Rider’s Guide: How to Handle a Horse Rearing Up

A horse rearing up is one of the most frightening behaviours a rider can face. It is also one of the most dangerous. When a horse rises onto its hind legs the rider has very little control, the horse’s balance is precarious, and a fall backwards can be fatal — for both. This guide is the rider’s first-response handbook: what to do in the saddle when it happens, why it happens in the first place, and how to retrain a horse that has learned to use rearing as an evasion. For a deeper dive into rearing as a long-term behavioural issue, also read our companion article on how to deal with a rearing horse.

What Is a Horse Rearing Up?

Rearing is the act of a horse rising onto its hind legs with both forelegs lifted clear of the ground. Brief, low rears in the field — play, a stallion warning, a horse turning sharply away from a perceived threat — are normal natural behaviour. The problem is when rearing becomes a learned response under saddle or in hand: a way to escape pressure, refuse a request or unseat a rider.

Trainers usually distinguish three categories:

• Defensive rearing — a one-off response to genuine fear, sudden pain or perceived entrapment. Often resolves once the trigger is removed
• Resistance rearing — a learned response to leg, rein or schooling pressure. The horse has discovered that rearing makes the rider stop pushing
• Aggressive rearing — the horse rears intending to strike or unseat. Rare and serious; needs professional intervention immediately

Why Is Rearing So Dangerous?

Most horse-handler accident reports in the UK and South Africa list rearing as one of the highest-risk behaviours, alongside bolting and kicking. The danger is twofold:

• The horse can fall backwards. A rear past roughly vertical with the horse’s weight unbalanced — especially if the rider is pulling on the reins — can pull the horse over onto its back. The withers, dock or ribcage may land directly on the rider’s pelvis or chest. This is one of the few riding accident scenarios with a real risk of fatal crush injury
• The horse may strike with its forelegs. From the ground, anyone in front of a rearing horse is at risk of forelimb strike, head injury or being knocked down

Wear an up-to-date PAS 015 or VG1 riding hat, and an air vest or body protector for any horse with a rearing history. Hat manufacturers replace damaged hats free of charge after a rearing-related fall — never re-use a hat that has taken impact. World Horse Welfare stresses that rearing is a symptom of an underlying problem, not a vice to be punished, and rider safety must always come first.

Why Do Horses Rear Up?

The first job is always to find the cause. Rearing is a symptom, not the disease. UK behaviourists registered with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) typically work through this checklist:

• Pain — the most common cause. Gastric ulcers, kissing spine, hock arthritis, dental sharp edges, ill-fitting saddles, ill-fitting bits, sacroiliac strain or hindlimb proximal suspensory injury all produce rearing. A vet workup — back palpation, dental check, gastroscopy, lameness exam, saddle and bit fit check — should always come first
• Fear and confusion — novel objects, traffic, separation from a yard mate, a previous traumatic experience. Common in young horses learning to hack out
• Conflict between rider aids — leg saying go, rein saying stop, contact stuck. The horse can’t go forwards, can’t go sideways, has only up left. A late or heavy half-halt is a frequent trigger. This is the classic schooling-induced rearer
• Excess energy and under-work — a fit, sharp horse on a low-fibre, high-cereal diet without sufficient exercise will explode upwards under saddle. Adjust the feed before blaming the horse
• Learned escape behaviour — if the horse has ever discovered that rearing makes the rider dismount, the lesson is locked in. This is the most stubborn category to retrain
• Stallion behaviour — entire colts and stallions rear during play and dominance interactions. Less common in geldings and mares, although mares in season can show similar behaviour

Warning Signs: How to Predict a Rear

A rear is rarely as sudden as it feels. Almost every rearing horse gives a readable sequence of warnings first, and learning to spot them lets you interrupt the behaviour with forward motion before the forelegs ever leave the ground. Watch for this build-up:

• The horse stops going forward — the single most reliable predictor. Rearing is the absence of forward motion, so any “sticky” halt, backward step or planting is the moment to act
• Hollowing and head-raising — the back drops, the head comes up and the horse comes above the bit as it prepares to load the hindquarters
• Weight shifting back — you feel the forehand lighten and the horse rock onto its hocks
• Tension signals — a swishing tail, jaw clamped on the snaffle, or the horse napping and refusing to leave a gate or yard mate

The instant you feel forward motion die, ride the horse forwards or turn it — a horse that is moving cannot rear. Predicting the rear is the whole game, because once the horse is airborne your options shrink to damage limitation.

