I hope the man is okay. That is certainly something you never want to have to ride through, feel, or witness.
I do think that this type of horse (one that flips) is not necessarily man-made, theyāre born with a very big lack of self preservation. Maybe it is exacerbated by unsympathetic riding or rough hands or harrowing physical problems, but IMHo very few horses want to flip over on their backā¦ and if they do, they are not riding horses, they are companion horses. A horse that rears but keeps its body upright is, IMHO, man-made and it may be because of pain, physical issues, or just plain bad riding. That horse is redeemable, but a flipper is not. A flipper shows a basic lack of self preservation or regard and is not riding material IMHO.
One of the most useless skills I have (and I have a few useless talents) is that my riding style is compatible with horses who rear and I have been able to reform a rearer - meaning, I donāt tend to aggravate them enough to get them to go up. This is not a good thing; itās bad to ride a rearing horse, period. I do think the biggest thing about rearing is if you are at the point that you are trying to defuse the rear, you have already lost. It takes a lot of discipline, tact and very rapid, forward thinking to keep a rearerās four toes on the ground. And once that horse has started to go up, youāve already ālostā. Keeping the horse forward is paramount, but some horses go up if you kick them, other horses go up if you donāt keep them moving ahead - it can be really hard and dependent on the horse and is absolutely where a professional needs to step in.
I hate rearers, and I wonāt ride them anymore. As a teen, my instructor had me ride a few of her horses that were light up front because I tended to ride them very forward and quiet to the point where they did not rear with me. I learned very quickly how fast and careful you have to be with these horses. One thing Iāve learned is that 90% of the time, a rear is because of too much pressure in the mouth. Rearers (that do not flip) are almost always man-made by a lack of release of pressure, too much handsy riding, or all around unsympathetic and callous riding, physical issues, etc.
Not to encourage anyone to ride a rearing horse, but if you find yourself in a situation with a horse, know that horseās limits before he decides to go Kettle Up - keep them going forward, be it by leg or voice - some horses respond badly to leg and will rear, others need a little cluck to keep them goingā¦ and then, once they are forward and not sucking back, get off and find a professional. A horse gives many tells before they rear - they lose forward momentum, their shoulders tend to get a little tight and choppy, they prop, their inside ear will start to swivel wildly (like a worse ālistening earā) and often, they will start to cant to their preferred side and you can feel it in their hips. They will suck back, their front feels a little lighter, and they will hunch their neck. Very, very few horses will go up āwithoutā warning - chances are, they gave plenty of warning but the rider wasnāt quick or savvy enough to pick up on them.
Should you end up on a horse that is about to go up, if you cannot bail, the only other thing I can suggest is to quickly pull their head to the side - this is NOT done as a punishment, itās done so they cannot go straight up. This maneuver must be done before they are more than a foot off the ground and is meant only as a last ditch effort to defuse the height of the rear. Pulling their head to the side quickly (in one singular pull, not a jerk, not violent) will be enough to push most horses to put their front feet back down, and give you enough time to get off.
That man was very lucky. In most cases when a horse flips, the rider underneath will die. That is why I do not ride rearing horses anymore, no matter how many nice horses my trainer has in the barn.
