developed a fear of galloping? Help

[britisheventer]

hi, I have a young seven year old 17.2hh warmblood that I hack out regularly. Due to excitement, he has got me off by some extreme rodeo bronckos which quickly flipped me off like a catapult ,lovely. This is everytime he goes out with company and even by himself, in a big open space, ask him for a canter, and then explosion! He's controllable, so the bit isn't a big deal, it's just getting him out of the bucks. He's bred for eventing, and really I need to gallop him, bring him back to a canter, and try different speeds. But I lost my confidence! Which is very unlike me, I don't have an arena, just a field to school in , and as I said, as soon as he touches his toes on grass, he fits in bucks of pure excitement *yay mum look we are going really fast!* and then me ditched somewhere.

 

[skint1]

I've got nothing in the way of advice, but I can see how you might develop a fear of galloping in those circumstances. Would riding more defensively, leaning back more help? I have no idea if it would!

 

[britisheventer]

i push my knee forward and sit back, which stops him when he rushes even faster, but it's the worst when he's out with others, as he thinks it's a race! This is why I'm a little worried to ask him for that bit more and go even more faster because I've had some bad falls at a canter, well a rodeo one at that

 

[Mike007]

Yes ,some bucks will always get you ,but there is a lot you can do to level the playing field. With long stirrups ,you simply cannot get above and away from the buck. For this reason ,playful bucks from a racehorse were considered light entertainment back in the days of my youth when we raced dinosaurhorses. Short stirrups to keep your bum clear of a fast rising saddle. Of course these horses retaliated with the "whip round"(which did NOT involve passing a hat around). A bit of theory:A HORSE CANNOT BUCK IF HIS HIND QUARTERS ARE ENGAGED!He has to bronk off his hind quarters first ,that is the point when you need to bang your heels hard into his sides ,(ponyclub kick) and ride him forward so hard he has no time to get a real buck in. PS Airjacket ,BP and gloves . Good luck .

 

[britisheventer]

going to grit my teeth and Take him up to the the big steep hill,a fair bit of a way there but it will make him less of a bull ride, I'll take it into note about pushing him forward, he jumps into a canter, tooks his head under and leaps bucks leaps bucks, he's bloody big as well which doesn't make it easy but I'm going to have to tackle it!

 

[Mike007]

Shorten them jerks and use a neck strap

 

[Pigeon]

Can you keep his head up, it makes it harder to buck? I was told the same, get the head up and kick

 

[Barnacle]

Go back to basics! Lunge him and make him RUN whenever he bucks. Throw him off balance by moving at him fairly aggressively whenever he goes to buck on the lunge. Easy enough to do in a field.

When on him, go for a slow, collected canter and if he even thinks about bucking, circle him sharpish. Once he starts doing it less, you can just ask for forward. But turning will stop him completely and ensure you stay on whereas they can still buck if you ask for forward and they instead duck their heads down and really go for it! Start in your field, then do it in places that are out but not too exciting. Practice transitions, transitions, transitions. Not just canter-trot-canter but also walk-canter-walk and also within gaits. Go along all that grass in a walk and later trot and even halt periodically so he starts paying attention to you and relaxes. Over time, you'll be able to gradually let him go and he won't lose it.

Riding out the bucks is an option, but if you're losing confidence, it's not going to get you anywhere.

And of course check the saddle fits and doesn't hit his spine when he starts cantering...

 

[Mike007]

yes a lot of good sense talked by barnacle .

 

[Kelpie]

Do you have any safe, sensible company to hack out with to do controlled canter work? that would be my first option, if you can - even if you pay a pro to ride out with you.

 

[britisheventer]

Do you have any safe, sensible company to hack out with to do controlled canter work? that would be my first option, if you can - even if you pay a pro to ride out with you.

I do, they have cobs, fairly sensible but mine gets hot headed and loves to race them, when he gets on an open space I can feel him jog, when I try and make him trot he doesn't listen explodes into leaps and bucks from being a hot headed goon he is!

 

[britisheventer]

Go back to basics! Lunge him and make him RUN whenever he bucks. Throw him off balance by moving at him fairly aggressively whenever he goes to buck on the lunge. Easy enough to do in a field.