What to Do if the Horse You Are Riding Rears

The instinct most riders have — pulling back hard on both reins — is exactly the wrong response. Backwards rein pressure unbalances a rearing horse and is what tips them over backwards. The correct rider response, drilled by every UK riding instructor and BHS coach, is:

1. Lean forward, immediately. Press your weight up the horse’s neck. This shifts the centre of gravity forward and counteracts the tendency to fall backwards
2. Drop both reins or slip them long. Never pull back. If the horse is fighting the contact, releasing it removes the conflict that is often producing the rear
3. Grab a hank of mane or the breastplate strap. Do not grab the saddle pommel — you may catch a rein or pinch a thumb
4. The instant the horse’s feet land, take one rein only and turn the horse in a tight, decisive circle. A horse cannot rear from a turn. Use a single rein, pulled to the rider’s thigh — this is the “one-rein stop”
5. Once the horse settles, ride forwards. Strong leg, no backwards rein. Demand forward motion immediately, even just walk — rearing is the absence of forward motion, so re-establishing it ends the moment
6. If you feel the horse going past vertical, kick free of the stirrups and step or vault off to the side. Never the back. A horse going over backwards is a moment to bail, not a moment to ride

If you ride a horse with a known rearing history, fit a neck strap or breastplate before every ride and practise the one-rein stop in walk and trot until it is automatic.

In-Hand and Groundwork Rearing

Rearing in hand is, if anything, more dangerous than rearing under saddle — you have less control of where the horse goes and you are within strike range of the forelegs. Rules of the ground:

• Always lead with a properly fitting bridle or a leading chain over a strong rope halter; never with a thin clip-and-cotton lead rope on a sharp horse
• Wear a hard hat and gloves for any in-hand work with a known rearer
• Walk at the horse’s shoulder, never directly in front. If the horse rises, step sideways towards the shoulder and turn the horse’s head towards you — this puts the forelegs landing away from you
• Never punish a rear by jerking down on the head. The risk of the horse going over backwards is real even from the ground
• Use a long rope and lungeing work to teach the horse to move forwards on cue from the ground — the foundation of equine groundwork — before any rider mounts again

How to Stop a Horse Rearing: The Five-Step Plan

Once the immediate moment has passed, retraining is a structured process. Riders who try to “ride through” rearing without addressing the cause almost always make it worse.

1. Veterinary workup first. Comprehensive physical exam, lameness assessment, saddle and bit fit, dental, and ideally gastroscopy if the horse will not accept the leg. Until pain is excluded, no training programme will work
2. Reset the partnership on the ground. Six to eight weeks of structured groundwork — respectful leading, lungeing with proper transitions, in-hand work over poles. The horse must be reliably forward and responsive on the ground before remounting
3. Re-introduce the rider in steps. Mount and dismount work, halt and walk in an enclosed school. Use a quiet, balanced rider on a proven schooled horse for the first sessions, not the horse’s usual rider if there is anxiety on either side. This backing-style re-start rebuilds trust before you ask for more
4. Train the one-rein stop and emergency forwards. The horse should respond to a single rein turning the head towards the rider’s thigh by yielding into a tight circle, and to a strong leg by going forwards from any standstill. Drill these in walk, then trot, until they are automatic
5. Bring in a qualified professional if the rearing is persistent. ABTC-registered Clinical Animal Behaviourists work alongside the vet; an Accredited Professional Coach (BHS or BEF Coach) can rebuild ridden work. Some horses respond better to a complete change of yard, rider and routine than to repeated retraining at the same place

Do Tie-Downs, Martingales and Gadgets Stop Rearing?

This is one of the most common questions from owners of a rearing horse, and the honest answer is that gadgets treat the symptom, not the cause — and some of them make the danger worse. A martingale (running or standing) is designed to limit how high a horse can raise its head, not to prevent rearing, and a horse determined to go up can rear against a standing martingale hard enough to injure its own poll or fall.

