# Exercises to help you stay on a bucking horse?



## Alexandra V (Jul 6, 2013)

To make a long story short, I'm taking hunter-jumper lessons and just started a half lease on my lesson horse this month. As per Murphy's law, the first day of my lease was the day that she decided to spook (or so we think) twice and buck me off both times. 

This made me realize that I really need to work on ways to stay on, because hitting the arena wall isn't so fun lol. My instructor said that I should be doing things to strengthen my leg muscles to be able to hold on better in case it ever happens again, and recommended stirrupless work for that.

I also figured that working bareback on her would help as well, on both my legs and my seat. Is there anything else you guys can suggest that might help me stick a bucking fit better?


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

The only thing that will make you more able to sit through bucks is a better seat, and while you need strong muscles to maintain a good seat, muscles without the seat won't help! Riding bareback and/or stirrupless is a great way to improve your seat.

In the meantime, perhaps look into getting a grab strap for your saddle and practice grabbing on to it quickly. Having one of those has definitely saved me from a couple spills on unpredictable horses!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Learn to read and feel her body. She is familiar with the arena so it's likely not a genuine spook but a means to show displeasure. Watch her ears, her head coming up, a little tension in her body. This indicates she's up to something. Now is the time to diffuse it with tight circles and serpentines until you feel her relax. You might also try a light whack behind your leg with the crop to let her know you mean business. A tiny tap does nothing, do it about how you could slap it on your hand.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

In addition to above, learn to bail. Better you get off then you get thrown at the horses mercy. 

And, in the famous words of my old instructor, when in doubt GRAB MANE!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Learn to read her and talk her out of it before it happens like Saddlebag said, small tight circles. Or sometimes you can keep her head lifted and drive her through it.
I agree with Verona, work on your seat, balance and strength. Grabbing a strap or mane, like slidestop said, to help you get sucked down. 
Remember, where you look is where you go. Look in the middle, not at the ground or your case the arena wall


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

relax, try to get your centre of gravity down into your pelvis and have a healthy fear of hitting the ground


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

definitely skeptical of a trainer that says you need to build leg strength to hold on with. there's no amount of leg strength in the world that will get you to hold on - just look at bronc riders (saddle and bareback). see their legs gripping? nope, rather they are swinging back and forth (1. to help them move with the horse and 2. to keep the horse moving). point being, they stay on by balance and seat, as said above. work to improve your seat, and move with the center of the horse's gravity and you will move with them. also, learning to bail is a very very important skill to have (i speak from experience lol). good luck!


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## Alexandra V (Jul 6, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the excellent replies! That's another thing I need to work on, bailing and emergency dismounts. This is the first time she's done this and apparently only the second time in her life, so I'll definitely be working on riding her bareback to improve my seat and balance. I'll look into devising a neck strap to grab onto just in case though!

Saddlebag - I agree with you that I don't think it was a true spook, at least not the second time. She's blind in her left eye and the first time we were cantering and I asked her to go between a standard and the wall, with the wall on her blind side. She didn't go nuts that time but I wasn't expecting it and came off, which put the other horse in my group on edge and she spooked on her time around.

The second time I honestly think that she saw the other horse spook in that corner and thought she could get away with bolting from it and bucking halfway around the arena. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks she was mostly misbehaving.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

CJ82Sky said:


> definitely skeptical of a trainer that says you need to build leg strength to hold on with. there's no amount of leg strength in the world that will get you to hold on - just look at bronc riders (saddle and bareback). see their legs gripping? nope, rather they are swinging back and forth (1. to help them move with the horse and 2. to keep the horse moving). point being, they stay on by balance and seat, as said above. work to improve your seat, and move with the center of the horse's gravity and you will move with them. also, learning to bail is a very very important skill to have (i speak from experience lol). good luck!


While bronc riders mark out and spur during their ride, leg strength is still a factor. For those of us that might have to get on a tough one that don't have that strength or ability we tie our stirrups together to make up for it.
After riding one that has hogged it to me my leg muscles(more so in the inner thigh) will be sore. Most certainly NOT claiming to be a bronc rider but I have managed to cling onto a couple just because I didn't want to hit the dirt or walk home :0)


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

A problem with "teaching" people how to bail/emergency dismount is that some people use it as their go to and jump off when it isn't necessary. I know more people who have gotten hurt because they chose to jump off than from involuntary dismounts (falls).

Instead of learning how to stay on, how about learning how to make the horse stop bucking? Ask your trainer to teach you that. You're not in a rodeo. You shouldn't be trying to ride it out, but to stop it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

I found that riding without stirrups really helps develop a deep and following seat. I can ride out sudden changes of direction much better than before I started riding without stirrups. I'm not saying do it all the time, but just drop them for a few laps each ride and you will find your lower back muscles and hips really relax and settle into the sweet spot.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Country swing dancing. If your dance partners are bull riders, the dance can be even more strenuous requiring strength, flexibility and endurance.

The more days, er... nights, practicing this exercise the better for sticking those broncy ones.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

Um... why is this horse bucking in the first place?

Have you investigated teeth, back and saddle?

There is a reason behind it. You need to find it, and fix it. Sitting a buck is fair enough, but if the horse has the habit, then its from pain or a learned habit.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Riding without stirrups - absolutely a must to improve your balance because that's the biggest part of staying on - and being flexible too because the more rigid and tense you are the higher the chances of you coming off
Also learn how to react fast and ride the horse out of the buck - or get a feel for it about to happen and stop it before it even starts
I personally prefer NOT to come off a bucking horse because if those heels are still flying you stand a good chance of getting hit by them


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## Alexandra V (Jul 6, 2013)

DuffyDuck said:


> Um... why is this horse bucking in the first place?
> 
> Have you investigated teeth, back and saddle?
> 
> There is a reason behind it. You need to find it, and fix it. Sitting a buck is fair enough, but if the horse has the habit, then its from pain or a learned habit.


We've looked into her back, she had her teeth done recently and it's the same saddle she's always been ridden in so we can't think of anything that's readily obvious as a cause. 

From where I stand it was either her having a bad mood and wanting tog. Et out of work, or it could have been due to her having more energy than normal/reduced exercise regime since she was on a break after a colic. Being high energy seems to make sense to me because she was also very forward under saddle that day at all three gaits for the whole lesson, more so than usual.


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## Roux (Aug 23, 2013)

I think the best way to stay on is just to ride them out and you get a feel for it eventually. 

If you can remember when it is happening it helps to lean forward into the horses neck during a rear. During a buck do the opposite - lean back and keep your legs a bit forward and heels down this will help you butt stick in to the deeper seat.


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