Cheeky Bucks......

Horseyscot

Horseyscot

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Ok, so decided to do bit of schooling today and all was going fine. then when i ask for canter the cheeky b****r decides to put in a wee buck. not really a major prob and he does this a lot, think its just a little objection to having to work! he doesn't get away with it and i just push on into the canter which then goes fine. problem is he does it nearly every time, and i quite fancy doing a bit of dressage on him so any suggestions to make him stop? not a nasty trying to get me off buck , just a wee peed off sort of one!
 
Assuming teeth, back etc. is all ok, maybe you could try only asking for a couple of strides of canter, then coming straight back to trot before he gets the chance to buck, then you can increase the amount of canter gradually. It really worked for an old horse i used to ride, he caught on quite quickly and stopped bucking entirely.
Good luck anyway!
 
thanks. Had teeth done in march. saddles just been re-flocked and back checked then. He actually bucks as we stike off into canter, so first strides come after the buck! personally i'm not too bothered, just don't think dressage judge would think the same way!
 
oh, that wouldn't work at all then lol. Smack on the bum could be in order =p
(for the horse, not you, or the judge
blush.gif
haha)
 
my mare did this every single time i asked for canter, eventually i managed to reduce the amount of times she did it by responding to the buck with a smack on the bum, she wud usually then respond with another buck so she got another tap.. and that went on as long as necessary. can be a chore and there is probably a better way around it but although it didnt stop her doing it (i'd had back, saddle, teeth etc checked) it certainly reduced the amount she did it.

some horses do it as an act of playfulness so maybe a quick lunging sesh would get it out of him b4 u ride?
 
fraid that won't work either, can't carry whip - he strongly objects!! even if i give an 'extra wee kick' he objects with an other buck! would call him a stroppy mare, only hes a gelding! lol
 
could try that thanks. think he just thinks of it as fun as you say. he bucks loads while turned out in field. really big twisty ones, glad he doesn't do those while i'm on board!
 
If he is bucks on asking for canter transition it could be that you are either too exuberant with your leg aid, ie a little too strong with your leg or you could be placing your outside leg too far back and just squeezing the most sensitive part of his barrel. Just try a little less inside leg and place the outside one only just behind the girth and see if that helps. Make sure your sitting tall and central when you ask, not in front of the vertical. Hope this helps
 
Sometimes it can be a balance/strength thing. My 5 year old was doing it quite a bit last year and some of them had considerable thrust behind them! I think it was a combination of my lack of balance and insecurity expecting a buck and him being green. Bit of a vicious circle really.

Got the lady who trains us to school him a bit more when I couldn't ride and it seems pretty much sorted. I also hold the neck strap briefly to make the transition because my wobbling seemed to be the thing that upset him, once we're cantering I'm ok.

Am the first to admit I have a hang up about trot to canter trans' it's the thing I find most difficult to sit, can't wait to teach him walk/canter which is another thing you could try as it's easier to keep still!
 
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