• Tie-downs and standing martingales can restrict a horse’s ability to rebalance mid-rear, which increases — not decreases — the chance of it going over backwards. They are widely discouraged as a fix for rearing
• Harsher bits add rein pressure, and rein pressure is frequently the very conflict that triggers the rear. Going up a bit almost always makes a schooling-induced rearer worse
• Bearing reins and other restraints create the trapped-between-leg-and-rein feeling that produces rearing in the first place

There is no piece of tack that stops rearing. The only lasting fix is to remove pain, resolve the training conflict and rebuild forward motion from the ground up. Save your money for a vet workup and a good coach rather than a gadget.

When to Call the Vet or Bring in a Professional

Call the vet immediately if rearing has appeared suddenly in a horse who has never reared before; if it is paired with girthing-up reactions, teeth grinding, weight loss or napping; or if the horse is showing any other signs of musculoskeletal pain. Sudden-onset rearing is almost always pain-driven.

Bring in an ABTC behaviourist if the rearing is established, repeats with multiple riders, or is rider-specific. Established rearing is a specialist problem; well-meaning but incorrect retraining attempts can entrench the behaviour permanently and risk a serious accident. The British Horse Society can help you find an accredited coach in your area.

Prevention and Long-Term Rehabilitation

Rearing is far easier to prevent than to cure. The basics that protect young horses from ever learning to rear:

• Solid groundwork before backing — never rush a horse into ridden work
• Correct, well-fitted tack from day one. Have a Society of Master Saddlers qualified fitter check the saddle every six months
• Forward-thinking riding — a horse that goes forwards from a quiet leg cannot rear
• Avoid trapping the horse between leg and rein. If the horse is hesitant, ride forwards first, then ask for the bend or transition
• Manage the energy balance with the workload — high-cereal feeds for under-worked horses are a frequent culprit. See our guides on horse feeding 101 and oats for horses
• If buying a horse, ask the seller specifically about rearing history and confirm under saddle work in different settings (school, hack, in company, alone) before purchase

For related ridden behaviour issues, see our guides on horse bucking, horse napping and horse planting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my horse suddenly rearing up?

Sudden-onset rearing is almost always a pain response. The most common causes are gastric ulcers, kissing spine, hock or sacroiliac pain, dental issues, and badly-fitting saddles or bits. Book a veterinary workup before assuming the horse is being naughty — behaviour change in a previously settled horse is a medical sign, not a discipline problem.

What should I do if my horse rears while I am riding?

Lean forward up the neck immediately. Drop the reins or slip them long — never pull back, which can tip the horse over backwards. Grab the mane or a neck strap. As soon as the front feet land, take one rein and turn the horse in a tight circle, then ride forwards. If the horse goes past vertical, kick out of the stirrups and bail to the side, never to the back.

Can a rearing horse be cured?

Yes, in most cases — but it requires the cause to be identified (almost always pain or a training conflict), addressed properly, and followed by a structured groundwork-and-ridden retraining programme of six to twelve weeks. Established rearing in older horses, especially when learned as an effective evasion, is the hardest category to retrain and may need professional ABTC-registered behaviourist input. There is no quick fix and no gadget that cures it.

Why does my horse rear up when being led?

Rearing in hand is usually about a horse that has stopped going forward — napping towards a gate or yard mate, fear of something ahead, or a learned way to avoid being led somewhere it does not want to go. Lead from the shoulder with a bridle or chain over a strong halter, never directly in front, and re-teach forward movement on cue through groundwork. Never jerk down on the head, as this can pull the horse over backwards even from the ground.

Should you punish a horse for rearing?

No. Punishment increases anxiety, often worsens the rear and risks the horse falling backwards. The correct response is to remove the conflict (lean forward, release the reins), regain control via a one-rein turn, and address the underlying pain or training cause afterwards. The yard story of “breaking an egg over the horse’s head” is folklore, not training.

Is it safe to ride a horse that has reared once?

A single defensive rear from genuine fear — for example a horse spooking at traffic — is not necessarily a long-term safety concern, provided the cause is identified and managed. Repeated rearing, rearing in response to leg or rein, or rearing under multiple riders is a serious concern. Always have a vet exclude pain and a qualified instructor assess the horse before continuing to ride.

Last updated: July 2026 by the Bit & Bridle editorial team.