She rears so high she broke her tie down

QUESTION: 

We have a 6 yr old pony that just started rearing. Any ideas on how to stop it? She rears so high she broke her tie down. Up to this point she has been great we have had her from 3 months old.

ANSWER: 

Hi Patti,

Rearing is the worst form of disobedience. It sounds like he has learned this behavior to get away with something or, how not to do something. When we were little kids, I had three other brothers and sisters and when our pony would misbehave, we would take turns riding the hell out of them and tag teaming them into submission. It always worked and we had fun in the process. However, I am not going to advise that procedure. I would simply go back to ground driving him. Tie your stirrups together and run two long lines from a snaffle bit through the stirrups and back to the person driving them at a safe distance. When he rears and refuses to go forward, smack him on the butt with the lines and drive him forward. I always go backwards in training when I find problems and start over slowly.

This is the safest way to train problem horses and you can teach them their leads, jog, trot, stop and back all from the ground. If you need help, or you feel you cannot accomplish this on your own, do not hesitate to get help from a reputable trainer. If I have a plumbing problem in my house, I call an expert plumber. If I have an electrical problem, I call an expert electrician. If I need legal advice, I call a lawyer. Why should it be any different when you have a horse problem? What we do is train horses and train them well. But, and I stress this, you must find the right person to help you. There is a list of trainers in your area at www.4ahorse.com , just click on your state and find the right person if you need help.

Let me know how it goes. Good luck Mark