# Dangerous bucking on the lunge



## Kdobbert (Jun 21, 2012)

My gelding, who is 13 years old, likes to buck when i lunging him. just as hes about to canter he starts bucking and he doesnt stop bucking. the only thing is he kicks his feet in torwards me. right now when he does it i make him back up and spin tight circles fast. is there anything else i can do?


----------



## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Get after him to go faster. It sounds like he's doing it to get out of cantering. Even if he's having to work by backing and doing circles, he's getting out of doing the cantering. 

Have you ruled out it being a pain issue?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## FaydesMom (Mar 25, 2012)

Use a long lunge whip and when he kicks out at you spank his butt and make him RUN!! Once he has made a couple of circles around the pen, ask him to slow down, ask him to change directions, then do it all over again. Repeat, repeat, repeat until he gets tired of getting his butt stung and will pick up a nice canter when you ask. 

You have got to spank RIGHT when he is kicking, so you need a long whip. And you need to fix it soon, before he actually hurts you.

Good luck with him. 

EDIT: Sorry, I'm assuming you have a round pen. If no round pen is available but you have an enclosed area to work in in case he pulls away from you, the same applies, but be prepared in case he takes off. That can be a tough one to deal with on a line. :-(


----------



## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

If your horse ever kicks at you or does anything dangerous that is more serious than a spank. I think you should go after him with that whip like you are about to kill him. Do it for 3 seconds then go back to normal business. He will get the message.

I think there's a line between naughty behavior and dangerous behavior. Horses hooves coming at you is pretty much always dangerous behavior and should be taken very seriously.

Be careful and good luck!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Why are you lunging him? Does he need it?

Unless he is so fresh you can't ride him, I'd forego the lunging and just ride. You may be putting too much pressure on sore joints, or back.


----------



## HagonNag (Jul 17, 2010)

Does he start bucking when you ask for a canter under saddle?


----------



## Kawonu (Apr 24, 2011)

Palomine said:


> Why are you lunging him? Does he need it?
> 
> Unless he is so fresh you can't ride him, I'd forego the lunging and just ride. You may be putting too much pressure on sore joints, or back.


*This* and that's all I have to say.


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Even if there's no real reason to lunge, its a good skill for a horse to have. Allowing a horse to buck on the lunge eventually moves to bucking under saddle particularly if the horse is bucking towards the hander. Your horse is giving you the equine version of a middle finger salute. 

How do you lunge? 
If I have a horse that tends to spook, run or otherwise be stupid on a lunge line, I use a running inside rein. Run the lunge rein through the inside bit ring, and clip to the roller that is level or close to level with the elbow. You can get away with putting it one higher with a bucker, then you can keep their head up. 
As soon as the horse goes to buck, I take up that rein to turn the horse's head towards the inside, and get after it with the lunge whip. It has to go forward with its head turned to the inside and will find it very difficult to buck. As soon as you see the horse relax again, release the pressure and go back to lunging. 
None of my horses have bucked on the lunge using this method, even my very sensitive, spooky gelding is far more controllable on the lunge using this running inside rein technique. 
I'd avoid connecting directly to the bit as you will either pull the bit through the mouth, or slam the horse in the mouth. 

Avoiding lunging just to avoid this behaviour is useless. You can't ignore it. 
Just like a horse that kicks, you can't avoid going near its back legs forever. 
Fix the problem and you'll have a better, more respectful easyto deal with horse. Lunging is a very useful part of my training and I won't tolerate a horse that will not lunge quietly.


----------



## Kdobbert (Jun 21, 2012)

there is no pain.. he doesnt buck when i ride him. but i Havent had time to ride latly so ive been lunging. i lunge him with a halterr. i have to act like im going to kill himm. its just hard because i dont want to get kickedd


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

A halter will give you no control. I hope it's a least a rope halter. Put a bridle on him, or a lunging cavesson.


----------



## Kdobbert (Jun 21, 2012)

a rope halter with pressure pointss.


----------



## longshot (May 30, 2012)

if you watch herd dynamics, a horse kicks at being driven when they are challenging dominance or exibiting it. Most likely it is a dominance issue and so if you have to act like a psychopath for a bit so be it but you must establish dominance and retain it. Mostly you can just keep insisting on movement until the horse tires of the constant pressure.. however we humans usually tire of the game first. You can also be very extreme in your response to the kick, but you will risk that your horse may truly challenge you and that could be trouble. You could also try something like laying the horse down, but I highly reccommend getting professional help for something like that. Any way you slice it, you are going to have to cause this horse to submit. Any one of a number of approaches will work, you have to determine which one does for you and your horse.


----------



## NeuroticMare (Jan 8, 2012)

Hmm, just gotta say that the best horse I ever owned kicked on the longe, so we didn't longe. Sounds stupid, but this horse would pack my 15 year old butt over miles of trails alone, bareback, while I did really stupid things most of the time. I think because he was such a big guy that longeing was difficult for him, and I also think he felt threatened by the whip (he would also turn to kick people who entered his stall if they were carrying something). My trainer's suggestion (Max von Bleucher from the Spanish Riding School... RIP) said "so what? don't longe, just get on" so I did. That was really the coolest horse ever, and unfortunately I lost him at age 8 to colic.


----------

