Do you get scared when your horse bucks/rears/bolts/bronchos/tanks off?

QR: don't mind bucking, because he used to do it a fair bit when we got back into jumping. It was definitely not pain related, it was almost like he was high fiving himself.

If it was a serious bronc, as in try to dump you on the floor, I probably wouldn't be keen. I don't like them playing up on the roads, that really unnerves me because you can't trust some drivers, the tarmac is hard and like sandpaper and heads + roads do not mix

Bolting absolutely terrifies me. I fear for the loss of self-preservation and don't know how to make them stop. I can just see my life flash before my eyes and I hate it
 
almrc said:
Thanks for all your stories, they are very interesting. How have you stopped your horse rearing/bucking/bronchoing/tanking off/spinning or havent you and does it stop you riding the horse?
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Nothing stops me from riding. My mare started rearing a bit after we'd had a saddle fit issue. It started from back pain and became a bit of a habit. As soon as I felt her start to lighten in the front, I disengaged her hindquarters and gave her a sharp smack with my whip - she learned soon enough that it was not a good idea. (all after resolving the saddle and back issues, of course)

Same with bucking. She will buck every now and then if she's being sassy and sick of working but I can always feel it coming and it results in a quick disengagement/smack combo. Sometimes have to repeat as she'll respond to the first smack with another half-hearted attempt to buck. She's five and full of herself so it's all just youthful attitude.

Twirling, spinning, bouncing I mostly just sit and keep asking for forward motion - again it's high spirits and youthful attitude and it gets less and less as we progress.

Any kind of bolt is not tolerated. She has never truly bolted on me but has occasionally done what I call a mini-bolt, when she just tries to run out from under me abruptly. Always results in a rapid one-rein stop.
 
Mine has bucked and bolted on occasions. It used to worry me but not any more. The more you know your horse the more you know what their party piece is and you can sit to it.
 
Have you seen those safety strap things being advertised that seem to have a ball on the end for you to hold to stop you coming off ? Cant remember what theyre called or who makes them, has anyone tried them?
 
dont know, have seen them advertised in magazines but now I want one cant find them !
Look like a plastic sort of handle that you attached to the saddle.
 
If it were any other horse, I would be terrified, but Murphy doesn't really scare me these days...he would never rear, or bolt, he puts in the odd silly buck that I just ignore, and used to tank off all the time but I've learnt an 'emergency stop' now so that doesn't worry me ;)
 
I used to be but not any more. I've had him for such a long time now, I've had to sit to everything he has thrown my way and its not really an issue anymore. He'll buck out of excitement on XC and occasionally when out hunting or hacking with others, particularly if we all go for a gallop! He has only ever reared twice, once at a road junction that he wanted to bolt across and I was having to hold him together and he got so wound up he went up nearly vertical and the other time was where he wanted to canter on a hack and threw a strop and reared. He hasn't done it for years now though. Well, probably about 3 years lol. I'd probably be scared if I was riding a different horse I didn't so well started to mess around though.
 
Nope :) Although my lovely little ponio would never dream of taking all feet off the ground except to jump i rarely encounter bucking etc. but on our older polo pony she gives the best bucking broncos a run for their money! She is lethal as has a very high buck and a nasty twist/spin/drop... but i don't get scared... i enjoy it! :s
My horse used to bolt/bugger off with me reguarly although is more in controlled...there has only ever been once when i was truly scared and that was out hunting and we went from the back of the field to the front at warp speed while dodging phesant feeders, trees and other horses... but apart from then i have never been scared, i just sit there and enjoy the ride! :L i normally think about how amazng it is that were going so fast!
 
i've only been reared with once. i don't think it was a very big rear, and i was more surprised than scared tho i cant really remember. the same day i rode a TB and every time something scared the other horses (it was dark, shadows etc) she would start bucking! i was just thinking HANG ON HANG ON!! I did come off :o i was 10, i can't believe i was asked to ride this horse!!