When on him, go for a slow, collected canter and if he even thinks about bucking, circle him sharpish. Once he starts doing it less, you can just ask for forward. But turning will stop him completely and ensure you stay on whereas they can still buck if you ask for forward and they instead duck their heads down and really go for it! Start in your field, then do it in places that are out but not too exciting. Practice transitions, transitions, transitions. Not just canter-trot-canter but also walk-canter-walk and also within gaits. Go along all that grass in a walk and later trot and even halt periodically so he starts paying attention to you and relaxes. Over time, you'll be able to gradually let him go and he won't lose it.

Riding out the bucks is an option, but if you're losing confidence, it's not going to get you anywhere.

And of course check the saddle fits and doesn't hit his spine when he starts cantering...

I will try that! Thankyou, his saddle fits fine, back sound, on the lunge he throws the odd buck when asked to go more foward, so I will try that and I'm riding him today, nervous but I need to tackle this if we're expected to go to any events lol

 

[britisheventer]

Can you keep his head up, it makes it harder to buck? I was told the same, get the head up and kick

I do try to pull, but the blighter sticks his chin to his neck! I haven't tried kicking him on because of me being a wimp and thinking he will really and truly dump and ditch me but I'm going to try it!

 

[FfionWinnie]

How much work is he in compared to how much food he's getting. Sounds like he needs to learn cantering is boring. No fun for you, had one like this, didn't like it, now have a cob

 

[claracanter]

I do try to pull, but the blighter sticks his chin to his neck! I haven't tried kicking him on because of me being a wimp and thinking he will really and truly dump and ditch me but I'm going to try it!

My TB has a big buck and like you I don't have the courage to give him a big kick when he does it. There is some really good advice on here that I think I will try too. Good luck with your ride today.

 

[tallyho!]

going to grit my teeth and Take him up to the the big steep hill,a fair bit of a way there but it will make him less of a bull ride, I'll take it into note about pushing him forward, he jumps into a canter, tooks his head under and leaps bucks leaps bucks, he's bloody big as well which doesn't make it easy but I'm going to have to tackle it!

I so know this! I had one that would tuck his head, strong as a bull, there is no hope of keeping a head up... my arms versus massive slabs of muscle - no flippin way!

If they're going to do it, they will. I think you have to get it out of his system as you have already thought of and push push push. You almost need to teach them to gallop properly with a rider. Make sure by the end , you are the one pushing hard.

My dad always said "you have to teach horses to gallop you know?". When my new one tanked off once I was petrified but realised he just needed to learn to control himself. I took him on the sand and made him do about 10 lengths of that beach. The power was exhilarating and you have to just embrace it and push until he has nothing else to give. Then educate him how to come back to you. He was soaked and so was I but I carried on schooling and making him come back to walk and trot and pushed on for the gallop again and again. As a result he was always calm and could to a decent gallop in a hunter class and come back no problem. Never got excited. Just always took a wee in the ring though. Gah! Some things you can't teach.

When my girl is a bit older, I will have to teach her how to gallop the same way I think. Can't wait! I know not everyone has access to a beach or gallops but there are times when you need to teach some horses where it's not coming naturally no matter how well schooled they are. I love going fast though so any excuse

 

[Red-1]

I would not canter anywhere it is in a straight line. I would go back to basics in a field (even if I had to hire one), and set out a schooling area and work at walk initially, then in trot. Only once the trot is as good as in the arena, as in swinging forwards and engaged, relaxed and on the aids, would I ask for a canter.

I would make this routine until cantering on grass was just another job we got done, before cantering anywhere where we could not circle.

I would never go cantering upsides others until the canter is well and truly sorted, as in on the aids and working forward into a soft contact.

