Buckaroo cob help? x

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lcharles

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Ok, so need your advice!!

Can see myself being lumbered with a horse that my friend bought and is now scared of so she wants him sold......

but anyway!! He is a lovely horse, very gentle natured and perfect on the ground. He is safe out hacking and good in all ways other than wanted to buck when he wants to canter. I think its frustration as he's in a pelham so you can hold him, with then builds up the frustration until he explodes. He isnt nasty, but he wants a release it seems. I rode him last night and he reared as well, which doesnt massively bother me but makes him 100% unsuitable for my friend.

I have only ridden him a handful of times but when i competed him he bucked when he knew he was going to jump - after the third time on the practise jump, he hetted up ready to go again. I know this could be fixed by turning him away and circling him in front of the jump so he doesnt always jump it and learns to listen to the rider and not decide himself! But, how do i get him to stop wanting to buck as soon as hes in an open space or when he wants to 'go'. Last night, everytime he did a little leap or went slightly joggier in his trot, i brought him back to a walk and did several transitions. Bearing in mind i only had an hour, he did settle once i went down a transition but got hyped up as soon as he went into a trot again. When i kicked him on when he felt like he was going to buck, he bucked three times!! Naughty coblet!! x

So, my thoughts are that the pelham is holding him, but building up his frustration, but other than transitions......what can i do to help his issue? I cantered him around the track about 8 times last night and he still bucked when he wanted to canter as hes a bundle of energy. He's never been cantered here before so he doesnt relate the area to cantering. He bucks anywhere where he'd like to canter!!

Hes a decent horse and would probably be more chilled if he was ridden everyday but i didnt think cobs needed riding everyday!! x
 
Also have a bucky one (absolutly not pain/discomfort, v thoroughly checked out!). She tends to do it either if held up, or as a way of expressing too much excitement to keep in!

We make sure to always keep forwards in what ever pace we are in, a good long trot before a place you plan to canter helps hugely. I avoid holding her up, that doesn't mean that she just takes off and picks the pace though! If she jogs about then she works at it, usually I ask for a forwards walk, though sometimes life is just too exciting and I don't get it so we stick in the jog (and I make her keep in it) and we do shoulder fore alternating bend, lots of zig zag in leg yield etc. Basically she bloomin well works, she isn't to choose when she drops out of the jog or moves up to an easier trot, she works at it until I say!!

I think the exciting becoming everyday helps alot too, so absolutly heaps of trot to canter and back again transitions until it is the dullest thing on earth and is work, just the same as everything else! If he does get angsty then make sure to stay soft in your hands and elbows, don't brace against him, keep all of your body language soft and relaxed.

I must admit though that the bit might not be helping you out alot, there is no point in just holding up a full of energy forwards horse and I'm pretty sure I would eat dirt in such a bit lol!

When he does buck make sure you give him a boot though, really keep him forwards. It is alot easier for him to buck when dropping off your leg than if you keep him working. I find an upright half seat in canter if I'm expecting bounces helps (siting to the bucks gives me back ache). Sit up what ever you do, and keep your heels down and your legs right under you - helps you stay put at least!

More work will def help, what is he being fed? Assuming with all the above that the obv stuff like back/saddle/farrier is all a-ok!
 
Give him something else to do with his energy instead of bucking. Instead of holding him till he explodes use it for something you want. So lots of transistions, including within a pace, lateral work etc. And don't make the classic mistake when he starts getting silly of forgetting about your legs & trying to use the reins to hold it in. Instead push him forwards into an active trot even if he's not capable of anything more varied. It could be a saddle/back problem, but from your description it sounds more like pent up energy.
 
I'd do a lot of trotting and walking out first consistantly, then find somewhere to canter where it isn't a huge open field, after a while riding.
Mine always bucked when shed had time off, it was pure explosive excitement, so no open spaces/cantering happened until we'd ridden out for a while.
 
