How do I stop myself yanking on the reins during a bronc session?

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BeckyD

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I really don't want to do it. I know it must hurt him. But I just can't seem to stop myself. Ron only bucks when he's been in for a while (no turnout due to cr*p weather, fields pretty flooded) and is then startled i.e. a spook or another horse or something. He no longer seems to do the bronc/spin/bolt that he used to, he now just does a buck and small spin, or, best of all, a buck in a straight line.

But I can't seem to stop myself from over-reacting completely. When he was doing the full-on twisting broncs (when he was in pain + on box rest for 6 months) I grabbed his head a) to try to get his head back up from between his knees and b) to stop me falling off (shameful I know). Now it's become my automatic response. Is there any mental imagery or anything I can try to stop myself? I feel mortified that I keep doing it.
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Neck strap, hold on to that and that will help you from pulling back on the reins, also your balance, once you learn to balance yourself you will find you need to use your hands less.
 
Have you tried a neckstrap? Not only do they help you stay on but if you are holding onto that you can't grab at the reins as much.
 
GET YOURSELF A NECK STRAP!!!

I'm currently bringing mine back from box rest, she is spinny, spooky, jumpy and can buck on occasion (even with sedalin) but my neck strap is now my best friend..... I do not let go of it, even on the cool down walk around the arena.... she can't be trusted not to spook at 'E' even though she has been going past it for an hour and not noticing....
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Just loop your two forefingers round it on one rein, it really gives you some security.

Good luck!
 
Thanks - I already use a neck strap but I would have to have it very very loose to hang on to it all the time. Also he'll only do it once every 12 rides or so, and holding on to his neck strap is rather inconvenient for all the usual schooling work we need to do during the other 11 rides. Having said that, when he's having one of his spooky days I do use it constantly!

Is there anything else I can do?
 
Hello! Already have a neck strap but it doesn't go long enough to hold on to it for the say 10 rides where he doesn't do anything silly. And then the time he does go silly I get taken by surprise. I could have a second neck strap, not a martingale one as that doesn't go long enough for me to hold on to without tipping forwards. But even so it would be hard work clinging onto it for such a long time when he only misbehaves so infrequently.
 
His rehab work means he can't be lunged or work on a circle...
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besides, he's just as likely to do this at the end of a hard 45-min session as at the outset.
 
I'm ok after the first time he's done it, and can grab his neckstrap/scratty mane, I don't struggle with balance or that side of it, it is just a complete mental over-reaction on my part to his first buck. I need to have some sort of instant "don't yank" thought when he puts in a buck.
 
Hell o - thnak you! Your shorse sounds like Ron
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I already have a neck strap and make good use of it when I think he's going to misbehave. The problem I'm trying to overcome at the moment is more that after say two weeks of 5/6 times a week riding, he'll suddenly put in a spook and buck, and it takes me by surprise and I just "yank". It's not that I'm going to fall off or that I'm balancing myself, it's a pure "argh you're not going to bronc" reaction. Thing is, he doesn't bronc any more (famous last words) so I don't need to get his head up - I just want to carry on regardless without this panicked yank. Am I making any sense?
 
Yep hands are coming back - not always up. When he used to have his proper bronc sessions my hands got ever higher until I kept telling myself to lower them, so after the inital back or up and back response, they stay nice and low. It's just that split second response that I can't seem to contain. I'm so worried that my over-reaction will make him worse. What incentive is there for him to be good if I'm giving him a hefty yank when he isn't as bad as he could be? I'm starting to think that maybe holding the neck strap all day every day might just break that cycle - if I physically can't move my hands that might help. He'll probably not do it again now and I'll be hanging on to his neck strap for years
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Loop a flash strap through the D rings, buckle it up so that the buckle sits between the 2 D's on the bottom part of the loop (not sure that makes sense, but the buckle ends up trapped between the Ds on the section of strap that you don't hold, so it doesn't get in the way) and wrap some electrical tape around that buckle so it doesn't accidently mark the saddle or catch his mane.
Then you have a fixed loop that is roomy enough that you can ride with the little fingers of one or both hands tucked into it all the time
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You can get professionally manufactured 'balance straps' which are like an oversized pelham rounding, which are more stable but too chunky to ride sensitively with if horse is only sporadically loopy!

