why did he buck and how to prevent a repeat?

[Horsecare101]

This is just a very slight and simple practice that helps me get my horse’s mind right before a ride. My gelding can get amped up easily and extremely distracted, especially in a setting with other horses. If that is the case before you mount and you don’t have time or space to do the ground work you’d like, you can simply work on him lowering his head. I will stand to the left of my horse and gently rest my hand on his poll. I don’t put distinct pressure, but I let my hand be heavy. The moment he drops his head even a tiny bit, I keep my hand where it was in space, releasing the pressure on his poll.

I’ll do this until his head is well below his shoulders and he begins licking and chewing. Sometimes all I need is to get his attention and this works wonders in calming him down, getting him focused, and helping him feel secure in his situation. Not sure if that is something that would help your horse, but it’s helped mine over the years. Good luck!

[Kickin_It]

I agree with the other posters – I’d add: take him on and off the trailer a few times. That will throw him for a loop and get him thinking.

Another thing to think about: Sometimes who you ride with actually causes issues. I’ve ridden with a few individuals that find my process for my horse laughable and try to rush us. This makes my normally well behaved horse very nervous and antsy. Find riding partners that are willing to take the time you and your horse need to be safe. Remember: you don’t need to ride off as soon as you get there. 100% agree with taking your time tacking up and just letting him stand.

Since you use a mounting block/ stand walk him up to it a few times and just stand. Go back to square one if you have to. He clearly knows what is expected of him since he does fine in the arena. This is him testing his limits. After a few tries he’ll probably calm down and realize that you mean business.

[Robyn]

I really appreciate all these well thought out responses. You guys rock! I do however have an update… I went to a friends last week so she could give me some NH ground manner pointers which were interesting. Afterward she suggested a ride and after we tacked up we went back into her indoor for a bit more ground work. He would absolutely not stand still and was getting more and more antsy. When I went around to his off side I saw that his saddle skirting had folded under on itself when I saddled him. WOW. I had it cleaned and conditioned over the winter so it’s a bit softer and more flexible and it’s also much heavier than my dressage saddle so when I put it on his back I don’t place it down its more like drag it across which is probably what caused the folding over. I’m pretty sure that’s what caused him to buck and it was my fault. After I fixed it he totally calmed down and stood like a rock for mounting both in the indoor and again when we went outside. He didn’t hustle off after I was mounted either. We had a good ride. That said, you all gave me really good ideas for getting his attention before mounting and teaching him to stand after I’m on. Thank you! I’m sure that I will use them all and will end this little fiasco with a better and more focused trail partner. And he will have a rider who pays more attention to how she saddles him. Win, win!

[Horsecare101]

Great news Robyn! So glad to hear it was an easy fix and your boy is back to being his normal self

[walkers60]

This happened to a friend of mine and after much research turned out to be tooth problem . He bucked when the bit hit the bad tooth . She takes good care of her horses so this was big surprise, sadly she hit the ground hard and broke her back but did recover.