If he has too much energy you need to look at why. Is he getting hard feed at all? could just be he has more going in that he needs and that is how he chooses to release it. How is he kept? Does he live in or out or a combination? If he is in is there any chance he could be left out. How old is he? Does he have a play buddy in the field so he gets a chance to release the energy that way? My horse will also put in the odd buck and rear from excitement and a bit like this horse if you hold him and prevent him from going at the speed he chooses he will bounce with lots of little bucks. I always save the faster work for last when schooling and do lots of slow work and lateral work as a warm up. Out hacking is there a nice hill you could take him up and really push him on as fast as he can go? This should release some of his pent up energy. Cobs are not all ploddy and ride now and again types. Mine is also a cob. He now lives out as this suits him best, has hard feed to maintain his weight as he can also drop weight much like a typical tb but does not have sugar beet or speedibeet and has no alfalfa as for some reasons he becomes a nightmare on these foodtypes. He tends to run on adrenalin and once he has done something exciting just can not wait for the next opportunity to go fast. I deal with it by steady hacking, never cantering in the same place, nor towards home and always at the speed I ask for. In order to keep him listening I school at least twice a week and if he is feeling particularly full of himself either take him for a blast up a good hill or do roadwork with plenty of slow trot as this is harder than allowing him to go flat out as he would like.
 
He's not on any feed! Hes on a bit of grass and thats it!

Its not a pain related thing as he was vetted when she bought him, and that wasnt long ago! Nothings changed since she trialled him, i did wonder if he was testing her but i just think he's a ball of energy and then gets frustrated when the pelham holds him.

little legs, i tried pushing him on and he bucked three times instead of once! lol x Once he stopped his bucking, i smacked him and then kicked on to canter, then came back to trot then cantered again and he was ok, then i bought him back to trot, then walk and then trotted a while, pushed him on when he felt slightly jiggy and spoke to him and then kicked him into canter he was ok but then got all hett up again when i went to canter again! x

Do i try a different bit?! I was trying to use my seat and position to slow him down and get him listening more, he does slow down when you ask, just not when hes jogging.

I definately think hes trying to avoid the hold of the bit, even when i was trying not to hold him as he'd 'snake' his neck and try twist to one side and get off his line before bucking or rearing as if bucking was his 'release'. He doesnt buck and then canter though, he sort of bucks and then seems confused!! lol x

If i use a different bit - waterford perhaps?
 
Keep him active before the canter transistion. Not just for 30secs, for 20 mins at least of intense work so its not suddenly exciting to canter. Do you have 2 reins on the pelham? If so thread the curb rein through a breastplate so it can't go over his head if he bucks, knot the end & leave it on his neck & ride in just the snaffle rein. Using the curb rein on a pelham puts pressure on the poll anyway, so if anything encouraging him to drop his head which for him I suspect is the ideal position for bucking.
 
Just because she had him vetted a couple of months ago, does mean that he is not in pain. Has he had the back and saddle checked? What about the dentist?

I agree with the other posts that "holding" him is just going to wind him up more and more, and make him more likely to do it. Plenty of gentle hacking (preferably on the road if hes good in traffic, and doesnt play up on the roads), in walk and trot. Give him plenty to think about though, and not just slopping along.
 
Have you tried just chucking the reins at him?

Does your friend "cling" to the reins if she thinks he is going to buck?

Have you tried him in just a plain snaffle? Some horses really do not like poll pressure.

Get the dentist out, they will be able to give you a good idea about what bit suits his mouth conformation, also get back and saddle checked.

Does he buck if you lunge him in canter with no tack on? Could be he is excited to canter, but lack of balance makes him buck?

Definately get saddler, dentist, back person out though.
 
It was hard last night because i had an hour but would obviously have more time if he comes to me. I can only tell what i can feel from him in the short periods that ive ridden him.

The owner had his teeth and back checked 2 weeks ago to rule anything out. She said that when she rides him that she is tense as she thinks he might buck, but he has only bucked with her once but she has only hacked him and the time he bucked was in an open space so she has avoided the potential jogging by doing what she feels safer with. Main reason he isnt suited for her as she cant do what she wants with him.

I havent seen her ride him since the time she rode him to try him out, he was dopier there though. She thinks he'd been ridden hard for hours before but no proof or idea why she thinks this.