Hope this helps! X
 
Are you elastic enough in your elbows and wrists? Do your forearms feel tight? I find that I can ride through spooks a lot better when I am concentrating on keeping an elastic contact. Easier said than done on a spooky TB that is coming back into work. Seems we have a matching pair, except mine does it 12 times every ride, not once in 12 rides ...!
 
im guessing youve had the obvious checked
saddle/back/teeth & bridle - might sound silly i know alot of horses that have "bridle issues" where its il fitting

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Hello! That's what I used last year when he was being a b*gger
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- worked really well except I ended up with my hands buried in my tummy
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(which is another problem I've developed and now am struggling to stop! I could try it again...didn't think of the tape though to stop scrtaching saddle - great idea, it did mark it last time.
 
Hello - yes I think all fits ok, saddle is due to be checked but this isn't a pain response on his part, it's his startle response - he does it in his stable, in the field, in hand, and under saddle.
 
My personal mind set, as soon as I feel a horse starting to bronc is to keep saying to myself 'weight down through your legs' and really concentrate on centralising myself deep in the saddle, my hands consequently stay loose. If you can accompany that with the certain knowledge that if the horse is going forward it cannot bronc as effectively you will train yourself to be balanced and not restricting.

Sometimes conquering a fear or habit comes down to rationalising why you do it, and how it could be better if you dealt with it differently so if the only key words you grab at are 'weight down' and 'think forward' you will have unconsciously conquered it.
 
How about trying some natural horsemanship on the ground to increase his confidence and improve your relationship, and try to desensitise him with whatever spooks him, ie I tie strings of plastic bags to blow in the wind (in a safe place) . Doesnt take long before they just ignore them.
 
Thank you that's really helpful, thinking about my legs instead, which might help take my mind off my hands. Right! I hope he tries it again tonight as I feel prepared to ride him politely through it. Thank you! That sort of thing was exactly what I was hoping for.
 
After 3 years of desensitising I have to admit defeat. He's fine with plastic bags and tractors, walking over tarpaulins and bright flappy things (he'll do Trec/Parelli till the cows come home). He's not ok with leaves, birds, grass, his own feet, other horses, walls, or sunlight. Unfortunately the latter are everyday objects and I just can't seem to solve the problem!
 
Echo what Bouncy and Criso suggest with attaching a strap across the D rings. My horse used to buck as a youngster going into canter, started when he was confused then he learnt it meant he got out of work. I used a neckstrap but found I leant forward to hold it. RI suggested bailer twince across the D rings, hold onto it when thought it was going to happen, worked a treat as i could really hold onto it!

Good luck!
 
Umm actually surely you should be trying to keep the horse's head right up during a bronc session?! to stop them getting their heads between their knees! That is how you stop them learning to Bronc! Just keep the head right up...
 
I've invested in a new safety thing made of webbing - its called an RS-Tor and is made by Libbys. http://www.rstor.co.uk

Easy to hold onto for long rides as it doesnt put your hands in an awkward position like a neck strap can, its just like holding a whip. It fastens to the front of my saddle and then the elastic part only comes into play if i tip forward/back too far. You push against it to right yourself back into the saddle and its defo helped to prevent me falling off my sharp TB. Good luck!
 
TFT is good for helping re-program your automatic responses, so would help you stop grabbing as an instant reaction, it's certainly helping me with the same issue. I'm now visualising more of a western sliding stop kind of thing where I sit up and back and throw the reins away instead. OK so far I still clung on in the fetal position but I managed to give the reins enough to enable both horse and I to stay as we should!

Also as others have said a balance or grab strap, just to grab if necessary, have to say I have one but rarely remember to grab it but it's there in case.
 
Going against the grain here... my horse use to bronc quite badly to be naughty. I had two instructors out to give me advice on stopping him bucking like this.

One instructor told me each time he bucks. Stop him and make him rein back several paces, and then push him forward and continue.

The second instructor told me that when I can feel him about to explode, sit up tall, hold my hands high, and keep his head up to prevent him from getting it down for a good powerful bucking session, and push him forwards. If it means yanking him hard in the mouth to keep his head up then so be it. Bucking and broncing is not acceptable behaviour.

Once I started taking the advice of the second instructor, my horse quite quickly stopped doing it so frequently. I think the last time he bucked me was nearly 5 months ago, and he used to do it very regularly.
 
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