes too slow to recognize the subtle try, so my horse can get more instead of less upset.

At my last Buck clinic, I rode up to Buck and asked him if he would throw his rope at my horse’s hind feet. It didn’t work…not because my horse has a problem with the rope, but because 1)I am not firm enough with my rectangle and 2)I haven’t been able to ask my horse to turn loose in a high pressure situation…which pretty much means that I am not firm enough with my rectangle.

In terms of getting the hindquarters giving laterally…you really must get the horse giving mentally, giving through his whole body. An uptight and very athletic horse can buck you off on your head in the middle of you pulling his nose around to double him. The physical action of moving the HQ is very helpful, but won’t be enough unless you carry on until the horse releases the physical AND the mental brace. And if you crank the nose sideways in a way that pulls his(her) nose way off plumb, you really unbalance the horse…and that can really upset the horse more. Tom Dorrance told Ellen Eckstein that bucking and rearing come from the horse being unbalanced.

Do be careful. I was talking with my mentor about the rectangle, about how many times I notice that I am allowing my horse to blow me off…and how usually I can get firm. But there are times when I need to ‘slip the clutch’…it’s just too high-pressure sometimes for me to safely insist. So know yourself, and feel things with your mare. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

[DLee]

2tempe, thank you for pointing out the similar threads link, I hadn’t noticed those before.
It seemed quite a few of those horses were rearing in response to not wanting to go forward, which has never happened with my mare. She is sensitive off the leg and easy to get to go forward, when I mentioned I didn’t have her “forward enough” I basically meant to a fence, or within a gait for dressage (as in our trot wasn’t quite forward enough). She is very willing and honest over jumps, even if a bit scary to her still, and will go from a standstill (they are still under 2’6") if asked. I have never ridden her in spurs.

Fillabeana, I took Mindy’s “on the dole” comment to mean my horses’ lifestyles and her horses lifestyles were two different things, which they are. Certainly mine have never been ridden all day, across the country or working a job, as her horses are (though we came a lot closer at this clinic, first time she’d been ridden twice a day ever). When she was riding her and felt her get light in the front end she was definitely putting more pressure on her than I do. She saw a tremendous improvement in my mare on the ground and under saddle from our first sessions last June to our second sessions in August, which made me glad. Her one on one teaching was a huge help, I got three (yes I counted!) "Nice"s from Buck last fall in the clinic, two during our hind/front and one during a halt and back up. Standing around in that clinic was a lot easier for her, so much of a calmer atmosphere.

I do understand the danger of rearing, I’m not thrilled to know it’s there, but there it is. She has never reared on the ground. Both situations were definitely higher stress for her. In fact at this clinic I had just been handed a bottle of water and was drinking it, so was definitely not 100% tuned in to her when she went up. In retrospect, I had just finished a fairly stressful lesson for her, indoor arena, six horses to watch out for, lots of trotting and cantering in different directions etc, definitely more on her plate than ever before. We came outside, she was very sweaty (it was so hot) and the flies were awful. I realized (later) that last year the situation was similar, stressful, hot, sweaty, bad flies… anyway, standing around to get a group photo after this lesson was maybe not the best plan for her. I had let her roll in the deep sand of the outdoor ring the day before on line and I also feel that was uppermost in her mind. Kind of a perfect storm, I should have hopped off and loosened the girth and gave her the break she needed. She did come back to do a very good job in the afternoon in the jumping part of the clinic that day.

I do think I have to be more firm/aware in my rectangle especially away from home. I ride alone a lot and keeping her focus on me in different places is definitely tougher and something to continue to improve on. Fillabeana, I have “Turning Loose” on the way, thank you for that.
Could you explain why you wanted Buck to throw the rope at your horse’s feet? I’m not sure I get what the situation was for that.

I did think it also interesting that a high percentage of horses mentioned in the rearing threads were mares.
Thanks for all the responses, they are much appreciated!

[Wirt]

What is this rectangle deal you are talking about and why?

[Bluey]

What are all of you there doing to have so many horses rearing?

That is something I would bring up at those clinics.
Maybe many horses need to do more long and low work between other work and less squares?

The best training is not that where horses are stressed that much, but that where horses are never taken to the point of resisting.

Listen to your horse and do something else before getting it there.

In reining, there are some trainers that keep putting pressure on their horses to the point that they rear or flip completely on them.
I remember one student saying their trainer had told him, after his horse flipped on him, “you are not a good reiner until you have had a horse flip on you”!
WOW!
Need to learn not to go there, for the horse and rider’s sake.

