Question from a reader: My horse bucks at the canter

From: Marla

I have an 11 year old palomino quarter horse who I have owned for a year and a half. While we are cantering, my horse bucks. I have had his saddle fit checked and I have had a chiropractor work on him, yet he still bucks several times in the canter. I'm not sure how to break what seems to be becoming a bad habit. When I first bought him he was not bucking, but he seems to have developed this bad habit over the past 6 months. While I have a pretty good seat, I am concerned that I will get hurt if this behavior continues or worse yet someone else may get hurt as well. I would appreciate any suggestions you can make. I don't think he's in pain as I have had the vet check him as well. Help.

Marla:

Any time I help with a problem whether I'm present or not I categorize a horse into four separate categories--Mental, Physical, Emotional, and Mechanical. Each category is self explanatory except for the mechanical. Mechanical, I judge as the riders duty of horsemanship including the horses foot-fall and movements.

Mental--No doubt the horse's intelligence isn't in question.

Physical--The owner has taken the proper steps to determine there isn't any physical handicap or injury. This should be done first, before all the OIT( Old Indian Tricks) and the frustration of the rider is taken out on the horse. In addition, she has purchased an excellent saddle pad from CSI as a preventive measure. Good job Marla.

Emotional--Marla's horse is reported to buck when he is around other horses and in an outside environment. He is reported not to buck at a walk, trot, or in an arena environment. The horse is stall kept with turn out. He doesn't pin his ears or what I would call 'pitch,' meaning his head isn't positioned between his front legs squalling like a stuck pig under a fence.

Mechanical--Marla's horsemanship level at this time doesn't cover the footfall of the horse. My concern was to determine if the horse was kicking up in the hind end in order to correct himself in a cross fire pattern (dropping a hind lead). I would rule the problem of a cross fire out. Study the diagram for proper foot placement at the lope.

Conclusion: My conclusion without being present would fall heavily towards the emotional side of her horse. The prison cell, prison yard theory comes into play with this horse. When he is ridden outside the environment is much larger than indoors. Naturally this freedom raises the emotions of the horse. Also the herd instinct and playful nature when around other horses comes into play. In cowboy terms he feels good! Too good for Marla at this time.

Additional consideration: This horse may not be broke. Consider it takes 21 days to form a new habit, 90 days to break an old one. His original training time is undetermined and he has been off duty for some time. I would ride this horse as though he was a new colt until I could get a feel and read him correctly. Until this is determined Marla may consider some professional help.

Advice/suggestion: I have to take into consideration Marla's ability as a rider and age. She simply wants to have a trail horse and has no desire to ride broncs. So teaching her to keep in time with the front end, and pull down is out of the question. However for safety I did suggest a night latch on her saddle fork.

What I would like to see Marla try would to be to get her horse tired by using some exercises before asking for a lope, or heading out into the open to enjoy the sunset with her horse not being warmed up. In this case I would like to see him worn out. I would try trotting some circles and figure eights holding her horse at the trot then offering a down transition to the walk. Next I would like to see Marla build up to trotting figure eights. Then finally adding simple lead changes to the figure eight pattern. This will give Marla an opportunity to improve her horsemanship rather than riding out an unexpected emotional buck at the lope.

Once I could see a little sweat and physical tiring, I would then offer the lope to the horse as a reward. If he remained under control I would give him a nice gesture for a few strides and come back down to the trot then to the walk so he wouldn't think he was to be loped into the ground. Once he had a job daily and Marla feels comfortable with her seat then I would offer loping circles without all the drilling exercises.

If his conduct continues after being given a fair chance, then he needs to be ridden at lope by an advanced horsemen who will give him all the loping he wants after he bucks, plus a little extra. It wouldn't hurt him at all to cover several miles daily at a good long trot.

Closing thoughts--The thought and hunch of the horse not being truly broke continues to enter my mind. I would hire a pro to take him for a spin or two. Maybe go all the way back to some round pen at liberty training and see what he really knows.

Hope this helps Marla, be safe!

"There's one bit that works on all horses, a bit of knowledge." Until next time I hope the good Lord blesses you, your families, and your livestock.

God Bless, Pat

Pat Hooks is a day working cowboy from Texhoma, Okla. Hooks has taught clinics at national horse expo's and private ranches since 1989, and writes how-to articles for various national magazines, websites and is a published author. For more information on his books, DVD's, and clinics please go to www.hookshorseranch.com or call 580-423-7482.

Date: 8/14/09