BUCKING

[rrose]

im helping a 11 year old girl with her new forest 13.2 pony. its fine apart from being a bit green but has a problem and loves to buck, and has started bolting. this pony does not have a back problem or anything like that, just out of pure excitement. in does not like cantering as it is unblanced, i think because he was not schooled properly when he was younger. hes now 6 years.

his bucks are getting pretty big now and im the only one who can manage to sttay on bored. hes ridden in a fench link snaffle and a martigale as his head is in the air (unless he bucks obviously) i would buy a daisy rein but he will be one who will buck even if that did try to prevent it.

any tips or advice on trying to stop this habit gratefully recived xx thanks xx

 

[SSM]

When I went out with the hunt on a summer evening ride PSD was enjoying herself and bucking continually. Master told me to take her in a ploughed field and let her buck there, she would soon stop - maybe worth a try!

 

[flyingfeet]

Yes- 3 things:

1. Daisy rein - not fair on young riders if he gets his head between his legs

2. Handle on the saddle - plaited baler twine works well

3. Aussie stock saddle (if he doesn't improve)

The handle is for the rider to hold themselves in the saddle - bucking is not so much fun if you cannot dislodge the rider. Neck straps are no good for this, as shifts the weight forward too much so pony can push them out the front.

If the kids are not strong enough to hold on, a stock saddle is another good tool. They can lift their legs up and lock & brace against the poley knee rolls. Children should be able to brace in this position and stop the pony from dislodging them!

 

[eohippus]

what diet is he on? if this is over excitment, the only thing is to keep him going forward in an active trot and not let him get beyond the point of control so that he can bolt with you. ask around and see if there is anyone who can help you with schooling exercises to balance him up more. also lunging him before you go for a ride may help to get some steam out. daisy reins may help keep his head up but will not stop him bolting which could lead to a dangerous situation.
asking your instructor may help.
hope this helps
Dawn

 

[vicijp]

As you say he is unbalanced, this is most probably whats behind the bucking and bolting.
Personally I would go back to the start and re break him, will overcome the head carriage/mouth issues too. Take the re-backing very steadily, 2 sacks filled with straw would be good to long rein in.

 

[MagicMelon]

Bolting is very different from galloping off remember - bolting is not done out of exitcement, its done when they are in a blind panic! so if its galloping off which is down to being naughty. Id put him in a stronger bit just until he learns he cannot do this. As soon as he stops doing it then Id go back to the usual.

Are you positive he has no back / saddle problems? If not, Id check his feed and make sure he's basically only getting fibre (ie. no cereals at all) and hay rather than any haylage etc.

Id try lots of lungeing and introducing something like a Pessoa so he slowly begins to balance. Like vicijp mentioned, you could try her sack idea whilst lungeing so he can buck as much as he likes but wont chuck 'anyone' off.

Does he buck at particular times? Like in the canter or going into canter etc.? If for example he bucks going into canter then I wouldn't do obvious transitions into it - I would say, set up 2 jumps with 3 strides in between so he naturally goes into canter in between. Anything which takes his mind off bucking, so lots of interesting things to stimulate him like pole work etc.

 

[suebingham]

Can you ride him pretty hard in sand (along a river bottom or similar) -- and kinda get the starch out of him a little before putting the 11 YO on him? If it were me, I'd look at his feed too -- if he's eating grain, I'd try cutting back or eliminate it altogether. Just a couple thoughts.

 

[GatefieldHorses]

1. Check his teeth
2. Check his saddle fitting
3. Check his back
4. Go back to basics, lunge him in a pessoa trainging aid to get his balance in canter.
5. Do not put a stronger bit in his mouth, all you will do is make his mouth hard - he needs re schooling

hope this helps.