Always forward and straight first, then you can work from that with the least resistances.

You could try that, don’t wind the horse up so tight, keep letting a door open so the horse doesn’t feel trapped.
That may help a horse not to go there, where getting light in front is even a thought.

[DLee]

[QUOTE=Wirt;7674682]
What is this rectangle deal you are talking about and why?[/QUOTE]

Wirt,

It is a way Buck describes keeping your horse centered. Here is an article that describes it much better than I can.
http://www.eclectic-horseman.com/content/view/44/33/

[Emilia]

I am going to share about our horse, though I am not sure, if I can explain my experience well.

Our horse is “light in front,” as we call it back home. It is in his natural disposition and it has its positives regarding how well he rides and maneuvers.

That said, he has not reared under the saddle since he was about 4 years old and I discovered this characteristics. He is ten now.

We did not allow it to become a go-to response under the saddle. It is still his go-to response, while loose in the field even with a lot of space. Boy just likes to bounce the front and go up, when stressed (and playing, but that’s completely normal).

He feels confined physically or mentally- up he goes.

What helped the most was learning to feel of him and not allow the situations to escalate for him to feel overwhelmed.

When he went up for the first time, he first bounced a bit, which I disregarded, then he went up fully. I dealt with it by pulling one rein to the side and then disengaging his hind. That was my mechanical response, once the situation already occurred. Other people above already described it better.

As I said, the long term fix, however, was to always be with him mentally and feel of him/give to him.

People talk a lot about how horses need to feel of us (I agree!), but it is the two way road, and I think, it should be stressed more.

It is especially difficult to feel of horse and react to him/her accordingly, when in group setting. At least, it used to be for me. I do not like to “make waves,” so I would comply with whatever was happening around me and, basically, “abandoned” my horse (stopped listening to how he felt about the whole thing).

It took me a long time to learn to stay with him always, feeling of his mental state, listening to his rhythm, and always put him first, no matter, what others were suggesting I should be doing with him at the moment (this “Come on, one more jump, he can handle it.”- No, he can’t and I feel it!).

Now, our horse is a good natured animal with a lot of try in him. He does prefer to “take it easy,” but he will work, when asked.

Sometimes, he tries little evasions (not rearing), which I work him through, but I have learnt the difference between when he is still going strong and when he has had enough. When he has had enough, I would back off.

I did not have to back off for a long time now, mostly because I try hard to not allow him to go to the point of feeling exhausted, mentally or physically, or overwhelmed.

It is the part of conversation, we have developed between us, which, of course, is unique to us and is not transferrable (and might not suit to many others anyway).

So, if I were to give advice based on my experience, I would recommend to always stay with your horse and be cognizant of her mental and physical state, don’t allow a trainer or crowds to swing you “away,” and keep in the “cool” zone with your horse. If you push (and you must to progress in the training), do so in small increments.

I think, from your writing, you are well aware on where you might have made mistake (not feeling of how exhausting the event was for her) and, if I were to make a bet, I would bet on you not having this issue in the future, because you are going to adjust your ways of handling her a little.

Don’t forget, even very good trainers do make a mistake of overwhelming a horse. It is not their horse after all and they might misjudge his/her mental or physical readiness.

Trust your instincts. You know your horse best.

Good Luck!

[DLee]

[QUOTE=emilia;7675106]

What helped the most was learning to feel of him and not allow the situations to escalate for him to feel overwhelmed.

As I said, the long term fix, however, was to always be with him mentally and feel of him/give to him.

It is especially difficult to feel of horse and react to him/her accordingly, when in group setting. At least, it used to be for me. I do not like to “make waves,” so I would comply with whatever was happening around me and, basically, “abandoned” my horse (stopped listening to how he felt about the whole thing).

It took me a long time to learn to stay with him always, feeling of his mental state, listening to his rhythm, and always put him first, no matter, what others were suggesting I should be doing with him at the moment (this “Come on, one more jump, he can handle it.”- No, he can’t and I feel it!).

Sometimes, he tries little evasions (not rearing), which I work him through, but I have learnt the difference between when he is still going strong and when he has had enough. When he has had enough, I would back off.

I did not have to back off for a long time now, mostly because I try hard to not allow him to go to the point of feeling exhausted, mentally or physically, or overwhelmed.

It is the part of conversation, we have developed between us, which, of course, is unique to us and is not transferrable (and might not suit to many others anyway).

So, if I were to give advice based on my experience, I would recommend to always stay with your horse and be cognizant of her mental and physical state, don’t allow a trainer or crowds to swing you “away,” and keep in the “cool” zone with your horse. If you push (and you must to progress in the training), do so in small increments.

