Why does my horse buck? 7 Common Occassions & Their Cause
Horses bucking is a very normal and natural horse behaviour.
However, we don’t really want them doing it when we are handling or riding them because we can get hurt.
There are a couple of different types of bucking our horses can do as well. Just a little kick out in protest to your ask, through to a full out bronco ride that doesn’t stop until they get you off.
Knowing the type of bucking your horse is doing can help you to problem solve and understand what they need to not buck.
1. Bucking when mounting
If you are too scared to mount your horse because they take of bucking you will most likely need a breaker to work with your horse. There are a couple of reasons for this behaviour.
Poor mounting technique has meant that being mounted has hurt for them. Digging your toes into their ribs, twisting the saddle as you mount, pulling the saddle over and pulling and clambering your way up their back.
Sore back. The twist and the pull of climbing up into the saddle aggravates an already sore back
Girthy. If they are muscle sore around the girth, the way the girth pulls as you twist and pull yourself into the saddle can hurt
Saddle doesn’t fit
Memory of previous pain from being mounted
Poor initial experience of breaking. A horse doesn’t need to be bucked out to accept the saddle and rider. They do need to get used to moving with the restriction of the girth around the ribs and the rider moving and wobbling around on the their back.
Topline and their back not being conditioned to support the weight of the rider.
Thumping or sitting heavy into the saddle.
Any of these problems will also come up as you are just riding. For example the first few steps off in walk trigger a bronco outburst, the transition to trot, just a simple turn. Any time the horse unexpectable and unexplainably tacks off in a broncing fit these things need to be addressed.
2. Bucking when putting your heels in or touching the flank.
It is important that you know that the flank is a very sensitive area for the horse. It is literally where rodeo riders tie a rope to make a horse buck.
This is also the most common place for riders to swing their leg into when they lose their balance, especially in they are gripping with the knee. Swinging your heel into your horse flank and gripping can be an auto eject button on a lot of horses.
Being an unbalanced, bouncy rider on a green, novice horse or a horse that is even the slightest bit sore through their back, nervous, anxious horses and horses that are a little intolerant. It takes a very special horse to look after an inexperienced rider - that’s why a lot of riding school horses and trail horses are worth their weight in gold. They don’t react to unbalanced riders. Working on your core and riding independently of your horse is and important skill to develop as a horse riding that wants to care for their horse and to help kicking or bucking out.
3. Horse bucks when excited.
A horse that can’t control its emotions can’t control its behaviour.
We can often see this kind of bucking when we let our horse out for a big gallop or if other horses are loose galloping around and playing and our horse wants to join in. They can also buck on a gallop because they’ve lost their balance and trying to catch it. This one just takes time correcting to let our horse know what is appropriate under saddle and what isn’t.
4. Horse bucks into canter when asked to canter
If your horse only really bucks going into canter this is a pretty strong sign of them being cold backed or working hollow and tight through their back.
With the way the trot strides work in a diagonal pair, they can work with their head down in a frame and not properly warm their back up.
Because they canter has a naturally roundedness and lift through the back, if they’re back isn’t warmed up properly they will use the transition to canter to stretch their back and jump into it. If you warm up the canter on the lunge before you ride it probably won’t happen under saddle. The may also baulk or kick out after poles or jumps because this also encourages them to use their back.
5. Horse bucks when asked to move forward
Bucking when asking to move forward the horse has commonly established an aversion to leg pressure and gone sour on their working.
Spicing it up by hacking out, having them fit for their job and doing other groundwork exercises can help. Spurs will make it worse and the whip also usually makes it worse.
6. Horse bucks after jump
As with bucking into canter, horses that buck after the jump are generally cold backed and need their back well warmed up. They sometimes also do it if they are scared of the jump fill.
I have had some horses that only buck after a jump if they clip the rail, so that could be either frustration with themselves for touching it or giving themselves a fright.
7. Horse bucks on the lunge
This one I’m less worried about.
If my horse has some bucks in his system and needs to warm his back up, I want him to do it on the lunge and not in the saddle. I still don’t want them to be crazy and out of control, but I’m ok with them kicking their legs around a bit. If I have the right facilities and may also free lunge and let them have a good run and a buck if they really want to play, get the crazies out of their system or want a good stretch.
Once we have identified the when of the bucking, we can start to look deeper into the why, and then start to work on the how.
