Horse has started bucking?

Question

My Thoroughbred mare has started to buck in the canter. It started out because of an ill fitting saddle (because of her huge wither) The saddle has been adjusted to fit her now, but shes still bucking in the canter?

She used to canter beautifully, relaxed and happy, now when she makes the transition from a trot to a canter, she 'jumps' into the canter straight into a buck (a pathetic weak buck lol). She will buck, stride, jump, then buck again...and so on, till I pull her back into a trot.

I will contact a local trainer for help if I cant fix this, but I thought someone here might have an idea to help me fix this on my own.

Thankfully Ive managed to hold my seat well so far, Im confident while shes carrying on like a looney to sit it, but this definatly needs to stop now.

Any ideas on how to stop this behaviour?

Answer 1

it could be that the horses withers are brusied from the ill fitting saddle and sience she learned that wen she goes into a canter thatshe bucks so i think you need to re train her  

Answer 2

some horses buck because they get bored of being worked/riden in the same place constantly. my horse recently started to do that so i had a friend take him on a 2 hour ride out bush and he was a great ride she had said.

Answer 3

i think she gets a bit excited what i recommend is ,it might sound crazy but stand up in your seat and she will slow down it sounds mad but it really does work.

maybe  practice bending while riding i,f you galloping  in a field then bend from one side to an other like skying just a steady controlled canter.

Answer 4

Perhaps something is pinching her.  Maybe the adjustment of the saddle is still out of wack.  Try another saddle

Answer 5

get her back checked out by a chiropractor. A badly fitting saddle may have started an issue that wont be fixed by just getting a better fitting saddle. Don't approach the idea of 'stopping' the behaviour, your horse is trying to communicate something to you.

Answer 6

I have experienced similar behaviour and i would suggest riding in a light seat in the trot and remain in a light sit through the transition half hault whilst asking fo canter then keep a soft reign and good seat make sure you are relaxed.

Answer 7

If she is cantering around the paddock fine but when you put the saddle on and ride her and she's doing it try lunging her before u get on her. If she is still doing it at the canter without weight in the saddle it could be a problem with the saddle, or cinch. If it's only when there is weight in the saddle it could be something wrong with her back, something may be out of line.

Good Luck

Answer 8

It takes a long time to recover from the damage done to the thoracic vertebrae and surrounding muscles after you have ridden with a saddle traumatizing the withers, which makes it painful for the horse to extend the shoulders and/or elevate her back.  The extention required for the canter would accentuate the pain.  Bone inflammation can result in formation of exostoses, or spurs on the vertebrae involved.  I would not assume that simply fixing the saddle fit means that the horse is ready to resume work as usual.  Her behavior is more likely to be telling you that she is in pain than it is to be related to anticipation of pain, so it should be eveluated further before making any assumptions.

Also, what a horse may do freely running in a pasture cannot be compared to when she is carrying a rider, which interferes with the way she can carry herself.

Answer 9

Maybe you should try lunging her around the arena/round pen. Then put the saddle on her and walk her (don't ride her, have her saddle on but is on the lunge line) then trot, finally, make her do a very slow canter. Then if she begins to act up. Stop her. Make her stand. If she stops praise her. Not a lot, but enough so she gets the idea. She sounds like a wonderful horse, but this can't continue on.  And continue, do a little more lunging, and then you should ride. Do a real fast trot. It'll make it easy for her to go into the canter. She would think twice about bucking.

You might have to break her all over again. I've never heard of something like this with her actions.

Anyways. Good Luck!

Answer 10

Successive approximations.

But you'd better be careful with that horse!!!

I'd trade it in for a docile horse!

Answer 11

If her withers were deeply bruised from the ill-fitting saddle, it could take weeks for the ache to fully go away.  She may be bucking because it still bothers her, or she may buck because she *anticipates* the pain she felt before, even though it has subsided.

Don't know what it means that the "saddle has been adjusted to fit her now" - and ill-fitting saddle is most often not able to be "adjusted".  Usually you must get another saddle that naturally fits better.  If all you did was add more padding, that will not necessarily do the trick to get rid of the pinching/rubbing at her withers - and it can actually make it worse.

Try giving her a break from riding for a week or two.  After some recovery time, work her on a lunge line all the way up from walk, trot, to canter.  If she bucks on the lead while cantering, this may be a sign that the ache is still there or it can be as I stated above, that she's learned to anticipate a pain that was there but isn't any more.  Use your judgement over which is the case.

Try to find a different saddle to use on her that is better fitting and see if that helps any.  If it does, you'll know that it is the saddle you were using - obviously, don't use it anymore.

Contacting a local trainer is a good idea as they will be able to check the fit of the saddle & pad(s) you are using for proper fit.  They will also be able to help you determine if your horse's bucking is from actual or anticipated aches/pain.

Good luck.

Answer 12

If she was bruised from the other saddle, it might not have gone away and still hurts her when she canters. I wouldn't ride her for a week or two, without dying from lack of riding lol, then see how she is. A massage on her withers and shoulders might help also.

There was a horse at this one horse camp that I went to who would buck every time his rider asked him to canter. He would buck and buck, but there wasn't anything that caused it. One of the counselers told the rider to canter, and to take the right (or left) rein and get the horse's nose to the rider's leg.

This made the horse turn in quick circles, and eventually his bucks got more pathetic and stopped. If your horse will still buck after the week of no riding and massages, you could try the circles. It won't hurt her. Good luck, hope I helped.  

Answer 13

To me it sounds like someting is pinching her. Have someone watch while you ride. You also might want to get a chiropractor out to see if her back is hurting.