Lost Confidence - My Horse occasionally bucks

[BsMum]

I've had my horse for 10 years and during that time she has gone into a full bronc and kept going until I've come off six times now. Each time this has happened we've been hacking with other horses and she's got over excited or I've put it down to spring grass. However, the last time she did it, which was a couple of months ago, I'm sure was due to lack of turnout so I moved to another yard where she's out 24/7 in the summer and in the winter comes in overnight. Her back, teeth and saddle are regularly checked and we've gone years in between these bucking explosions. I ride her four or five times a week and apart from this problem she's a lovely horse to ride.

However, I've completed lost my nerve now. I only ride in the school and I'm constantly worried even though she hasn't put a foot wrong since we moved yards. I'm in my 50s so don't bounce very well anymore.

My horse is 17 years old and I wouldn't part with her. I think my options are to carry on riding in the school and hope my confidence comes back or to through the towel in and retire her from being ridden. If you were at this crossroads with your horse what would you do?

 

[Birker2020]

I've had my horse for 10 years and during that time she has gone into a full bronc and kept going until I've come off six times now. Each time this has happened we've been hacking with other horses and she's got over excited or I've put it down to spring grass. However, the last time she did it, which was a couple of months ago, I'm sure was due to lack of turnout so I moved to another yard where she's out 24/7 in the summer and in the winter comes in overnight. Her back, teeth and saddle are regularly checked and we've gone years in between these bucking explosions. I ride her four or five times a week and apart from this problem she's a lovely horse to ride.

However, I've completed lost my nerve now. I only ride in the school and I'm constantly worried even though she hasn't put a foot wrong since we moved yards. I'm in my 50s so don't bounce very well anymore.

My horse is 17 years old and I wouldn't part with her. I think my options are to carry on riding in the school and hope my confidence comes back or to through the towel in and retire her from being ridden. If you were at this crossroads with your horse what would you do?

Seek vet advice.

I would suspect she might have joint arthritis given that each time its happened is she's been out hacking, presumably concussive force of the road sets something painful off. Even riding on a bridle path might cause this, especially if she doesn't do it in the school.

I'd get a full workup and this will pin point any issues. She might look sound but subtle lameness can be hard to pinpoint especially if she's bilaterally lame.

I would be willing to bet she's got coffin joint arthritis or spavin both of which are treatable.

Its a bit drastic to just stop riding altogether.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would definitely get a vet involved

 

[ycbm]

You've got a number of options. You could get help for your confidence, NLP or hypnosis maybe. You could loan her or sell her. You could retire her if you can't bear to loan her or sell her.

She's bucked 6 times in ten years, close to once every two years. She hasn't bucked for months. Her one off bucking fits have always been traceable to spring grass or lack of turnout or an exciting situation. You already have her checked regularly, I'm not sure throwing money into veterinary diagnostics would change anything.

How much do you actually want to continue riding?
.

 

[PeterNatt]

I would suggest that if you had an established 100% bombproof/spookproof horse that you would ride it as much as you could.
So my advice brutal as it may sound and as much as you love your horse would be to sell your horse and get a safe one.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I've had my horse for 10 years and during that time she has gone into a full bronc and kept going until I've come off six times now. Each time this has happened we've been hacking with other horses and she's got over excited or I've put it down to spring grass. However, the last time she did it, which was a couple of months ago, I'm sure was due to lack of turnout so I moved to another yard where she's out 24/7 in the summer and in the winter comes in overnight. Her back, teeth and saddle are regularly checked and we've gone years in between these bucking explosions. I ride her four or five times a week and apart from this problem she's a lovely horse to ride.

However, I've completed lost my nerve now. I only ride in the school and I'm constantly worried even though she hasn't put a foot wrong since we moved yards. I'm in my 50s so don't bounce very well anymore.

My horse is 17 years old and I wouldn't part with her. I think my options are to carry on riding in the school and hope my confidence comes back or to through the towel in and retire her from being ridden. If you were at this crossroads with your horse what would you do?

I had a bronc horse, it was down to his back issues most of the time, have you had a chiro up to him or her. Tho you will need to contact the vet first.


For me I will use CBD oil if I feel nervous after all the injuries I have had over the years.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

You've got a number of options. You could get help for your confidence, NLP or hypnosis maybe. You could loan her or sell her. You could retire her if you can't bear to loan her or sell her.

She's bucked 6 times in ten years, close to once every two years. She hasn't bucked for months. Her one off bucking fits have always been traceable to spring grass or lack of turnout or an exciting situation. You already have her checked regularly, I'm not sure throwing money into veterinary diagnostics would change anything.

How much do you actually want to continue riding?
.

It's the full bronc and kept going until I came off that made me suggest the vet. I've only ever had one horse do that, she was found to have a back problem. It was very different from the exuberant sprin grass buck that any horse can do.
Actually I've just remembered another horse who bucked with meaning, she too had problems but hers were food related.