Damnation, he is fairly fit but isnt brilliantly schooled so is possibly unbalanced, i looked at this last night as he didnt buck on the right rein, when i went onto the left rein he bucked several times so i questioned the balance so put him on the right rein again and he bucked then too but could be a contributing factor.

I havent lunged him so dont know what hes like, she has lunged him but dont know how it went - or if she even asked him to canter. She's sort of avoided much more than a walk lol x
 
Fair enough.

If teeth and saddle are checked then all is good. If it was me, (and I used to ride a bucky cob!) I would:

a) Swap for a snaffle or hanging cheek

b) Lunge then ride, see if that takes the edge off him.

c) Ensure he is worked for an hour a day every day, hard, doing different things. He will probibily turn into a different horse!

The cob I used to ride bucked when he was unbalanced, cantering in company, and when he napped.

The more I cantered in company, lunged him and rode him to help his balance the more he chilled out and was pretty much a novice ride by the time I was done with him, but he needed routine and daily work.

He was also VERY soft in the mouth, if I had of put him in a pelham he would have gone up.
 
Agree with Damnation.

He sounds just like my Izzy a couple of years ago. I had to learn to sit the bucks, make cantering less exciting and give him lots to do and think about. He still will put in a buck if particularly excited but hardly ever.

Part of my solution was to get a neck strap, take him in our massive haylage field and ask for canter at the bottom, hold on and kick on. I basically held on to neck strap, gave him the rein and everytime he bucked, gave him a kick. Got to the top, walked back down and did it again. About 6-8 times each evening for 10 days. I was a novice but luckily not nervous and had an airjacket.

With lots of work he is loads better, some cobs are just not the plods that everyone makes them out to be. Izzy needs 6 days a week of proper work - without it he is incredibly fresh and full of it.

Think once you get him regular hard and varied work you will have a different coblet on your hands. Mine went from being the wild one on the yard to the sensible hack escort and ride for nervous riders! All down to work.

He sounds fun to me!:D
 
Poster doesnt mention about saddle being checked. This should be the next port of call before you start working the animal for hours on end.
 
Would also add, this cob was loaned to a nervous family before I got the ride.

He wasn't scared, just young and green and learnt that bucking, napping and spooking got him out of things. Once he realised I didn't care and I would make him work regardless, it was almost like he just went "Ok you're in charge what are we doing next" and he enjoyed his work.

By the end of it I used him as a hack escort for youngsters, he was used in the hunt to nanny the babies at the back and I could canter him through the XC field, bareback in a headcollar and he was an absolute saint.

Time, nerve and patience usually gets through these problems.

Cobs are not always a first horse.

They are clever and if they realise doing a certain action will get them out of work, they will do it!!! :D
 
Wench - Nobody said work the horse for hours on end. An hour of work is hardly "hours on end". Infact, alot of people I am sure with energetic horses or wanting to get a horse fit will ride for an hour a day.

But of course, the saddle should be checked and you need to be absolutely sure the cob isn't in any pain before you start this.

However if his back is fine, *generally* the saddle is fine as a poor saddle means a sore back in my experience.
 
He's got a brand new Jeffries saddle which was fit i believe. I asked her if all obvious checks had been ruled out and she said they had so i assume she meant saddle to but will check with her.

Think is, he wont be ideal for her as she doesnt have time to ride every day but i am hoping that he'll chill out if i can ride him 6 times a week and get him reschooled to sell on. He'll be lovely - he is lovely, but even though his bucks are excitedness, its not what anyone would want so i would want to school this out of him before selling him. He's hunted and won open xc -3ft 3 and hes a fab little horse but think she wanted a plod with a bit of go in it when she wanted, that she could ride 3 times a week. Unfortunately he's not for her, even reschooled i think she wouldnt be able to ride him enough to keep him chilled and he's knocked her confidence - just by watching him buck with me. Shes just had a baby so doesnt want this.

His bucks are nothing compared to what my lad used to do so i can sit them ok but they are bad enough to knock someones confidence and definately get them off if they werent expecting it so they arent little bucks that you can tolerate as they could be dangerous.
 
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