please help, new horse bucked rider off!!

Hi everyone, just a quick update for those of you that are interested......
I had the vet out yesterday and he checked her teeth, they were fine, he rasped them a bit but said there was nothing that could cause a problem. Checked her back and couldn't find anywhere that was obviously painful, and didn't think she was in foal.
The only points that he picked up on were that when I trotted her up she wasn't lame but he said she was slightly stiff and choppy with her back legs although didn't think this would cause much of a problem. She has no muscle or fat on her topline so he wondered whether the thinner non slip numnah had caused the saddle to press on a bone maybe, and she has mites (which I knew) which he has injected her for.
So, I'm non the wiser really! Where should I go from here??
I have spoken to the girl riding her again and she says that she was calm and quiet in walk and it was only when she put her leg on and asked for trot that she bucked.
I did notice that she used the shorter girth on her on the thursday (I don't know if she did on the tuesday aswell) but I have since tried it on her myself and don't think that it is very tight on her.
Also, don't know if I mentioned before that she is barefoot.
Any further suggestions welcome of what to do next!
 
Mmm. I'd be asking why she is slightly stiff and choppy in her back legs, that to me is lame, sorry.
Can you get an instructor, or experienced friend to look at her, or get a physio to check her over?
Kx
 
I agree, get a decent instructor out to help you. Also, ride with a neck strap then at least you have something to grab hold of should she buck again. If she is fat and unfit then she might be able to walk easily but trotting is too much effort, this could be why she bucked - in protest!? Her weight might also have something to do with her choppy stride, if she is carrying too much timber it could be having an effect on her range of movement, her joints might hurt etc. Just walk her for now, build up her fitness level and your bond with her and do trot work on the lunge in short bursts then progress from there.
 
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I am in the shropshire area, and yes I could get a physio/ experienced fried to take a look at her, if necessary. The vet didn't seem to think that there was a problem.... Do you think I should get a second opinion?
 
Your experianced friend hasn't helped- I kknow horses are costly, and I am aware that money is tight in January but you need a good instructor who is able to articulate herself and teach you how to be more effected and for you to become a partnership.

Yes get the back checked, but so far with this horse you have taken it from where it knows, its rider has been changed, tack, rugs, feed and stable is all different and two people are riding it with varying intensity and with great gaps between sessions. If I was that horse I would react in exactly the same way!

1 good lesson a month is better than none.

Are you anywhere near Baschurch?
 
I would suspect pain in the back or sacroilliac region. The lack of muscle near the spine is often a tell tale sign of kissing spine, as is the choppy stride and the reluctance to move forward. I would ask for her back to be xrayed. My boy had KS in ten places and his back was passed as having no issues by the vet and physio.
 
Wagtail said:
I would suspect pain in the back or sacroilliac region. The lack of muscle near the spine is often a tell tale sign of kissing spine, as is the choppy stride and the reluctance to move forward. I would ask for her back to be xrayed. My boy had KS in ten places and his back was passed as having no issues by the vet and physio.
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^^^ This exactly! It could be a sacro illiac problem or spinal. A choppy stride behind is not normal.
 
Any horses that have broncked a rider off out of misbehaviour haven't done so at the first request to go into trot: it's always been eg in canter work, after a fence. It is of course possible for a horse to be naughty so early, but sense says it's much more likely to be something physical if the message is so clear, so soon and with little previous effort.

Hope all the advice here leads to finding the problem, and that you get your happy, dope-on-a-rope mare back soon 80)
 
YasandCrystal said:
^^^ This exactly! It could be a sacro illiac problem or spinal. A choppy stride behind is not normal.
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My sister's young horse has had to be retired due to sacroilliac problems. His symptoms started off just bucking going into canter, but then progressed to bucking her off twice on the road when she put the leg on for trot. She is into parelli and the people advising her all said it was behavioural, and that she was a bad leader! It was made worse by her vet (also Parelli) saying that it was not a physical problem. I warned her two years ago that it was pain related. In the end she was very lucky not to have been killed and was black and blue all over her body. Finally realised it was pain related and sent him to hospital where he was diagnosed with sacroilliac disfunction. He is now a very pampered and expensive pet. Luckily for him.
 