AJ the pony i ride has bolted once. he wouldnt stop even on a ploughed field, so i came off the field as i thought he could trip over easier on the surface and turned a tight circle to stop him going into a ditch :eek:i think everyone was a bit shocked he even did it! hes usually a bit lazy! i wasn't scared though, if i had both stirrups i would've quite enjoyed it lol

at the riding school, when i hack my favourite horse he knows the canter strechs and starts bouncing (i'm holding him back and hes saying GO!!!!) as soon as i let the reins go hes off, can't stop!! its scary and exciting at the same time!
 
Rowreach said:
I am rather shocked by people's acceptance of the above as "normal" and things they take for granted :confused: If any of mine habitually did these things, or even occasionally, I would be finding out why and doing something about it.

One of mine does the occasional joie de vivre buck out hunting, but you can feel it coming about 10 minutes before. Another does rather balletic bounces when he is happy, just expressing his mood.

If your horse does any or all of the above, I would be checking out the usual physical causes, then looking at the schooling and manners issues, and potential rider issues.

A properly backed and schooled horse who is comfortable in himself and in his tack and with his rider wouldn't or shouldn't do these things.
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^^^^^ This exactly, nothing more :)
 
No, I find it funny! Only because I know she is never nasty, and isn't likely to get me off. My last horse, however was nasty and scared me to the point that even getting him in from the field scared me and I'm really not the nervous type. He had me off daily. Lovely.
 
Bucking doesn't bother me - my pony can do some pretty huge ones, but at 14.1 I hardly notice them and find it funny rather than scarey (he likes to do them in the middle of dressage tests! :) )

I am however so used to smaller horses, that I am no where near as confident on big ones. So when a 16.1 youngster reared vertical with me a few months ago, I was the most scared I have ever been! Rearing is the one thing that really scares me - and I'm sure bolting would too if I was ever unlucky enough to encounter that!!
 
I get scared if they do it on the road as am terrified of traffic. Luckily this does not happen often. Only ever been bolted with once and I think I might have screamed! Refused the ride the horse until my chiro had checked her over - she didn't find anything and luckily it never happened again so hopefully a fluke (was 3 years ago now). I think I would have had to get rid if it had happened again as I have to cross a busy road to get to my hacking and to my school! Tanking off doesn't normally bother me as I have lots of open land to point them uphill. Bucking doesn't worry me even though I broke my nose doing a sky dive off my bucking youngster many years ago. Rearing is naughtly and needs to be addressed and luckily none of mine do it.
 
i find all those things scary so when looking for a pony i choose one that was unlikely to any of them.

however he does sometimes buck when getting over excited about jumping and i get a bit nervous even though he has never actually bucked me off yet but i still find it scary and it does put me off jumping.

rearing he has never done and i would not like that at all.

bolting he done a couple of times but it was not flat out gallop and it was due to being scared of something however strangely i did not find this that frightening compared to bucking as when he does go he has never gone that far that or that fast fastest being canter (there have been times when i have been unable to stop and he has only been in trot!)
 
no.
i get paid to ride horses other people are too scared to sit on, wouldnt be much point in seeking out something that scares me would there.

iv always had re-schools/re-habs or babies, right from 12hh ponies, and then kept my jumping horses on a pro yard where a bit (or a lot) of exhuberance was the norm, and TBH i think it IS normal for horses to react to stuff, esp well fed and hard fit competition horses, so im used to it, expect it and am ready for it.

Star is very good,hacking last year wasnt much fun as he hadnt totally forgotten about racing and got very very worked up and nearly went over once or twice, but this year he has really matured and is a lot more confident that he isnt going to be asked to gallop, so no standing up.
first 5 mins in a busy warm up can still be interesting but theres no malice in it, so im not bothered.
he doesnt bolt or buck (except high jinks *happy* bucks which are fairly small).

perhaps the only thing that gets my heart pounding is the horses that not only want you on the floor pronto, but then come at you whilst you are on the floor.not pleasant, and needs an experienced ground person to help.
 
alll of the things in the title scare me a lot.
taking off the most. cloud has done that 3 times and after the last time i stopped riding her. just too scared.
i have ridden bucks, broncs,tanking off and a small rear. small bucking i can deal with, but tbh i would never want to get on a horse who i knew did any of the above.
its jsut not on, for me.
 
