Bucking horse that is usually very well behaved??

Question

Today I had my first lesson since January. It was supposed to be just a simple get to know each other lesson with some walk, trot, canter, and maybe a few little cross rails. I normally ride my horse every day and he is very well behaved, but he is green. He has about a year under saddle now. Yesterday I cantered him bareback with no issues. But today I couldn't find my bridle (turns out one of the boarders who got kicked out for not paying raided the tack room) so we decided to try him on the lunge line. He has never been lunged with a rider before so I guess it is somewhat understandable that he was being a little weird there, but then someone found an old bridle that fit his tiny head and I got to go on my own. He was still being very weird and he actually bolted and and started bucking. He refused to walk and he was not listening to me at all which is strange in itself as he is usually so responsive. Once I finally got him down to what seemed like a nice walk for a few minutes,

Answer 1

he probably didn't like his new bridle, if the new bridle had a different bit, he would HATE it. and maybe he was still mad about the lunge line

Answer 2

Since your session ended well it doesn't matter if you wait to get your bridle back.  I would look for other reasons for the behavior though...if the bridle you used wasn]t significantly different, his behavior doesn't make sense.

Do you mean you were getting to know the instructor, and the lesson was on your horse that you ride every day?  Or had he not been ridden since January?  Could the saddle be the problem?  His behavior more reminds me of an issue with the saddle.  Also, could he have been colicky?  I've seen horses with a mild gas colic act this way when saddled and ridden.  Did you do moves that he hasn't done in months that could have made him uncomfortable?

I just don't think it's the bridle.

Answer 3

I'd guess its not tack, you lunged him to see correct?

If its not lameness, or showing,

my horse had a similar issue.

What happened?

She needed her teeth done.

Bad.

Check out the equine dentist. It may not be something you can see, when they look back, they look back far. Further than you can see by just lifting their lips or opening their mouth.

I would suggest a dentist.

Answer 4

some horses are a bit like us we get highly strung due to boredom but if you talk to the horse and stroke him/her to be rest assured sometimes they calm down.

Answer 5

Maybe the bridle was poking his head or something and he felt threatend...? Thats really odd. Maybe it was a mixture of the lunging and the new bridle and the horses saying bye...

I think you should lunge him with out a rider to get him going again. then ease him back in to riding. You don't want him to think riding is a scarry bad thing and you don't want him to think that he can get away with bucking and carrying on. If you rode him again it could teach him how to cope with different things and different senarios.

Hope he gets better! I can't believe the border did that!!

=)

Answer 6

There were lots of things that could have upset him in this situation. First of all one of the boarder's that got kicked out, maybe your horse enjoyed the boarder's horse. Also if he had never been lunged with a rider before it must have felt odd and strange for him. Then the bridle could have caused him to be upset because it could have been too big on him and the bit could have been too harsh or too big for him. There were lots of variables that could have affected his behavior. I have some suggestions.

1. Make sure you only ride him with your own tack. That could have caused lots of pain to his mouth and it must have been an unpleasant experience for him. He may not like the bit anymore.

2. If he had never been lunged with a rider on him, it was a new experience for him. That would be like if you only knew how to drive a goat kart and someone expects you to drive a car. He probably wasn't used to having weight on his back and obviously didn't like it either.

3. Sometimes a horse will act different if an individual is left out of the herd. So your horse could have bonded with the owner's horse and when he left (if he did) your horse could be confused.

4. Like Piebald fan said before me I concure that it would be a good idea to contact a professional trainer to help with this problem if it doesn't go away. Try it again and see what happens, once again what Piebald fan said. It sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

Good luck!

Edit: (Regarding your bridle question) I answered it on your other question. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 7

maybe its the bit..the wrong size/type ect.

Answer 8

Did this only happen with the borrowed tack?  Could be that it was ill fitting or even just a strange sensation.

I'd think that especially as you say he is green and so he won't be 100% used to full on training either and so it may have been a bit too much for him all at once.

Maybe try with your usual tack on and see how he goes.  If it still continues I think you should get help from a professional just so neither of you gets hurt.

I don't want this to sound how it might (sorry if it does) but borrowing other people's tack really isnt good for anyone - your horse or theirs - as not only is it strange, new and maybe wrong fitting, it could change shape on your horse or could be damaged in a way that isnt easily identifiable and then could hurt your friends horse - there's also the hygiene aspect of bits being shared etc.

Hope this helps

take care

K

Answer 9

well maybe he is just so used to his tack the borrowed tack you were using might have felt, or tasted funny to him that and also the new lunging experience

just try again and she how he reacts