Bucking horse!

HairyCoblet

HairyCoblet

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7 year old gelding has bee chucking the odd buck in when going into canter when ridden.
Back teeth saddle ect all fine. He lunges fine on both reins with tack on.

I think it’s a case of him being stubborn because he is lazy and will try every trick in the book for a easy life! Getting him to canter is a workout in itself! Once ridden through the buck he canters fine.
He canters perfectly fine out on a hack. It’s just in the school he turns into a snail.

Any tips?!
I’m going to book some lessons to work on our canter transitions but if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated!
 
He might struggle more to get his balance in the school, although I still haven't forgiven myself for riding mine through that when everyone was saying 'behaviour' and my gut was saying she was sore.

Happens on both reins or just one?
 
I know cobs can really try it on - but as pearlsinger says it takes more effort to buck than to canter. If her were mine I'd be looking a bit more closely. Its easier to canter on a hack as their blood is up and its a more or less straight line. He can canter on the lunge so it is only with a rider's weight and on a surface he has issues?

You are absolutely right to get an instructor. You could try cantering on the straight side rather than in the corner to see if the issue is with bend? Although I would opt for a proper lameness workup first to rule out pain.
 
Is your horse a cob? They often find canter very difficult, and bucking into the transition can also be a sign that something's not right - I'd check hocks, stifles just to be sure.
 
Does he react the same to being asked to put more effort into his trot? That might help work out if its a laziness thing or that he finds it difficult.

Also, how far back is your leg going and do you use a schooling whip? He might be objecting to a 'shouty' aid rather than the canter per se.
 
I just want to mention that this is classic for a particular issue with a saddle, which is that it is too far forwards, sitting on the shoulder, and tipping back. It doesn't have to be drastically so. You can check if it's back behind the shoulder yourself to be doubly sure, the front edge of the tree points should be about 3 fingers breadth behind the rear edge of the shoulder blade, so it means you ignore the flap totally. I agree that cobs find canter more difficult on the whole, but bucking is so commonly the saddle that it may be worth getting a second opinion. Feel free to post a photo of where the saddle is sitting (whole body shot) at the end of your session.
 
HairyCoblet said:
I think it’s a case of him being stubborn because he is lazy and will try every trick in the book for a easy life!
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Responses like this scare me. This is NOT how horses think, this is how humans think! Your horse is trying to tell you he isnt comfortable with something and you arent listening properly. I would get a second opinion on the saddle fit!
 
Has
Antw23uk said:
Responses like this scare me. This is NOT how horses think, this is how humans think! Your horse is trying to tell you he isnt comfortable with something and you arent listening properly. I would get a second opinion on the saddle fit!
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Bang on.. horses aren't lazy somethings wrong. If saddle fit is fine i'd get the vet out for flexion tests and x-rays if any concerns. Struggling with canter shouts hock issues to me. Possibly arthritis.
 
Antw23uk said:
Responses like this scare me. This is NOT how horses think, this is how humans think! Your horse is trying to tell you he isnt comfortable with something and you arent listening properly. I would get a second opinion on the saddle fit!
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I've got to say I agree. I have a mare not long back with me after she started bucking - it started with an ill-fitting saddle, and then proceeded to hind gut ulcers. Treated and fixed - no bucking. Had another come back last year - again - had turned into a bucking bronco - owner was a know-it-all 'expert' - didn't even want her money back - just wanted rid. That mare had been in an ill-fitting saddle for at LEAST 3 months - probably the whole time the woman had her. She was so sore in the wither area you couldn't touch the wither. Needed time to heal - then no bucking. Sold her again to a GOOD rider - and has now won her first dressage test. Bucking MIGHT be caused by a bit of exuberance - I have a WB who likes to do a little buck (just 1) going into canter. But after the first canter transition, he's fine. But 9 times out of 10 in a horse that's been backed at least 3 months, bucking means pain.
 
JanetGeorge said:
I've got to say I agree. I have a mare not long back with me after she started bucking - it started with an ill-fitting saddle, and then proceeded to hind gut ulcers. Treated and fixed - no bucking. Had another come back last year - again - had turned into a bucking bronco - owner was a know-it-all 'expert' - didn't even want her money back - just wanted rid. That mare had been in an ill-fitting saddle for at LEAST 3 months - probably the whole time the woman had her. She was so sore in the wither area you couldn't touch the wither. Needed time to heal - then no bucking. Sold her again to a GOOD rider - and has now won her first dressage test. Bucking MIGHT be caused by a bit of exuberance - I have a WB who likes to do a little buck (just 1) going into canter. But after the first canter transition, he's fine. But 9 times out of 10 in a horse that's been backed at least 3 months, bucking means pain.
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My previous mare bucked and reared, after months of getting no where and being told by physios and a vet shes mareish and its behavioral.. I begged for x-rays and she had chronic kissing spine which would of been agony.
 
Aimeetess said:
My previous mare bucked and reared, after months of getting no where and being told by physios and a vet shes mareish and its behavioral.. I begged for x-rays and she had chronic kissing spine which would of been agony.
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Vets are dim - but I'd replace the physio - mine has accurately diagnosed KS in two - and one I suspected, she agreed and was wrong. But he DID have a calcified ligament in exactly the place she thought there was KS, so wasn't far wrong.
 
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