Am i being a wuss???

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Samantha008

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Ok, basically, im looking for a horse to loan and ive managed to find one that fits my bill in every way ( i havent seen him yet) but from the owners descriptions hes exactly what i want, and so far i havent had much luck finding what i want!!

However, he bucks on the transition into canter. The owner said this is his only flaw, i havent seen him to see if hes sound etc, but hes got good conformation (although a slight hunters bump)

She told me that she had someone coming to look at him at the weekend but it didnt go down very well, as the horse bucked its usual rider (the owner doesnt ride him as shes only just started riding again after 20yrs out and bought him on a spur of the moment sort of thing but has since descovered that hes too much for her to handle) a teenage girl off, and the people didnt want him after they saw that. Hes 7yrs old and mainly been used for hunting. He was a hireling? suggesting that he must have been thought safe to ride!!

So my problem is, im an ok rider, im not great by any means, but ive ridden a few bronchos and buckaroos and generally been ok....touch wood. My last experience of a bucking horse was a part loan a few years ago...turned out he had a bad back and didnt like the bouncing in sitting trot!! Though he was ridden by a 16st man!!Poor horse :/

So...to stop my rambling....

Going to see horse, as teenage girl fell off, she wont ride him for me tonight. So i have no one to show him for me. So the owner has said to get straight on!!! Should i go and see him and just walk and trot? Though im aware this wont give me the full experience of him, or would this be enought o make a judgement to go back when someone can show me him in canter??? Or do i just get on and pull my socks up and canter??? Or is this really silly knowing he could be possibly be dangerous??? I mean, it could be fine, he could just skip a little, which would be fine but itd be nice to see someone who knows him do it firstttt....

The owner says the yard manager will ride him but that ill have to go at a time when shes at work, and im two hours too late tonight.

Really dont know what to do...i dont want to postpone my visit incase he someone falls in love with him over a little skip or an excited kick out.... but i dont want to get on a horse i dont know and risk coming off and breaking already fragile bones when i know there could be a problem there.

Ick. HELP!!!
 
The fact that you are asking the question means you have some doubt. So arrange a time for the yard manager to ride.

I bet he is just too much for a returning rider, and he hasnt been ridden for an age. His bucks are probably a bit of excitement at having something done with him!

But better safe than sorry!
 
I absolutely would not ever get on ANY horse that nobody else would ride because the last rider came to harm. No way.

Wait until a time that the YO can ride. x
 
personally if it was me, i wouldnt be to bothered if someone couldnt ride him first, if it was a horse that i thought was exactly what i wanted then i would just go for it, try him and take things slow, you will know walk and trot if he is the horse for you.
 
Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Let someone else risk themselves if they want but why bother? There's enough decent horses looking for homes without risking yourself on one that obviously has a problem.
 
If no one will ride him, you could always ask to lunge first maybe? accidents happen all the time and sometimes bucks unseat the best of riders..

Get on and do what you're comfortable with doing, it could just be a pathetic buck which my friends pony does (which I find so fun!) or it could be excitement or just a bad habit he needs snapping out of?

I don't think you're being a wuss at all I think you're being sensible about the situation, as obviously you don't want to injure yourself...

Saying that though, I recently got a new one and was told she bucks... erm, can't say she has! But best of luck later! x
 
If they haven't got someone to ride him - steer clear. The fact that his 'regular' rider won't even get back on sounds alarm bells for me.

Nothing wrong with the odd buck - but if you're not confident, don't put yourself in a position of potential injury.

Personally I'd walk away.
 
No you are not! I think that is absolutely unacceptable. Seller needs to arrange for somone to ride the horse for you to show it off especially as they know it plays up.
 
Samantha008 said:
The regular rider wont ride as shes hurt her back falling off, so ive been told, not because she doesnt want too.

Sorry should have said that!!!
Click to expand...

Did she fall off him?? Sounds like he's got some back problems that need sorting, if they will pay for someone to check him out and confirm he's sound then maybe worth waiting for someone who'll ride him but sounds to me like no one is willing to risk it...so why should you?
 
I think i would let the yo ride first and then it depends on how bad the bucking is a palyful buck or handstands, you dont know how well the young rider that got bucked off can actually ride it maybe isnt that bad.

But you would have to get him checked to rule out pain and if you are nervous or unsure then i would say no, a couple of mine have a buck and bronc in certain situations but its not malicious so doesnt bother me but you would have to decide how you would feel dealing with it on a regular basis.
 
If he's known to buck and they have made the point of telling you this and the fact that's he's unseated his regular rider, I'd look at in two ways.

If you don't mind a horse that bucks and you'd still be intersted in him even if you saw someone else ride him (and being bucked), then you might as well try him for yourself, yes your taking a risk but you are taking a risk anway if you were to consider buying him knowing that he bucks...if you see what I mean, could be that he's a bit too fresh and needs a loon about on the lunge.

But if he always does it when going into canter, that's something I'd always be concerned about, as in a soundness issue, it would bug me until I ruled out every possible reason why he was doing it...but that's just me.

