Lead training -
Dealing with Rearing

What is the right reaction?

It can be kind of scary when a horse rears up. Their first reaction is to jerk on the lead rope or get out in front of the horse and pull on it. Pulling down on a horse's head gives the horse the feeling of being trapped. The fastest way to put a rearing horse over backwards is to keep pulling on his head because his natural tendency is to fight back against the pressure.

Many don't realize it but the only really safe place to be around a horse is close enough to it so that it can't get any swing going with its feet to kick you. That means right against the horse's shoulder. If a horse rears as you are walking beside it, you want to get as close to the shoulder as possible, even grabbing the

By keeping your attention on the horse and the horse's attention on you at all times, you should be able to not have to deal with rearing in the first place. It can happen, however. So if your horse does startle or pull back or rear, don't punish the horse. When it happens, you simply interrupt them with instructions of what to do next.

A horse should be having a good time. If he gets startled or frightened, you want him to come to you as the safe place to be. You want to be a person he can trust.