Why did my pony buck off my husband?

Question

I got a new pony 16 yrs old 14 hand, quarter paint. I have seen pics of children riding her, her owner jumped on her and rode her bareback to show me she could ride. I have worked with my pony all week just walking her around and grooming her. My husband came to see her today for the first time. He walked out to her in the turnuot was petting her and then decided just to jump on her no bridle or saddle. She stood still and did not move, then my husband kicked her a couple of times and she started to run fast and bucked him off....i think he was an idiot for doing this, because I have been trying to get her to trust me, and respect me before I get on her. I want to know, why did she buck him off? is it because he just met her today? Was his act of jumping on her really stupid?

Answer 1

maybe she doesn't like being kicked in the side.  It takes awhile to learn the ins and outs of a horses likes and dislikes,  maybe he should have just squeezed her sides a bit

Answer 2

what you have been doing is good

suddelnly someone new may have scared her a bit which is why she bucked

or in worst possible case which has happened to many poeple

she was drugged up by the owner to seem quiet

Answer 3

Could be some horses just don't know what to do when they don't have a saddle or bridle or halter on them...so they bolt when weight is put on them

Could be this was a new person that had no 'control' of the horse...and the horse knew there was no control...so it acted accordingly.

Could be the weight of your husband is something totally foreign to the horse.  He's much heavier than a child..

It may have gone better if he hadn't kicked the horse...and let her move on her own to give her time to adjust to him.

I think almost all my friends have jumped on a horse without bridle or saddle at some time in their past.  Me included...Just to see what the horse would do.  We all have stories about what happened next...usually the horse running and us having to bail off or falling off.

Could be she is still adjusting to her new enviroment and was feeling boogery when something happened she wasn't used to.  Many horses will not behave like normal when they are mounted without some kind of control like a halter or bridle.  Without anything to 'tell' the horse what to do...they make their own decisions...and it's never what a human would want to do!  So, they run and buck for the most part from my experience.

I believe it's easily fixable...your husband just needs to invest the time of getting to know the horse, and letting the horse know him...before he tries something again that requires a trust bond between horse and rider...like hopping on without any control.