Bucking Horse

I’ve had my horse for almost half a year, and not once has he bucked with me. Yesterday was the first time he bucked, and he did about two in one. i don’t know why he did this, if it’s a health issue or something else. I used the same tack we’ve been using, in the same arena we’ve been in, the same jumps we’ve been doing, and everything else. Anyone have ideas, should I talk to a vet?

Without seeing it or having more details, it is not possible to guess …
What exactly were you and the horse doing when he bucked?
Where were you - arena, trail, etc.?
What was the horse’s demeanor just before the buck, and during the buck?
What kind of buck - straight up crow hop; bolt & buck; etc.?
What was going on around you in the environment just before the buck?

Just reading your first post, of course I don’t know the ferocity of the buck … but obviously it was enough to shake you up and affect your confidence in this horse.

A great many horses will display a little buck on rare occasions. The reason may be obscure, but if it is a rare event, it isn’t anything to worry about. Just know how to sit through a buck (shoulders back, heels down (essentially equitation), and bring the horse’s head up to stop the bucking).

If this was a big buck that was a frightening safety issue, you may have to be prepared to ride through another one, because it is hard to know if this is an ongoing issue until it happens again. Some bucks are one-and-done, it doesn’t happen again. Be observant as to conditions in both the environment and the horse and hopefully there will be some clues.

Bucks happen for a plethora of reasons, but basically this is a natural horse behavior that we try to train to not happen. High spirits; feed too hot for the horse’s needs; spooking; pain reaction (tack or something internal); horse learned to buck under saddle and just likes to buck. All kinds of things can be behind each reason.

It is May, don’t know where you are, but new spring grass can bring out the kangaroo in some horses. My last horse had the New-Spring-Grass-Crazies every year for about 2 weeks (including running in the pasture as well as various under-saddle idiocies). Then it was over, until the next spring.

If you really feel that you need immediate help, you need to locate a local trainer who understands this type of horse behavior. Not just a riding lesson teacher, but a trainer who specializes in young horses and problem horses. It is very hard to sort this out online, even with video. You need someone knowledgeable who can be with you to observe, coach and ride.

Good luck, hopefully this turns out not to be a big deal. :slight_smile:

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If you would like, i can send you a video of the bucking so you can get the details. And he bucked right after a jump

If everything was pretty much “business as usual” I’d suspect pain. The only time my gelding does more than a happy bounce after a fence has been due to pain (pulled muscle, saddle issues etc). I’d start by checking him over thoroughly myself to see if I could find any flinching reactions, check to see if the saddle fit is noticeably wrong etc. I’d get a vet and a great body worker involved pretty quickly.

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You are providing almost no details. I do understand that if it was upsetting to you, maybe you really didn’t remember much about it.

Bucking right after a warm-up jump is par for the course, with many horses. Jumping and bucking are almost the same motion. If a horse is feeling good and ready for anything, he/she may play a little once they get up in the air over a jump, the first few in warm-up. Land being silly and throwing in a few more “jumps” (bucks) that no one asked them for. :wink:

A rider who can ride even a low 2’ jump should not have much problem riding out some easy bucks, if the rider doesn’t get upset and keeps riding correctly. Maybe one thing needed is some help feeling more comfortable being able to handle the weird silly small things that horses do.

Look at my list of questions at the top and see if you can work through those answers. Even if you choose not to post those details, you have to get into them in order to have any idea how to address what happened. And even determine if there is something to address, or not.

This is a bit like a patient who shows up at the doctor’s office saying “I have a pain”, but won’t tell where the pain is. Or when it first started, exactly how much it is, etc. and so on. There is not much anyone can do for the patient if there is no specific information to go with the complaint. :slight_smile:

Feel free to send me a video if you like. If you feel comfortable doing so, you may get more help by posting it here. But it’s up to you, you don’t have to do anything you’d rather not. :slight_smile:

A horse can buck for so many reasons. Pain, exuberance, excess energy , outside stimulation or any reason they see fit to do so.

Was it a bigger jump or a " new to you" type jump then you normally do??