How can I help my friend with her horse?

Question

My friend is having trouble with her horse and I am trying to help her. however, i am just getting over my fears. How can I help her to build confidence on and off of her horse? She is especially afraid of bucking, but she doesn't mind rearing as much. Thanks a bunch in advance!

Answer 1

is the horse actually doing these things or is she just afraid that it will?  either one is a pretty nasty habit.

if it is doing either one of these things consistently you need to try to figure out if there is something wrong (i.e. a sore back or something).  if that's it,get the problem fixed before you start training again.  can you seek the help of a professional?  are there any other horses that are easier to ride that she can spend time to help her confidence level?

either way take any training slowly.

Answer 2

well, she needs to trust her horse, or the horse won't trust her. than that's when you get problems...she just needs to get on a cooperative horse to build up her confidence, and that goes for you, too! btw, riding a buck is fun!

Answer 3

get a soft horse and give her some peaceful experience of riding , so that it will change the mind of her .

Answer 4

My horse a while ago use to run me through the woods, rear, buck, and roll but I soon trained it out of her. What the horse needs is almost daily interaction with lounging, etc. There may be things spooking the horse too. Try to get your friend to just use different things like a tarp or coat or cone on the ground and try to lead her past it, do not force her. Let the horse figure it out for itself. If you have to lead it away and back a couple times. Another thing that could be wrong is the saddle. Make sure the saddle has nothing wrong with it and if the horse has somewhat high withers you may need to get some extra pad they make for just this area which adds comfort to the horse's back. I hope this has helped. Good Luck

Answer 5

Get her a horse that would never buck or rear. That's about the only way. You need to get one that reaches into her soul and plucks her heartstrings. Other than that, just riding so much she gets used to it, but that just might make it worse. It really depends on the person.

Answer 6

make sure her horse is safe and dependable, and well trained, its very important for the riders confidence. also, don't pressure her into doing things to fast or at least wait until shes ready, it seems like if one bad thing happens she'll give up on riding. don't let that happen!

good luck!

xoxo

Answer 7

Has she had it's teeth, back and tack checked he might be in pain.Bucking in and of itself *can* be a behavior problem. But it is a lot of effort for a horse and something has to make the object on its back uncomfortable enough to want to get rid of it.

Rearing in and of itself can be a rebellion, fear or resistance problem.

Once you have checked that there is no physical problem causing him pain or discomfort, then you can look at other reasons for bad behaviour.

Look at his workload. Is he bored, fizzy (my mare bucks out of excitement, especially out hacking or when jumping) or are you asking him to do stuff he doesn't like or is scared of?

Do you have riding lessons? Can you get a one to one with a really good instructor who can help you nip problems in the bud!

Try asking someone else to ride him ( maybe someone older and really well experienced) See if he reacts the same way.

You might need to look at a bit of schooling, lunging, etc.

Most important though, while he is misbehaving, please DO NOT EVER ride alone! Always have someone with you, just in case. And make sure you have on your hat, gloves and body protector, and make sure your arms and legs are covered for your own safety.