*Is this YOUR horse or an instructors horse?
Not clear on what this horse has been doing up to the present time?
Just sitting, becasue he is your horse, or is he a
lesson horse. I have a big problem with so-called lesson horses that dump
students...there is no excuse for it. If I was paying for instruction and
a lesson horse bucked me off i would be REALLY pissed.
I agree with Heidi, first make sure this guy is not
in pain...
if not, and if it was only behavioral.....my method
is to first get the horse tired (forget lunging). Go find a good, long,
steep hill and if he is too fresh, pony him first off another horse up....until
he has some of the starch out of him. Then get on...walk UPHILL until he
is huffing a bit...ask for a trot. Trot unitl he is geting a bit
tired of trotting...THEN ask for the canter. If he canters even a few
strides without bucking, give him a rest and reward.
I don;t like the different saddle idea (unless
current saddle is hurting him), in the hopes a rider could ride out a buck
better in a different saddle.....you don';t want him to even have the
opportunity to buck.....so set him up to make it REALLy hard to have the energy
to buck; hence the hill......
also look at what this guy is getting to
eat.....cut all grain, alfalfa, etc.
Again, rereading your post, no clue as to who owns
the horse. IF it is the riding instructor, shame on her for "being at her
wits end" and using students on this horse. Maybe also this guy is sick
and tired of flat arena work and some trail miles and hills will humble him a
bit and give fresh perspective.
Forget the crap about 7 falls make a
horseman......the more jolts your body gets the more long-term damage you
inflict.
One of those falls may REALLY hurt you. It's
bad advice; in my book, being a good horseman means keeping the horse between
you and the ground, and NOT being encouraged to ride a horse that is beyond your
capabilities. My last fall off the 4 year old has given me a good knot of
scar tissue in my shoulder that is 6 months and still not
healed.....
The only suggestions I had were to: a.
lunge it out of him (probably won't work because he knows the difference
between a rider on his back obviously). b. a different saddle,
such as dressage or western, where it's harder to remove the rider. Not
really a practical option either. c. A rider who can stick to
Sunny like glue. (Obviously not me ;-P).
Any advice is very much appreciated because I
don't feel like eating dirt again. I hurt a lot. But hey, they say
it takes 7 falls to make a horsewoman. In the meantime, the whiplash
does not seem to be part of that course.