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Just wanted to add, that many horses that are in pain are 'dope on a rope' before the pain becomes unbearable. I thought I had the perfect horse when I bought my latest TB. He was perfect to ride, never even spooked. If anything he was a bit lazy! He became more and more quiet to ride before his KS symptoms started to surface. The first symptom was a reluctance to canter, followed by a complete refusal to canter. Only some weeks later did he explode! It could be that your new horse was going through the quiet stage that horses in pain often do and now the pain has become too much to bear. I really hope that you get to the bottom of it. Hopefully it will be something that is easy to address.
 
Can I just ask, did you actually trot when you first tried the horse? Did you see original owner trot?
I just cannot get my head round such probable causes as being fresh! I am sure I read the horse lives out therefore is very unlikely to be fresh!
My guess. If you are absolutely sure there are no physical reasons ie teeth saddle etc, & you have seen it trot & ridden yourself at trot. Having 6 weeks off & finding comfort with the new companion (sure you said rider claimed nappy leaving friend) it is trying it on. Simply got out of working mode & likes being a field ornament.
Would like to see the outcome on this one. Please let us know.
 
To be honest, I think it sounds like freshness and lack of work. My horse (who I know inside out) has had six weeks off and just came into work this week. The first time I hacked him out he bronced with me, the second time he bolted twice!?!! Now that is totally out of character - but he was just feeling very fresh and excitable, and I could feel it the moment we hacked down the drive.

I would suggest you get an experienced rider to bring her back into work over the next 2/3 weeks and to established a really regular routine of being ridden say 3 times a week. Then if you're a bit nervous I'd arrange to have a lesson yourself. If you look on the BHS website there is a directory of freelance instructors by region.
 
You mentioned something about the length of girth. My saddler mentioned if your girth is slightly loose then when trotting the saddle can move and bang the horse's back as you rise and sit. Is the tack yours or the horse's? can you put the old numnah back on as this could cushion any moving? Just an idea? Was she in season... I know it is the wrong kind of year, but we are over the road from a load of stallions and with the change in weather 2 mares are in season. that can affect backs and soreness....
 
Thank you to everyone for all your replies and suggestions, hopefully we will get to the bottom of this, I will keep you updated!
 
Sounds as though she has a sore back. This should be checked by someone qualified. Also, extra/thick numnahs will alter the fit of a saddle. She also hasn't been ridden for 6 weeks so probably has changed shape.
Horses aren't machines, they do occasionally have off days and there is no such thing as a 100% bombproof dope on a rope. I do also find it quite astonishing why you would buy a horse then not do anything with it for 6 weeks, not really fair on the horse.
Can you not have lessons to help improve your confidence before riding again? Sounds as tho this may help.
Hope your horse is ok and hope you manage to get your confidence back x
 
rose bud said:
Just one last thought (or me grasping at straws!!) ......... she is very sensitive about having her ears touched due to a bad case of ear mites in the past (so i was told) so it is a bit tricky getting her bridle on over her ears and you have to sort of dismantle the bridle and slip it on without her really noticing.
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The bridle thing, and the history about the ear sounds familiar. Is this mare black, maybe a bit of white on the face (from memory), and have an unusual name? Name ends with ummm an o sound?
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Hi sorry to hear you're having problems and hope you can sort them out. Do you know and trust the seller? You indicate that you are not experienced and you have a "dope on a rope" that is in poor condition with no muscle, mites, is stiff behind and that has to have it's bridle dismantled to put it on, I'm afraid that's ringing alarm bells for me.
 
Hello again - I have remembered the name of the Mare I'm thinking of, but won't put it on here. If you want to PM me we can find out if the mare I knew is indeed the one you have now.

I am in South Shropshire, so in the same part of the country as you.
 
Have you changed her feed/routine since you got her? Also, I'm not keen on just two horses together because I know from experience that one can sometimes get very clingy and reliant on the other.