 

[ycbm]

I've never known a horse with a back issue bronc once every two years when it's being ridden regularly. It's not impossible, of course, I just feel it's pretty unlikely, and you know I'm one to always be on the side of the horse.
.

 

[Britestar]

Look at some of the confidence courses available.

The Confident Horse Rider is very good.

Invest in an air vest that will also give your peace of mind.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I had a bronc horse, it was down to his back issues most of the time, have you had a chiro up to him or her. Tho you will need to contact the vet first.


For me I will use CBD oil if I feel nervous after all the injuries I have had over the years.

deleted replied to my thread not the other

 

[Lois Lame]

I've had my horse for 10 years and during that time she has gone into a full bronc and kept going until I've come off six times now. Each time this has happened we've been hacking with other horses and she's got over excited or I've put it down to spring grass. However, the last time she did it, which was a couple of months ago, I'm sure was due to lack of turnout so I moved to another yard where she's out 24/7 in the summer and in the winter comes in overnight. Her back, teeth and saddle are regularly checked and we've gone years in between these bucking explosions. I ride her four or five times a week and apart from this problem she's a lovely horse to ride.

However, I've completed lost my nerve now. I only ride in the school and I'm constantly worried even though she hasn't put a foot wrong since we moved yards. I'm in my 50s so don't bounce very well anymore.

My horse is 17 years old and I wouldn't part with her. I think my options are to carry on riding in the school and hope my confidence comes back or to through the towel in and retire her from being ridden. If you were at this crossroads with your horse what would you do?

When I read the bold bit my first thought was, what were the other horses (and their riders) doing at this point?

I always tended to ride alone because, although I would have liked to have company and maybe to chat occasionally while riding, I'm more relaxed when I know that no one is going to suddenly do something daft or unexpected.

To me it seems drastic to sell or retire what sounds like a good horse and maybe a good match. (I fully understand confidence issues though. But I think it's the lack of confidence, not the horse.)

 

[estela]

Do you have an instructor/confident rider that could hack her with the others to see if they can throw any light on why she does this occasionally? As LL says it would be a shame to
sell or retire her for what is not a regular issue and could be caused by others not being thoughtful or a little irresponsible. I have a only a handful of people I would trust to
hack with on a horse that is not always 100%. I hope you can sort this out.

 

[Barton Bounty]

This would have been BB a couple of years ago…. Still broncs very occasionally when he gets terrified. Sometimes I bail and jump off before I get as far as to fall off.
You have to swallow your fears and keep them in the pit of your stomach. It was the only way to make them go away completely.


Can you do consistency, same thing every day just to get her confidence up too. Eventually you just hack out and forget what you were worried about.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

It's the full bronc and kept going until I came off that made me suggest the vet. I've only ever had one horse do that, she was found to have a back problem. It was very different from the exuberant sprin grass buck that any horse can do.
Actually I've just remembered another horse who bucked with meaning, she too had problems but hers were food related.

Some will remember that I broke my humerus a few years back, all caught on my go pro, its horrid as you hear the bone break, I had only just got on his back and he walked 2 steps then did 3 almighty bronc.s and I was on the concrete. Ambulance on its way. Turned out to be a stupid livery's fault (wont go into details) but they cause him to get a electric cable melted round his leg and he ran hit the main iron gates they flung open and he slip twisting front end to left back end to right under the gates. Once the vet had cleared him of his leg injuries 5 weeks later, they said I could get on. That was it, on at the mountain block 2 minutes later on the ground. Not once did they ask how I was nor horw my boy was just ignored the situation for weeks and months that I was off work.


I would if he was mine, get the vet out to rule other issues out and ask for a chiro to see the horse. When my chiro came out to my boy, they put their index and middle finger down his back and he dropped down and grunted, and the chiro said his back was inflamed, and the finger pressure was only small where as a saddle and me would have been excruciating.


Such a change in your horse would make me not get on again till his back is checked, as not worth you getting injured seriously.


I know the warning signs in my late boy, and also know my mare when she needs the chiro. They have check ups regularly if it is a+ bad incident or 6 - 12 months maintenance.

 

[Above the snowline]

I have a friend who had exactly the same problem. They were in denial until they had a really nasty fall. Now they have a lovely safe horse which they adore. They found it by word of mouth and knew its full history. What would I do? Sell or loan and get horse hunting. Perhaps go on a riding holiday to test my confidence.

