How to teach a horse to rear

By TraciBenoit

Instructions

Step 1:
Warm your horse up and allow him to become calm before attempting to teach him to rear.
Step 2:
Lean back in the saddle so that your weight is off of his front end. Be ready for his front feet to come off of the ground suddenly.
Step 3:
Squeeze the horse with your legs as if asking him to move forward, but pull just enough on the reins to keep him still. If he does not rear, pull the reins and then release. Do this quickly over and over, but don't pull hard enough to hurt his mouth. This just shows him that you are still asking for something.
Step 4:
Use a command that can not be confused with anything else. This command will be the command to rear. Continue doing this until the horse learns that this command means to rear.
Step 5:
Reward your horse even if he just slightly lifts his feet off of the ground. Praise at even the slightest correct move will encourage him to continue to obey that command and get better at it each time.

Tips & Warnings

Make sure the command you give for your horse to rear is unique and can not be confused with anything else. You don't want to accidentally ask him to rear in the wrong situation.
Don't teach your horse to rear if he is nervous and not listening to you. Wait until he is calm and under control before teaching him anything new.

More Puppy Pages

How to Gallop on a Horse

Instructions Step 1: Slacken the reins and gather yourself in preparation. When ready, give the horse a signal to gallop. Use pressure with your foot, a vocal command or click of the tongue, or a squeeze of the thighs combined with a shift forward in...

Instructions Things You’ll Need: Six-foot lead Dog treats How to Train Your Dog Step 1: Training a dog to sit, you will need a six-foot lead and some small dog treats. Gently pat the dog's rear as you are saying sit. As the dog sits, reward him or...

How to train a bird to step on your finger

Instructions Things You’ll Need: Small stick Steady, calm hand and outstretched fingers Step 1: The words, "step up," are universally accepted in the parrot word as the words to use when teaching your bird to step onto your finger. As you teach...

Hi, I'm Kelli on behalf of Expert Village, I'm going to show you how to ride your horse with a walk. Squeeze stopping is more advanced stopping technique that is most commonly used riding in the western style. So when you are squeeze stopping, you have...

How to teach your rabbit to go back to his hutch

Instructions Things You’ll Need: Rabbit Small enclosure Hutch Rabbit treats Step 1: Wait until your rabbit feels comfortable with his surroundings. If he is in a new hutch, you are a new owner, or any other recent changes have happened, put off...