  We investigate the thermally activated magnetization switching of small
ferromagnetic particles driven by an external magnetic field. For low uniaxial
anisotropy the spins can be expected to rotate coherently, while for sufficient
large anisotropy they should behave Ising-like, i.e., the switching should then
be due to nucleation. We study this crossover from coherent rotation to
nucleation for the classical three-dimensional Heisenberg model with a finite
anisotropy. The crossover is influenced by the size of the particle, the
strength of the driving magnetic field, and the anisotropy. We discuss the
relevant energy barriers which have to be overcome during the switching, and
find theoretical arguments which yield the energetically favorable reversal
mechanisms for given values of the quantities above. The results are confirmed
by Monte Carlo simulations of Heisenberg and Ising models.