 

[Firewell]

I agree with Barnacles post. My horse found galloping in open spaces fun (still does! ) and the best thing was kind of schooling him in the field and then only opening him up when he felt calm.
So schooling him at walk trot on a circle. Transitions, change of rein ect. Then canter with figure 8's circles. Gradually make circle bigger asking for a bigger faster canter. Moment he starts to feel 'yee ha' bring him back, circle, change rein and then opening him up when he is calm again.
I did this in a gigantic field and usually by the end of a session we could have a controlled gallop up the long side.
Then he got to the point I could gallop on hacks and with other people without him leaping and tying to buck .
Also when we go XC it IS different. My horse was so busy concentrating and looking for jumps that he has never bucked or been silly galloping on the XC course.

 

[britisheventer]

My TB has a big buck and like you I don't have the courage to give him a big kick when he does it. There is some really good advice on here that I think I will try too. Good luck with your ride today.

Thankyou!

 

[britisheventer]

How much work is he in compared to how much food he's getting. Sounds like he needs to learn cantering is boring. No fun for you, had one like this, didn't like it, now have a cob

he's just on a very little feed at the moment, he's good as gold normally it's just in an open space! I have another horse which is a cob, love to have a gallop on him as he's old enough to keep all fours on the ground haha

 

[britisheventer]

I so know this! I had one that would tuck his head, strong as a bull, there is no hope of keeping a head up... my arms versus massive slabs of muscle - no flippin way

If they're going to do it, they will. I think you have to get it out of his system as you have already thought of and push push push. You almost need to teach them to gallop properly with a rider. Make sure by the end , you are the one pushing hard.

My dad always said "you have to teach horses to gallop you know?". When my new one tanked off once I was petrified but realised he just needed to learn to control himself. I took him on the sand and made him do about 10 lengths of that beach. The power was exhilarating and you have to just embrace it and push until he has nothing else to give. Then educate him how to come back to you. He was soaked and so was I but I carried on schooling and making him come back to walk and trot and pushed on for the gallop again and again. As a result he was always calm and could to a decent gallop in a hunter class and come back no problem. Never got excited. Just always took a wee in the ring though. Gah! Some things you can't teach.

When my girl is a bit older, I will have to teach her how to gallop the same way I think. Can't wait! I know not everyone has access to a beach or gallops but there are times when you need to teach some horses where it's not coming naturally no matter how well schooled they are. I love going fast though so any excuse

See I would love to take him to some hunter classes, thankyou for this, I love how exhilarating a gallop is but I just thought about galloping him and it made me feel nervous! Which was unlike me as I would be the first one to say to offer a gallop, I think for him transitions out hacking is a must! Like you said bringing him back to a walk from a trot or a canter, and he needs to learn what "woah!" Means or I'll end up with a bloody racehorse not an eventer lol

 

[britisheventer]

Thankyou, it went well! I took him up a big steep hill, he saw the hill, and felt him jogging, initially I thought "oh *****!" I felt that I was nervous, then got angry at myself for being nervous, he was grunting and snorting like he usually does, so I just let him go, sounds bad, but it was good that I felt a little angry because it made me feel much more confident! He through a few bucks (not many as the hill was steep) but I growled and dug my heels in, and he reaction was priceless! He was shocked he KNEW he did something wrong, he rushed foward and threw another one, we had reached the top at this point and I did a big 50m circle till he stopped and he came back to a trot, felt like a barrel racer but hey i stopped on! First success with him, good luck with your tb!

 

[tallyho!]

See I would love to take him to some hunter classes, thankyou for this, I love how exhilarating a gallop is but I just thought about galloping him and it made me feel nervous! Which was unlike me as I would be the first one to say to offer a gallop, I think for him transitions out hacking is a must! Like you said bringing him back to a walk from a trot or a canter, and he needs to learn what "woah!" Means or I'll end up with a bloody racehorse not an eventer lol

Haha yeah!

Go for it, sometimes it's the best way. Why not do a season out hunting in the autumn? Some good eventers came out of racing you know so teaching him to stretch out isn't a bad thing - I don't think it's nerves... it's excitement! Haha!!! Go and have some fun!

(p.s. he was so knackered after that first day I think he was begging me to stop! Everyone at the yard said "you'll never get on that beach again without him galloping off"... he never tanked off on that beach ever unless I asked him to and even then it was a bit "oh, do we have to? Please don't make me!" lol! Got some videos I could send you if you like.