I agree might be worth getting saddle checked and maybe have a few lessons on a school master to help rebuild your confidence then start having lessons on your own horse
 
Hi everyone!
Sorry, I can't start a new thread from my phone (don't know why) but just thought that I would give you a quick update for those that are interested :)
Well.... Since my last post and after the vet check didn't show up anything majorly wrong, I contacted an instructor in my area who is lovely and she came out to see my mare. After chatting things over and lunging her for about 5 mins she got on her and rode in the field and my pony was good as gold!
Since then she has been coming once a week and hacking her out (just for 30 mins to start with) with, I am very pleased to say no problems so far (I hope I'm not jinxing things!!!)
My instructor thinks that she is a very honest little mare and struggles to believe that the bucking incident even happened.
The only changes that I have made are that I changed back from the non slip numnah to a thicker one otherwise the way she is kept, tack etc are all the same.
My only problem now is that I am struggling to re build my confidence as I didn't see the bucking incident I have no idea what happened, but I'm hoping that we will get there!
Thank you for all your replies and any confidence building tips / thoughts on the matter welcome x
 
That's really good positive news. Personally I would put the bucking incident behind you now. You have had the mare checked out physicaly and know there is nothing wrong. Every horse is capable of bucking - I can sight you 2 examples of horses that had never bucked with me before. One was my mare whom I let a novice rider ride. She had ridden in riding schools for 8 or so years. Well she caused my mare to buck into orbit because she 'kicked' her into trot - my ISH is very forward and you only need to 'squeeze'. The other example is a little pony we had for sale - we had owned him for 2 years and he had never bucked. A young girl tried him out and he bronced across the entire manege and we thought he was going to jump the gate out!! Why?? Because he spooked and she 'clamped' him - he hated that and reacted in fear by broncing!

So your 'rider' OP may have clamped, kicked, held back with a strong hand, or scared your horse - who knows, but just put it behind you and trust it is unlikely to happen again :)
 
I never saw this thread until today. Glad to hear things are going better. Time to put it all behind you, trust in this instructor and move forward..

Even before you posted your update I was thinking that the other girl that you had riding was obviously not up to the job. She may have been too harsh with her aids - we had a little cob that bucked into canter if you kicked, but went off fine with gentle aids. If you haven't seen her buck, it could well be that the girl exaggerated the incident - to cover that she simply fell off and isn't as good a rider as you'd expect. A lot of riders will blame the horse and say it did a huge buck when it didn't..

Have your instructor come and ride as usual, but perhaps work towards you getting on for the last ten minutes - just walking, halting, turning, getting your confidence. Stay in walk, get confident in walk and then move up to trot..

More than likely you won't see any problems..
 
Hi llewelyn, she is 13.
Thank you yasandcrystal! I am trying very hard to put it behind me and trust her again. My instructor has found out that she actually goes quite well off the leg and a little squeeze is enough so if the rider was expecting her to be lazy and gave her a big kick maybe that triggered it? Who knows! Hopefully we will be able to move on now and enjoy the summer together now though!
 
Thank you honey08, that is a good idea! I have also started having lessons again at the riding school that I used to go to to try and get my confidence back with riding in general.
The other thing that my instructor picked up on was that she does trip a bit (although that is getting much better now) so it is possible that she tripped and useated the rider and caused her to fall although where her and her friends (who was with her) description of the 'big twisting bucks' came from I don't know!
Anyway, hopefully that won't happen again (fingers firmly crossed!!)
 
rose bud said:
Hi llewelyn, she is 13.
Thank you yasandcrystal! I am trying very hard to put it behind me and trust her again. My instructor has found out that she actually goes quite well off the leg and a little squeeze is enough so if the rider was expecting her to be lazy and gave her a big kick maybe that triggered it? Who knows! Hopefully we will be able to move on now and enjoy the summer together now though!
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Oh and I meant to say - I would use a neck strap - infact I always ride with one, just an old stirrup leather, but if you ever feel unsafe or need extra support you can use it :)
 
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