Bucking when going into canter?

liss1987

liss1987

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Hi there, I have a new pony and his previous owner was very honest when I got him and said he sometimes throws a buck when going into canter.
Sure enough when going into canter he does throw a buck, not enough to unseat me but still rather annoying!
He's had all the usual checks, back, saddle, teeth etc and no problems have been found so I'm assuming its just a cheeky little buck as he's a very forward going pony.
I'm a bit stumped as to how I can stop him from doing this. Any suggestions?
 
Some do, some don't. Hard habit to break when they do but it can be done.

How do you ask for canter? If it's in the classis style of swishing your outside leg when his shoulder dips ( he says while searching the memory banks ) remember to sit in well when do give the command - if he bucks, pull him up and do it again. Continue until he does it without a buck and then "make much of him" - he should ...... eventually... get the message.

Good luck - you might invest in a parachute just in case eh?
 
Try to keep the transitions low key so that he doesn't think it's a big deal going into canter. Sort of 'let' him canter rather than 'making' him do it if you see what I mean. Concentrate on keeping him relaxed and letting it flow so he doesn't get tense or overexcited.
If he's very forward and canters when you don't want him to don't make a big thing of it, just gently bring him back to trot/walk, don't pull him up sharply and get him more wound up.
 
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Thanks guys, he does get a bit over excited when going into canter so will try just gently asking for a canter and keep it all low key and as calm as possible and see if there's any improvement :)
 
If it isn't discomfort (IME, which is limited, this is most common but you've checked obvious things) then it can be excitement or being unbalanced.

Does pony do the same with no rider? On the lunge? On a hack in a straight line as in a corner of a school?
 
What 1stclassian said worked for my boy, he went through a couple of weeks of this (after conquering the nappy phase) and my RI told me to tell him off "NO", come back to trot asap, let him balance again and then ask for canter quietly. After about a week of this he figured out that yes it was fun to canter but he didn't have to get so excited about it :rolleyes: and the bucking stopped :)
 
liss1987 said:
Hi there, I have a new pony and his previous owner was very honest when I got him and said he sometimes throws a buck when going into canter.
Sure enough when going into canter he does throw a buck, not enough to unseat me but still rather annoying!
He's had all the usual checks, back, saddle, teeth etc and no problems have been found so I'm assuming its just a cheeky little buck as he's a very forward going pony.
I'm a bit stumped as to how I can stop him from doing this. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Is it just in the school or is it in when you are going straight?
 
Assuming you are right, and it's not pain, and just being cheeky, ask for canter quietly on a small circle, it's much harder for them to buck if they are bent. I just tend to try and prevent, and then ignore this type of behaviour.

Sometimes they are just bring naughty!!!
 
My cob goes through phases of doing this - and can go for weeks without bucking, then starts it again for no reason. Like yours he has had all the relevant physical checks, a new saddle, and have finally come to the conclusion he just likes to buck.

He will buck on the lunge and in the field if feeling fresh and is a way of expressing himself. If I had had him when he was younger I may have been able to discipline him out of it, but think the habit was too ingrained when I bought him as an 11yr old.

I try to ignore it and 'kick on', especially if on a hack, though agree it is frustrating when schooling.
 
My boy Pat does this. I know he's going to, and I know it's 'cause he's feeling well and enjoying life (often gives a little squeal too) , and it's not unseating, so I don't worry about it. The only thing that bothers me is if anyone else rides him - particularly my 10 year old son (who's only trotted him so far, for this very reason). Pat's about 17 and has always done it, so I guess we just have to work with it.
 
Mine did do it for a very short period and yes it is annoying! Mine was to a degree pain relatred with that fixed he still did it. Are you, the rider in check? I was holding on to one rein which I'm sure didn't help. I agree canter in a circle and lunge with 10's of canter transitions if he is unbalanced and bucking he will get stronger and support himself. If its excitement he will get bored. If he doesn't do it on the lunge it needs investigating as to why he does it ridden.
 
In my limited experience, there are a number of reasons a horse will buck going into canter.
The first one, is that the rider gives too strong a leg aid, and the horse is restricted through his rib cage; this often happens if the horse is backwards thinking as the rider gets to the 'desperate' point of leg aids. :D. The cure for this is to make sure the horse is very responsive to the leg before you ask for the canter transition (also make sure you give enough with the rein).

The second one is that young, green or fairly unschooled horses find it difficult to flex their hock joints sufficiently to bring their legs through into canter, and buck to do this with a straight leg instead. The cure for this is lots of work on hind leg flexion - trot poles, leg yield from the 3/4 line out to the track, then ask for canter on the corner. Shoulder in, and hill work will also help.

Good luck.
S :D
 
Really good answer from Shilasdair - I will be bearing all of that in mind with my young horse who does the same.

It can also be pain related (as it was in our case) with a young croup-high horse as his saddle was pressing forward onto the shoulder and making the horse struggle to go forward. This was first noticeable in canter transitions.
 
I had this problem, and realised it was the saddle pinching :o

Shy will also buck with excitement, and one of the things that has helped greatly is doing transitions in the school - walk/canter/trot/stand/canter. Lots of them. He really enjoys it as it keep him active, and we do it all just using my voice.

Hope that helps :)
 
Shysmum said:
I had this problem, and realised it was the saddle pinching :o

Shy will also buck with excitement, and one of the things that has helped greatly is doing transitions in the school - walk/canter/trot/stand/canter. Lots of them. He really enjoys it as it keep him active, and we do it all just using my voice.

Hope that helps :)
Click to expand...

I started doing that to help with making my aids more subtle. Stopped doing it as if schooling when someone else is lunging, was finding that he would be listening to what the person lunging was saying!
 
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