Read About Bucking Horse

A bucking horse is usually a very tense horse. There are many causes for bucking, but most of them are rooted in some sort of tension. Most horses give off several signs that they are likely to buck. When these signs are heeded, you have the opportunity to relax the horse before bad behavior begins. It is when you ignore these signs that you may end up with a bucking horse. Image Once a horse develops a habit of bucking it can be hard to break, so it is important to identify the horse’s cues and eliminate the behavior before it begins.

If your horse is generally nervous about being saddled, be sure to take your time with the process. Reassure him with a lot of touching, and be aware of him stiffening when you touch him. If your horse feels very tense between the front legs and the girth, or when you rub his belly in the girth area, it is likely he is too tense to be ridden right now. Take your time to reassure him. Positively reinforce any good behavior with praise and small treats.

If you have successfully saddled your horse but she is still acting tense, do not mount right away. Continue to try to soothe and relax her. Mounting an obviously tense horse is almost always a recipe for disaster. If the horse is holding her tail stiffly or dropping her rump, she is still tense and needs to be worked with further before mounting.

A bucking horse that does not appear to be afraid may be trying to communicate another form of tension. Check for poor saddle fit, health issues, or hoof problems. Whether the source of it is Imagereadily apparent or not, in most cases a bucking horse is an unhappy horse. If you find the source of this unhappiness, you will likely stop the bucking behavior. Eliminating this behavior in its early stages is very important. Once a horse develops a habit of bucking it can be a difficult behavior to eliminate.

If you do have a habitually bucking horse, some suggestions include working with a helper who can longe the horse (lead him on a short rope) while you are in the saddle, or work with your horse in a fairly small pen. Both of these can be effective because the horse does not have sufficient space to really get a “good” buck going.

Preventing a bucking horse is much easier than correcting one. Learn to identify the signs of tension that can precede bucking and work to relieve that tension. If your horse is usually obedient and her bucking behavior comes as a surprise, be sure to remount and continue riding for a few more minutes. This helps demonstrate that the behavior will not result in an end to the session and that a bucking horse does not get her way.