My horse...........?

Question

I was riding my horse yesterday and my horse stopped, and wouldnt go forward. so i grabbed my crop and tapped his butt but he started bucking. what should i do???

Answer 1

Well first find out why he stopped,

He might have had a good reason for it !

Then go get lessons to learn to ride a bit better,

Answer 2

If your horse is usually good and not prone to stopping or bucking you might want to get him checked over by a vet to make sure there is nothign wrong with him. Maybe he is trying to tell you something is wrong?

Answer 3

Well, more information is needed here.  Where were you riding, i.e. on a trail, in an arena? What were you doing - i.e. were you just riding along, or were you doing ground work patters, dressage, training, jumping? Were you riding away from your horse's stable?  Could he be a little barn sour? Was something in your horse's path that he was hesitate to step on or in - i.e. a board, a puddle, loose dirt?  What was your horse's body language saying - i.e. were his ears pricked forward or backwards? Was he staring at something?  Was he standing still or shifting?  Did he try to back up?  Was he limping?  Did he tense up?  Snort? Try to turn?

If you were just riding along and he stopped for no reason without starting to limp or anything, odds are good an injury isn't the answer.   It sounds like your horse had a reason for not wanting to go forward, for example if you were riding along a trail in a forested park, he could have smelled or heard another animal, deer or whatnot, and been a little spooked.  Or something spooked him.  Or he didn't want to leave the barn area.  All these are problems that can be fixed, though you don't sound like you have enough experience to fix them yourself.

One thing you CAN do, if there is no danger and seemingly no reason for the horse to stop, I find that the best way to handle a horse who refuses to go forward like this is to keep him moving.  Circle him around to be heading back in the direction you want to go.  If he stops again, circle him again and when he gets to the place where he stopped the last two times apply more leg or if you need to, give him a tap BY YOUR HEEL with the crop.  Be prepared for his reaction by riding on a shortened rein.

You might need more advanced help if this problem continues.  Speak with your riding coach or another professional about this.

Answer 4

Maybe your horse was tired or it got hurt or something cause i used to have a horse but he was just fine but if i were you i would check all of its hoofs cause there might be something stuck in one of them and when you hit its butt then maybe you spooked your horse cause horses get scared really easily trust me i used to walk up to my horse and he started to run cause i kinda spooked him a little hope i helped!!!

Answer 5

Sorry, but we need a lot more information.  Had your horse ever done this before?  Were you outside or inside?  Did anything happen just before your horse stopped?  Did you check the horse's legs and hooves?

It could be something as simple as your horse saw a mouse run by and stopped to stare at it, then bucked because he didn't want to go toward where he saw the mouse!

It could be as complex as your horse has a leg, hoof, back, etc injury and stopped to tell you that it hurt, then bucked to tell you to get off because it hurt!

You'll need to ask someone at your barn for help.

Answer 6

well he could have just stopped because he sensed that something was wrong or something spooked him and he was to afraid to go on. It could have been anything like a stump or a small puddle. If something like that happens again I would check his hooves just incase. Or even get a vet to check him over. Sometimes horses just stop because they smell, hear or see something. (Like someone walking nearby) and they get distracted. If he was just distracted and you used your crop he could have been confused or scared so then started bucking. He could have also stopped because he had to scratch his leg. Or even poo! If you know that your horse is goofy or silly you should keep pushing him on because maybe he thinks that he can get away with it because your not going to do anything about it. Don't get to worried about it though. I bet he just got distracted. A good way to be able to know your horse and sense what he's feeling or trying to tell you is:

Try joining up with him or get involved with natural horsemanship so you can get to know him better.

Anyways I hope you find out what the problem was.

Have fun riding!

Hope I helped.

Sarah

Answer 7

Keep pushing him until he does what you ask because if you give in he will start taking control of you and try more stunts with you. Once he realizes he can't get his way he won't bulk anymore.