by Tracy Zadow

There are variety of reasons why a horse will buck. The first thing I will look at is the equipment that is being used. Does the saddle fit right and is it pinching the withers? Is the bit properly placed in the horses mouth and the headstall fitted correctly? Is the rider cinching the horse up too tight? Is the rider riding the horse correctly or are they off balance and using the reins for balance? Are their feet in good shape? Sometimes we need to look at the simplest things before we try to tackle it at a more aggressive approach.

Once I know that the tack is fitting properly and the rider is balanced, I eliminate the possibility that the horse's back might be out of alignment. This can cause major pain in a horse. You won't notice the horse in pain as it frolics in the pasture and plays with its buddies, but the minute you hop on and ask for the canter, you find yourself laying on the ground picking dirt out of your teeth. I once found myself hopping on a horse bareback and soon as I asked her to walk, she reared up then sat down. Soon as we got the chiropractor out she was good as gold again. Other times, you won't notice til you ask the horse for the canter. At the walk and trot the weight the horse carries is distributed evenly on all four feet, whereas the canter, the horse is carrying most of the weight on either the right or left lead. This can create too much stress on the horse's back and therefore it will buck trying to communicate that something is wrong. Ask your vet to recommend a good chiropractor for your horse.

After pain is eliminated as the cause, I will move on to laziness and disrespect. Since horses are lazy by nature, getting them to work and sweat may take some effort. Ever notice the horse you have to kick to death before it moves into the canter? Or the horse that feels it needs to trot really really fast before changing gaits? Horses will try anything to get out of working, including the attempt to buck you off. Therefore, soon as that happens, I immediately stop the horse and back him up forcefully about 6-7 steps then proceed to go straight into the canter again. If he bucks again, then I will do the back up and disengage the hindquarters then go straight into the canter again. I don't think I've ever had them buck a third time, but if that happened I would repeat the steps. It really doesn't take alot to correct this behavior, but to keep the horse from pulling the bucking stunt again I'll work on trot/canter transitions the rest of the week. Do these transitions for about 20 minutes (depending on the physical fitness of the horse). Follow up with it at least 2-3 times a week from now on. If you refrain from cantering except once in a while then you run the risk of it happening again.

If your horse has a serious bucking issue and is actually bucking like it's the rodeo then I recommend getting a professional trainer. Lots of groundwork and starting from Point A will need to be done to establish more respect from the horse before attempting to canter again. This article is mainly for the horse that is attempting to get out working and not for the horse that really wants to hurt you.

-Tracy