I think, from your writing, you are well aware on where you might have made mistake (not feeling of how exhausting the event was for her) and, if I were to make a bet, I would bet on you not having this issue in the future, because you are going to adjust your ways of handling her a little.

Don’t forget, even very good trainers do make a mistake of overwhelming a horse. It is not their horse after all and they might misjudge his/her mental or physical readiness.

Trust your instincts. You know your horse best.

Good Luck![/QUOTE]

Emilia,
Thank you so much, how beautifully written and exactly what I had been thinking myself. I put the needs of the ‘group’ first before hers, without even consciously realizing it.
She also has a lot of try, she is not a sulky, nappy horse by any means, but she certainly is sensitive and I do know she had been overwhelmed in the lesson but had really risen to the occasion and dealt with it quite well.

I am disappointed in myself that I tuned out her needs and didn’t listen, but now I am certainly hyper-aware.

I had a few people at the clinic who said I was allowing her to ‘train’ me by not insisting she stand still. Not how I see it at all and I am glad I am no longer in that camp and haven’t been for quite some time.

Emilia, thank you again for so beautifully sharing your experience with your horse!

[Pocket_Pony]

I’ve had a few isolated incidents of rearing over the years. One was my TB a few years ago. It was SO unlike him, so out of the blue, that it really caught me by surprise. It was after we finished a ride (and not even a tough one, just an easy hack at home) and we were leaving the arena and walking up a path that goes behind the house and back to the barn. Best guess I had was a combination of something startling him and pain in the mouth. I had the dentist out and he did have a sharp point in the back (that the vet who did his teeth missed - never used that vet again) that the dentist took down and he never did it again. It was very weird and startling because it was so unexpected!

I had another incident with Mac where he was in a very stressful situation and was jigging and dancing around and I blame myself. Instead of putting him to forward work on a circle where he could move through the energy, I was trying to get him to stand still so I could get off. Instead he went up and when he landed, much bucking ensued and I came off.

With the first horse, I really can’t see where I went wrong, it was just a thing that was completely out of the blue. With the second one, I see where I went wrong before it even came to that point (and it didn’t become a “thing” after that). If I had known then what I know now, then I’m sure I could have prevented it because I would have gotten with him mentally and wouldn’t have even been on his back until I knew he was good with what was going on in the environment. I was in too much of a rush and he wasn’t mentally ready. I totally take blame. With both horses, they didn’t do it before or again.

For me, it is important (but hard) to let it go and not make a big deal out of it and not label the horse as a “rearer” or a “bucker”. Yes, you obviously need to look back at the situation, see where you went wrong, see what you could have done better, see where you can change your approach next time. But, if you ride around with this tension about what could be, then you can create a self-fulfilling prophecy because you could be clamping up and carrying around this circle of negative energy. Maybe too woo woo of a description, but I think you know what I mean. And I know how hard it is to not do that! That’s why/when/how I found BB in the first place is because I knew I needed tools to help me so that I could prevent something like that from happening again vs. just hoping it didn’t happen and trying to figure out what to do if it did.

So look back and be really critical about where things went wrong. For example, you say she was in a weeklong clinic situation and had been worked pretty hard, or at least harder (or longer?) than usual. So mentally, she had perhaps had enough. Did you know she was tired - meaning, did she give you any subtle signs that in retrospect you could have noticed? Instead of insisting that she stand still, and making her work so that standing is a reward, could you have gotten off and just stood around (in a safe place) while others worked? I know you said it wasn’t a BB clinic, but one thing I remember him saying in our clinics is that you need to take care of your horse. So if everyone is standing around but your horse is antsy, then go to the side and do some serpentines or whatever. If your horse is jumping around and not settled, then remain unmounted and do ground work. Clinics are tough because you want to learn and absorb and practice as much as you can. If it is an all-day clinic (vs. where your class is only a couple hours), that can be hard because the horses are just not used to being “on” and engaged for that length of time.

I think all horses have the potential to exhibit all behaviors. So any horse could rear, buck, strike, kick, bite, etc. at any time. It is our job as a handler and rider to shape the behavior so that they don’t exhibit those behaviors while working with us. I don’t care what they do on their own, but with me there needs to be rules and boundaries and expectations of behavior.