 

[Mrs G]

I have a very similar history with my horse OP. My horse is a similar age and I’ve had him for same amount of time, he too has regular physio and saddle checks and the ‘bad behaviour’ has been very occasional and nearly always comes with a likely reason so I’m as sure as I can be that it’s not pain. I have been where you are a couple of times over the years with falls and the subsequent injury’s and complete loss of confidence. I have come to accept he is an excitable horse; that is his nature. He has always found other horses exciting so I stopped doing group stuff, same with jumping. We hack with others but only one or two at the most, and only horses and riders I know to be sensible and we rarely do more than trot (unless I’m feeling particularly brave and he is feeling particularly relaxed and we’ve got good footing and plenty of space between the horses and he’s either in front or alongside). He is good in the school and to hack on his own so that’s what I do mostly; I’ve learnt to stay in our (my?) comfort zone! Sometimes I wish he wasn’t quite so hot blooded but hey, no one’s perfect (he no doubt wishes I was braver so he could do fun stuff)! But he’s not going anywhere and it’s a compromise I’m prepared to make to still enjoy riding him. What I would recommend and which has saved me many a time - is my balance strap on my saddle. When he has boiled over I’ve hung on to that for dear life - if I had hold of his mouth when he is bronking and bucking it would make things worse but the strap is on the saddle so I can be holding on to that as hard as I can but he can’t feel it (and why I prefer it to a neck strap or martingale - the horse can still feel it if you grab those and I don’t want to give him any clue that I’m scared!) In fact I recently rode a friends (very calm) horse and felt naked and vulnerable without a saddle strap ‘just in case’, I didn’t realise just how often I hook a finger or two under it just to give me that extra confidence if there’s something spooky ahead or if the horse suddenly feels tense or giddy for some reason. Good luck with whatever you decide xx

 

[Lois Lame]

What I would recommend... is my balance strap on my saddle.

I second the monkey strap. There came a time when I didn't need to touch it - just knowing it was there gave me confidence.

And the good thing about a monkey strap is it's in a good position - there's no leaning forward or stretching out of an arm to hold it.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I second the monkey strap. There came a time when I didn't need to touch it - just knowing it was there gave me confidence.

And the good thing about a monkey strap is it's in a good position - there's no leaning forward or stretching out of an arm to hold it.

Or better still https://www.facebook.com/rstorsafety/?locale=en_GB

 

[exracehorse]

When I read the bold bit my first thought was, what were the other horses (and their riders) doing at this point?

I always tended to ride alone because, although I would have liked to have company and maybe to chat occasionally while riding, I'm more relaxed when I know that no one is going to suddenly do something daft or unexpected.

To me it seems drastic to sell or retire what sounds like a good horse and maybe a good match. (I fully understand confidence issues though. But I think it's the lack of confidence, not the horse.)

Agree. I rode the ginger witch with a friends horse for the first time. Friends horse was winding her up. She didn’t want to be behind that horse either. But in front. She went into full bucking mode and it was pretty scary as she’s short coupled with no neck. I thought it was going to end up in the field! Never rode with her again.

 

[Nasicus]

I have a neck strap (this style https://www.donnaspersonalisedneckstraps.co.uk/product-page/neck-straps-with-fixed-o-rings, actually I think that's mine in the photo) with connectors to attach it to the D rings of the saddle (https://www.donnaspersonalisedneckstraps.co.uk/product-page/attachments) so the handle is always where I need it. If I feel nervous, young pony is acting like a young pony or we're going over some rough terrain, I just take hold of it. It's loose enough that I don't sacrifice too much steering and my hands can still move about, but I've got that fixed attachment to the horse/saddle and it makes me feel a lot better.

 

[sportsmansB]

So few times over such a long period doesn't scream pain to me if she never does it when you're on your own? I have one (now retired) who would have absolutely lost his s**t cantering about with other horses out hacking. His wee brain just would have exploded into broncs. He too would have carried on if his rider hadn't got their balance back and pulled his head up - he wasn't used to anyone being out of balance on his back.

I would work on your confidence now, while she is out full time and the pressure is off for riding lots, get someone in to ride her for you so you can see her going sweetly, do some hypnosis or an online course or get a new instructor. You can also get feedback from them about how she looks.

I wouldn't go full crazy vet now if this is your only evidence for it. Chances are there WILL be something which COULD be related, given her advancing years, but equally many of us getting on a bit don't feel brilliant all the time but it doesn't stop us going about our days. Shes done this very sporadically in explainable circumstances. Might be better just to avoid fast hacks with others, I know I did!

 

[Jellymoon]

I agree, if its only every couple of years and only ever hacking, not in the school, it sounds like its more of the situatuon setting her off rather than pain, and you said there might be a pattern with spring grass/lack of turnout. And now you've moved somewhere with more turnout...which is a really good idea...could you get someone else to hack her out? See what she's like at her new place? If there's no-one suitable at the yard, you can usually ask around and find freelance people who will come in to ride for you. You probably need to get them to do it regularly for a few weeks until shes settled.

In the meantime, if you enjoy riding her in the school, just do that.

I think at 17 a vet might find a few things wrong with her in a full exam, but if she's happy and feels sound doing circles in the arena, then I wouldn't go down that route yet...

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

My Louis can buck on occasion mainly through excitement or if something pisses him off his been known to do it.

I have a leather strap that attaches to the d rings of my saddle which helps I've always had one on his saddle as he can do some spectacular spooks as well.

I find he does it out hacking when he thinks we are going to canter so I don't canter out much at all now because of it, his never done it in the school so he gets schooled more than hacked now, I'm older and I don't want to fall off so I totally get you not wanting that to happen sometimes you just have to maybe sacrifice some things to feel safe.