My horse bucking and rearing.

Question
About 3 weeks ago my dad and I got two horses. We got our mare first. She is a 4 year old Percheron cross(?) who is 16 hands and over 1300 pounds. She was very sweet when we first goy her. She would follow us around like a puppy dog. But when we got our second horse (a 4 year old, 16 hand National Show Horse gelding) she became very dominant. She is so dominant that she has beaten my gelding up and will not let him near any of the three piles of hay that we leave for them. I'm not sure why, but now he wont leave her. (We have a small, two horse stable and when I ride I have to tie one if the horses up so that they will not be in the way when I ride) But anyways, We tie up our mare so that I can ride my gelding, but he refuses to even walk across the field. And when he gets a couple hundred feet away, he starts to buck and rear. Yesterday I had my friend (who has been riding for most of her life) on him and he reared up almost vertically. When I first rode him he was a sweet, well trained gelding who was very willing to do anything, but now he won't even go across the field without bucking and rearing. Part of the reason may be that he hasn't heen ridden in about a month and he was getting frustrated when we were riding him. But I still don't know what to do with him. I don't want to get any broken bones while riding him.

Answer
Hi Katie;

Ohhh, one of my favourites, Percheron crosses.  :-)

Anyway, the problem you are experiencing is extremely common.  It's called 'herdbound' and it's a natural and instinctual.  

Horses by nature are herd animals.  They depend on the herd for their survival.  No herd means you are defenseless and therefore in danger of being killed and eaten.

The key for you is to become higher ranking in your herd of three, than the Percheron mare, so that he looks to you for guidance, rather than trying to get back to his leader and protector, the Percheron mare.  Simply, he lacks self-confidence and he doesn't believe you can protect him, but he KNOWS the mare can.

There is no easy or quick way to do this Katie.  It requires hours of patient training, a full understanding of herd dynamics and equine behaviour, and months of relationship development.

My suggestion to you is to work with a qualified trainer at your home, with your horses.  Going to a trainer is okay to acquire knowledge and experience, but in the end you're going to need someone more experienced at your home to guide and help you.

Also, begin reading about herd dynamics, equine behaviour and ground exercises by people like Bill Dorrance, Ray Hunt et al...

In the beginning you're going to have to work with your gelding, close to the mare.  As your relationship grows and he trusts you more and looks to you for his safety and for guidance, the further away from the mare you'll be able to work with him, until eventually he'll happily let you take him anywhere.

Much luck and success and stay safe!

Sincerely,

Lana Reinhardt
www.eq-paradise.com