REARING is dangerous for everyone. If your horse rears you are in danger of being unseated, fallen on or struck.

A horse that rears and loses its balance can easily fall and injure itself. A horse that rears while tied up can fall on you.

Even tiny hops need to be taken seriously before they turn into full-blown “Hi-ho Silver” rearing. Once this behavior is learned, it is difficult to stop.

If you are a beginner/novice rider, it would be dangerous to try to solve this problem yourself. You will need to find a professional.

It is essential to understand why your horse is rearing – pain, excess energy, confusion, frustration, fear and insecurity can be to blame.

Before anything else, consider physical problems. Soreness from poor saddle/harness fit and overgrown teeth are the most common.

Consider what gaps may be in your horse’s training or yours that could cause him to be frustrated or over-faced by what you are asking him to do.

Are you asking him to jump fences when he has not really mastered trotting poles? Are you asking for collection too soon? Are you driving past obstacles that your horse has never seen before? Do you have soft hands or are you “riding the brakes” with a death grip on the reins or driving lines?

Is your horse eating too much highprotein food and not getting enough exercise? Or is your horse insecure about going out alone or sick of going around in the ring?

Most often a horse will give some indication that a rear is coming, allowing you some seconds to plan what you can do. Sometimes there’s no time at all.

If a horse rears while you are riding, keep your weight well forward and centered.

Do not pull on the reins because you could pull the horse’s head back further, causing it to lose its balance and fall. Don’t touch the reins again until the horse is on all four feet again.

Or you can bail out. An emergency dismount is appropriate if you feel unsafe. The downside is that if you bail out every time your horse hops up it will quickly learn this is how to get you off his back.

Only attempt to deal with a horse that rears while ridden if you know how to:

• Work a horse long and low, avoiding schooling like collection and jumping.

• Actively drive a horse forward.

• Engage (and disengage) the horse’s hind quarters.

• Use your hands softly.

• Feel if a horse is inclined to settle on his haunches and recognise the behaviour and triggers that lead to a rear.

• School a horse effectively, giving it 100 per cent of your attention.

• Keep cool at all times.

• Know what may help and what may exacerbate the problem.

On the ground, punishment that includes hitting, yelling, yanking on the lead, throwing your arms in the air or waving a whip may make things worse.

Punishment rarely works for any behavior problem.

Old folklore that may include hitting the horse on the head with various objects will not work.

A standing martingale or other tie-down may make it more difficult to rear, but not impossible’ If you are a beginner, or even an intermediate rider, you will be safer if you get help from a professional trainer.