I will say that since I started doing my ground work (complete with orange flag) before every ride, I have had much success. It isn’t LTD-type work that is meant to tire Mac out. It is “where are you today?” “can you pay attention to me?” “how are you feeling?” “are you distracted?” “can you let me move you around?” “how light can our connection be?” “where is the feel - what am I missing?” We do maybe 10-15 minutes of all kinds of work in hand - transitions, flexions, moving the head, neck, ribs, hind, going over poles, circles, figure 8s, backing, shoulder in, haunches in, sidepassing, etc. It really works to get us on the same page. Once recently when I was doing ground work, Mac spooked at a deer (they hide in the bushes around my arena) and instead of taking off and pulling my arm out, he jumped forward, but remained in a circle around me so that he never took slack out of the line. THAT was an interesting “feel” moment, a real WOW moment for me.

Sorry for the book - I just wanted to share that I’ve been there!

[SportArab]

As someone who once owned a confirmed rearer (2nd horse I ever owned, so I was very naive), I can tell you that once this behavior becomes ingrained, it can be VERY hard to break. In my younger, stupider days, I thought I could get him to stop and he did rear up and go over backward three times (I had the good luck to step off each time) because I had the temerity to ask him to back up.

There are no excuses that can justify rearing. It is simply too dangerous to the rider. If your horse rears up and loses his/her balance and lands on you, you could end up paralyzed or dead.

I kept my guy until someone kindly took me aside and told me that there were plenty of good horses out there looking for a good home and this one (no matter how charming he was when I was on the ground) was going to eventually kill me.

That logic did make sense to me and I did give him away to an accomplished trainer with the warning that he was a rearer.

[Bluey]

In Europe, a horse that rears more than the rare time and without reason was sent directly to the slaughter plant.

Now, some horses just happen to rear once for obvious reasons and won’t normally do that and those are just ridden carefully so they won’t go there, until they are further along in their training.

One horse our riding center received to train, I remember, the first time someone rode him he reared sky high, on tiptoes behind and seemed to applaud with both front feet while up there.
He did that several times that first ride and he was not ridden again by any of us, but sent on.

The most spectacular flip I experienced was when once I was in the indoor early, no coach around yet and, against our very strict regulations, as I was getting ready to get on the OTTB I was training, I realized one running martingale stop had fallen off the reins.
We were never to ride without both there and I thought, why walk all the way up to the barn and back, just ride this time and will get another when I change horses.

The horse was playful and cantering a circle while warming up he shook his head, the ring on the running martingale hung on the rein buckle by the snaffle and he, feeling trapped, flipped over so fast and hard, they tell me his hind feet left the ground before he landed on his back/side.

I always ride with my stirrups barely on and had kicked them off and jumped as he went up and landed on my feet as he crashed with a big whoosh! by me.
I was so worried he got hurt, but no, he was fine, the ring came loose from the fall and he was not even sore the next day.
That horse was not a horse that rears, that was an accident that cause him to flip over and he never again ever did show getting light in front.
That does show us one extreme example how rearing is truly one reaction to a horse not being able to move on.

I expected I was going to be fired, but I don’t think anyone told our coach about it, although everyone there was shaken from what happened.
I guarantee you none of us ever again rode without a rein stopper.

I had another horse once in the USA that was rearing a little while roping and finally had almost killed his owner rearing in the roping box, I don’t know if in anticipation of running out of it or resisting for some reason, like a very heavy handed rider holding him back.

That horse never reared with me at all, being used as a ranch horse and pony horse to start colts.
I don’t know if he had again reared if put in a box to come out fast to rope something.

For what the OP describes, this mare is not going to keep rearing, as she is being trained further, all on her own, as long as she is not put in such tight situations that have provoked that.
Five-six is an age some horses do change from colts to mature and they don’t always end up being the same horse we knew before.
Because of that, you may expect those horses to show us a side we didn’t know was there and we have to train accordingly.
Generally, if they had a good start the years before, most do get over being a little resistant about then and again become their pleasant selves by the time they hit 7 and 8 years old.

It will be interesting to hear how this mare progresses from here on.

[Emilia]

I would like to add that I almost bought a true rearer, when I was first looking to buy a horse in the US.

He was a quarter horse and I went as far as bringing him to the barn, but took him back quickly, once he showed his true colors.

He was just like Bluey described in her last post and very merry and casual about it, too. He was easy going on ground.

There was and still is no way I could deal with that kind of problem.

I lost some good money on that experience, but chalked it up to a tuition for life lessons. In the end, I felt lucky I did not get stuck with him.

Our Morgan was/is nothing like that quarter horse. He only bounced several times and went up once or twice, while under severe stress. This all happened in the course of one or two events. That’s why I could work through it. Also, having help and opinion of horse people I respected and trusted was invaluable.