Why is my horse playing up?

Question

I have had my new horse for 6 months now, he is four years old but is not your typical 4 year old, hes is extremely queit and does whatever you ask of him, he never bucks,rears or naps but the other day my sister and i were out in an open field on our horses and were walking and trotting around togeather and after warming up we decided to go for a canter, i let her take the lead and all of a sudden my horse started to buck, rear and shake his head from side to side, when i pulled him to a halt and asked him to canter again and he done the same thing, after i got him to canter steadly i cooled him down and went back in, the next day he done the exact same thing, i thought maybe it was because he was excited that he was "racing" the other horse so when i took him into the field on his own he done it again and even napped a bit.

its really confusing me because hes never done it b4.

its cant be his tack beacuse hes not done it b4 and ive had him 6 months!

can anyone help?

Answer 1

Sounds like he was just playing to me. He was having fun being out in a big open field. And it was still fun the next day. Let him have his fun in the field AT THE TROT for a long time, so when it's time to canter he's used to being out in the field and hopefully a little tired as well :)

Answer 2

Why cant it be your tack?  Just because it was okay yesterday really doesnt mean it is today.  Something could have happened with the saddle.  So dont dismiss that out of hand.

Are you sure he hasnt hurt his back?  Sometimes when you ask something of them and they are hurting they will communicate in the only way they know how - and that ranges from napping, biting and bucking to tanking off with you.  So run through the checklist:

Tack

Back

Outside influence.

Ask your vet or a local chiro (they are about £40) to come and have a look at your horse and make sure that he hasnt pulled a muscle that is affecting his back.

Get someone to check the tack.

If none of that comes up as the reason - ask a local instructor or experienced rider to come along and watch and maybe they will see something from the ground that you are missing.

Even get his teeth checked - his mouth could be sore which is exacerbated by the aids given.

Answer 3

its probably that you were riding him in a field, which a lot of horses associate with being play time just because they usually have to be ridden in an arena and they go outside in a field