How to teach a horse to rear

Teaching a horse how to rear can be easy but possibly dangerous. You should know the limits of your horse before attempting to teach it to rear.

Instructions

1. Warm your horse up and allow him to become calm before attempting to teach him to rear.

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.

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.

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.

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.