Can't be bothered to read all of this thread so simple answer - Yes.

Does depend on the horse though, if it is a horse I know and know what it is capable of then generally know I don't get scared (unless i know it is capable of trying to deliberately dump me!), for example my own horses may occassionally do tiny bucks/rears generally out of excitement which don't bother me at all. If I was on a horse i didn't know and it started bronching i would worry as i wouldn't know how hard it would try to get me off. So depends.
 
My horse has an extremely bad nap; he spins, bucks, rears up then leaps through the air, he then corkscrew bucks in mid air, lands, bucks and then spins again for good measure!! I don't get scared anymore because I have learnt to laugh when he does it...!
 
So then, some of you have mentioned it but if the horses back/saddle/teeth etc have been checked and are sound, how would you stop a horse:

a) Bucking
b) Rearing
c) Tanking off
 
10 years ago, nothing like that would bother me. then one day i got on a known rearer/nutcase (since put down due to the behaviour) and i was so determined to get her to work, she started rearing vertical and trying to slam me into the wooden fence, but still i was determined not to get off or come off. she then reared vertical, came over on top of me, broke the saddle in two and i was air lifted off to hosptial with a suspected broken back. luckily i was okay in the end, since then i'm a different rider, rearing is a total no no for me, so yes, any of those behaviours done in a serious fashion frightens me, dont mind the odd over excited etc but not down right dangerous
 
I was about to say no, then I remembered the one incident that truely got to me. I was out hunting and my bit snapped. (Top Tip , rubber bits rot from within and snap suddenly when you need them). Fortunately the master ,an old friend ,held up hounds (he was just about to draw again) as he was curious why I had just carved my way through the entire field.:D:D:D. I have sat on all sorts of rogues ,lunatics and F+++wit horses but this truely scared me.
 
I have only ever hurt myself seriously whilst riding twice, both times through bolting. First time hacking out, mare had no steering as well as no brakes and galloped me into a metal pylon. A straight bar of metal hit my head/neck and knocked me clean off. She stood on me a little then carried on galloping! Second time in a large arena, Crafty bolted to the end then ran through the wooden fence dropping me in it on his way. Broken ribs and lots of crying! Taking off I don't really mind, nor a buck or bunnyhopping but I HATE proper bolting.. He has also gone over backwards when he attempted his first rear with me, somehow I didn't get hurt as I was really quick to get my feet out of stirrups. Anyway he didn't like falling backwards either so rearing he has not done since. I guess it comes down to knowing/trusting your horse. A lady on my yard has a homebred 17.2 and he bucks vertical. I do not know how she sits them but she does, and it just doesn't bother her. She says his dad was a bucker, and he is perfect in every other respect, so just gets on with it.
 
Do I get scared?
Bucks - only if big 'cross' or 'ouch' ones, not the 'yahoo' type or kicking out. One or two not so bad either, 8 or 9 and I begin to lose it!
Rears - usually terrified, but one of my youngsters does mini ones and they're just quite cute, she's pretty much stopped now as I'm not bothered and they don't get her anywhere!
Bolts - only been on one, and we were running away from something that had stung her. She stopped after a while and wasn't completely out of her mind. Otherwise yeah, would be terrified!
Tanks off - not scared if I manage to stop it lol!
 
Rearing & spinning round - not funny at all. I will get off a horse that does it.

Again, broncing is not funny and I will get off that horse. I broke my leg badly earlier this year when my youngster was broncing and wanted me off. Not worth it.

Horses should NOT have such vices and I don't find it funny at all when they behave like that. Its downright dangerous!!
 
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