Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

At 11:01 PM 8/6/2006 -0400, Katie Baxter wrote:
> Thanks for all the information and responses about my 6 yr old Arab I 
> bought this spring that seemed to just start bucking after riding for 3 
> months.  I took several people's advice and had the saddle checked by 
> someone who has rode horses all her life, is an Arab person and worked in 
> a tack shop for years.  She checked out his saddle on him and said it fits 
> him fine (I didn't think it was the saddle because it is wide enough and 
> seems to fit him fine).  My vet came out (he has trained show Arabs for 
> probably 30 years).   He said the horse was not respectful to the bit.  I 
> can stop and steer him but sometimes he resists the bit or puts his head 
> up.  He said I need more control, that he has to learn to respect the 
> bit.  I use a snaffle and he showed me how to put reins on him with a 
> surcingle in the round pen, 10 minutes on both reins, 10 minutes with them 
> shortened on one side then 10 minutes shortened on the other side.  He 
> says that will teach him to give to the bit and not resist it.
> My friend also pointed out that if he was in pain, he would buck every 
> time at the canter and he doesn't.  He didn't buck at all when I  first 
> bought him and then very occasionally a little crow but the 4 out of the 
> last 6 rides he bucked majorly.  It was not a little crow hop.  A couple 
> times he bucked several times and so hard that is was hard to stay on and 
> I have rode for quite a while.  My seat is pretty balanced and I my hands 
> are pretty soft.  He was a race horse for a couple years and it kind of 
> seems the times he has bucked is when he wanted to get going real fast and 
> I was trying to slow him down (I am careful not to jerk on his mouth though),
> So I am assuming it is a training issue.  Have anyone else had trouble 
> with their young horses getting frustrated and bucking occasionally and 
> what did you do?   I am going back to basics with training him.  I have 
> done join up with him and I can get him to follow me around without a lead 
> in the round pen and back up etc.    And the last couple times I have rode 
> him I have practiced walking and whoaing, trotting and whoaing and 
> cantering and whoaing and getting a good whoa out of him.

All I can say is, okay.  Hope it works out for you.  I guess
I was side-tracked by his apparent three month acceptance
of the bit by focusing on his gradual bucking.

Marv "To a trainer all horse problems are a training problem.
To a farrier all horse problems are a farrier problem.  To an
instructor all horse problems are a technique problem.  To a
horse all horse problems are a hearing problem." Walker
Horse Info & Training Videos ~ http://MarvWalker.com


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