Stroppy horse

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buckaroo2010

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11 May 2010
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I have recently bought a 15.3 gelding thoroughbred of 15yrs. Since he's arrived he has bucked often when asked to canter and thrown several people off (these are not small bucks!). He has also bucked in walk and trot if asked to do something he doesn't want to. We've tried taking him off all heating food but he just died in energy but continued to buck. He's currently on working livery but is unusable because he's thrown lots of clients off so is not being worked during the week. He has a very gentle and affectionate nature otherwise- has beautiful paces, is well schooled and we've had his back checked. Is there anything anyone can suggest???
 
Yes but he bucks with me to, I've just learnt not to fall off! We've had him fully vetted and his backs been checked and he's all in good working order so it's not a physical problem as far as I can see?
 
definitely sounds pain related... my mare would buck constantly as she was very sore when in season. She was vert sweet the rest of the time. I would first look at his back and work from there.
 
Sorry to be nosy, but I've just stumbled accross your post and was wondering if you had any more info on your horse that you'd be willing to share (eg. name/colour/where you bought him from)? It's just that this sounds very familiar to an event horse that I used to own who fits the 15.3hh 15yr old TB description you gave and I hear he was sold in the last 6 months ... a VERY long shot I know, but the equine world is so small and if it is the same horse I may be able to shed some light on the situation for you?!
 
He's a palomino gelding who we've had for 2 months. As far as I know I don't think he's done any major eventing. He's been through two new owners in under two year but before them had an owner for several years. Any of this sounding familiar?
 
Oh no, unfortunately not, sorry. I thought it was a bit of a long shot but worth a try! However the horse I am talking about did exactly the same thing as yours when I first got him, and we saw his behaviour improve drastically when we gave him a good few hours turnout everyday with his friends and made sure that we really varied his workload. He was a really intelligent horse (& by the sounds of it I expect yours is too), and he would get so bored and naughty if we did too much school work so lots of hacking, scenery changes and fun things were a must!!

My horse was also definitely more of a one-rider type horse, and I know that's not ideal with your boy being on working livery but maybe you could speak to your yard owner about pairing him with people who are sensitive to his needs?

As long as he's not in pain, which you've mentioned he isn't, then I suspect it might just be because he likes to have a job to do and maybe his past owners haven't stimulated him enough so these naughty habits have developed that now, unfortunately, you've been left to deal with?

Sorry if that's not of any help, but please persevere - I'm sure he will be worth it in the end!
 
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