The fact that he's bucked his regular rider off (which I presume she's used to keeping onboard) and she doesnt want to ride him again, even to show other people would concern me.

If your wanting to ride out a lot on your own and go for canters etc do you really want a horse that is known to buck everytime during a canter? coming off on your own, loose horse etc

Remember not only can a horse be fresh at times if he's not been ridden but you can go to the opposite side of the scale, the more you ride, the fitter a horse will get, which with some horses that bronc could potentially make the problem worse.

So in my view, you either try him yourself or forget about him all together, be prepaired for all or nothing!
 
A few years ago when i was shopping for my first horse after a long break, I had an experience which has affected my confidence ever since. The horse was a rather big cobby type thing, more of a man's horse if you ask me, but he sounded great.

The owner rode it first in a small field, I rode it, then we went down the road to a field where she said, take him down there for a canter, indicating a track. Well, that was it, the fecking thing was off and I couldn't stop, turn or anything - it stumbled quite badly onto its knees and I honestly thought my time on this planet was up - it regained its feet and continued galloping off with me. By the time it ran out of steam we had reached the owner again and I slid off into a heap on the floor. The owner promptly burst into tears and told me how much she hated the horse!

I didn't think it had affected me until I got onto another horse a few days later. I was a nervous wreck. Fast forward 4 years and I am still a nervous rider.

Personally I would never get on an unknown horse again before seeing it being ridden first, and that includes canter!
 
I'm a new member here & am quite saddened by so many posts by people who do not know what to do about simple issues like: whether to mount a horse that's bucked people off regularly, whether to get on & push a horse who's taken to spinning for home over its thresholds on hack, etc. I hope many will see this: please, people, don't bite off more than you can chew! So many of you wrongly think that you must "tough it out" & ride the dangerous horse - wrong! That's just macho junk, which doesn't work with horses as they see right through it & use it against you. You must stay off of these horses till you gain the skill & confidence to mount up! As posted here, many have lost their confidence for years by capitulating to some human urging or self-chiding! Plus, even if you've gained the skill & confidence for a particular horse, you should dismount as soon as it crosses your mind to do so; don't wait to feel scared!
 
Bouquet. Whilst I can see what you are trying to say, my firm advice to this poster would be to stay off the horse until you can see it ridden. I am a very experienced rider and I take adequate precautions at all times, including when mounting up.
15 months ago I went to see a horse that was threatened with the sales, although a previous owner and breeder rated the horse highly and asked if i'd take a look and help rehome. I'll help anyone rehome a horse if it means they avoid the local sales, good rarely comes from them.
The horse in question had a buck. So do my pointers, and many other horses I have had in. Owner wouldn't ride him, and as I was there and didn't want another wasted journey I hopped on. Horse did not buck, he bronked and ran into the fence line to remove his rider. Owner confessed whilst I was on the floor and awaiting the ambulance that he had done it so much he'd put her in hospital along with his previous rider. Had I known this I would not have been helping, the horse had serious issues and needed either a bullet or long term retraining. Not offloading to the sales for someone else to get hurt.
This was 15 months ago. I have only ridden a handful of times since due to the injury, and am awaiting another operation to try and remedy the pain due to it.
Honesty is always the best policy where horses are concerned. Be honest about your own desires and ability. But don't rely on sellers (or loaners) to be honest - find out for yourself and trust your instinct.
This horse may just be cheeky, lots are. But he may have learnt how easy it is to eject people, and you may get hurt. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
If a horse doesn't behave for his regular rider, or no one will climb on board, listen to the alarm bells.
 
Duggan talks a lot of sense :D
I've spent my 46 years around horses riding the ones other people dont want to ride. Up until 2 years ago I would get on any horse without seeing it ridden first.
Two things happened that have changed my attitude. First was a very novicey owner asked me to help them with their horse. They said it could buck at times which got them off. They'd lost all confidence and wouldn't ride the horse. So I met them, had a long chat, met the horse who seemed very chilled and sweet so agree to ride him. He stood like an angel at the mounting block. I managed to get one fott in the stirrup and was swinging other leg over saddle when he exploded. Only way to discribe it. I managed to stay on for a lap of the areana (still only had one stirrup) then got dumped on to a barb wire fence. Then those immortal words "he's never done that before". Yeah right :mad:
Second thing was a couple of years ago when I went to try a horse for loan (to stay at owners premisis FOC). Owner tacked horse up and handed her to me. No offer to ride her first and no real detail about what she was like to ride. Well lets be kind andjust say she was spirited.
I did take her on and once I got to know her found out just how much she could throw her toys out for no apparent reason and at the drop of a hat.
I mentioned to the owner some 3 months in to riding this horse that knowing her as I did, just letting me (an unkown rider to the owner) just get on her as a bit risky. Her reply was "If you managed to work her out before she dumped you then you were the right rider for her.

This weekend I went to try a 15hh welsh D who did not (according to owner) have any issues at all and was often ridden by a novice rider.
Guess what, I made the owner ride first! She was a super horse :D

So i guess you know what my advice would be.
 
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