# Bucking into canter



## charlottew (Mar 10, 2012)

Hi, just wondering if anybody has any ideas on what to do. My 5 year old mare bucks every time I ask her to canter, the bucks are huge and she has come to close to getting me off many times. This has been going on for about a year and makes me dread asking her to canter, somedays I don't as I don't feel up to coping with these bucks. The problem is I need to teach her to canter as I am bringing her on and have got as far as I can without the canter. I have had her back checked, saddle checked and she has recently got a new saddle which she is much happier in but still bucks. I have been to numerous instructors and have tried a variety of methods but nothing seems to work! Does anybody have any ideas of what I can try?


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## TexasBlaze (Oct 4, 2010)

Does she buck on a lungeline? If not then try lunging her in stages. At first just lunge her in a saddle and get her to where she isnt bucking, then work on lunging with someone in the saddle but not directing her, then get her to where the rider does SMALL cueing and then once the rider is able to cue her without bucking wean the lunger out of the picture. 

Just a thought. Only works if she doesnt buck under the lungeline.


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## Teegz (Dec 22, 2011)

Depends on your horse but my pony always bucked into canter. As soon as she bucks and all 4 feet land on the ground I made her halt straight away, no let ups. She stopped in a week!! My arms did ache though! Worth a try though 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## hoopla (Jan 29, 2012)

Often with youngsters it's because they're not balanced and when they transition it takes them time to sort out which leg.

Or else ensure you're allowing her to canter and aren't doing a brake and accelerator thing by urging forward with legs whilst holding back with reins.

Ensure you get your weight back in the saddle, keep her head up and really urge her forward.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

My best suggestion for a horse like this is to take her nose to the side whenever she starts that first buck, use ample inside leg to disengage her hindquarters and keep her bent to the side, then push her into spinning tiny little circles, similar to a one-rein stop...except don't let her stop. Push her until you can feel her beginning to tire and then ease off your cues to the point that she is slowly turning small circles and is supple and relaxed. Then, let her straighten out and work up to the canter again. If she bucks again, then take her head and force the small circles in the other direction. Most horses who aren't malicious buckers will pretty much quit within just a few sessions of this. They realize that bucking is much more work than it's worth.


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## Skulby93 (Dec 1, 2011)

Sometimes that can indicate soreness in the hocks. Have your vet check it out.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

i wonder if it is a condition issue. My current horse was basically a pasture ornament and underfed.any time he went into a canter the nose would go down and butt up, from the saddle I would stop him as I felt like he was trying to buck me off. I thne noticed him doing the same thing in the field, that nose down butt up hop when he broke into a run. Fgured it was just him. So i just rode it out. With a month of wet saddle blankets he quit and hasnt done it any more and I canter constantly .I wonder if building some muscle had something to do with it.


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## Tayz (Jan 24, 2009)

Interested in this. my 6 year old tb does the same so that i dont even try


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## charlottew (Mar 10, 2012)

Thank you for your comments, she does buck on the lunge line but thank you anyway, I will try all of your suggestions


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## JumpingPaints (Mar 11, 2012)

I used to ride a friend's horse who did this. He started it only after he developed lyme disease. Treatment stopped it for about 6 months, but then the lyme would come back, as would the bucking. Point being, it's likely from soreness somewhere. Try dosing with banamine or bute and see if that alleviates the problem, which should indicate whether or not it's soreness-based.


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## fromthismoment (Feb 17, 2012)

It sounds like you've ruled out all lameness issues by having saddle, and back checked. If your horse is sound at all other gaits then I'd assume its a behaviour problem. 

I trained my horse to stop bucking on the longe line in a few days. Once he understood it was always unacceptable he stopped trying as often under saddle and when he did buck it was easier to handle. 

A year is way to long to have a problem like this going on. Do you have a trainer? Having someone who really understands what they are doing on the ground helping you can be a big confidence booster.


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## LoveTheSaddlebreds (Jul 9, 2009)

Is she a lazy horse? A lot of times, laziness is the cause of bucking. Also, as mentioned before, hock issues as well as back issues. Since you have ruled out back problems, I would consider the former two. 

I believe that it's been brought up, but if you turn her right away, as SOON as she starts to buck, she shouldn't be able to start up. And don't stop turning even if you've regained control. Spin her hard and fast a few turns to let her know that that's NOT okay. After you've decided you've spun enough, cue the canter. No breaks or stopping in between any of this, keep her working until she does what you ask. If she tries to buck again, repeat the spinning again, you may want to alternate which direction you spin or you might get dizzy 

BTW love the name! I'm a Charlotte, too


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## sumozmom (Mar 13, 2012)

same prob here


charlottew said:


> Hi, just wondering if anybody has any ideas on what to do. My 5 year old mare bucks every time I ask her to canter, the bucks are huge and she has come to close to getting me off many times. This has been going on for about a year and makes me dread asking her to canter, somedays I don't as I don't feel up to coping with these bucks. The problem is I need to teach her to canter as I am bringing her on and have got as far as I can without the canter. I have had her back checked, saddle checked and she has recently got a new saddle which she is much happier in but still bucks. I have been to numerous instructors and have tried a variety of methods but nothing seems to work! Does anybody have any ideas of what I can try?


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## sumozmom (Mar 13, 2012)

same prob here:lol::lol::shock:


charlottew said:


> Hi, just wondering if anybody has any ideas on what to do. My 5 year old mare bucks every time I ask her to canter, the bucks are huge and she has come to close to getting me off many times. This has been going on for about a year and makes me dread asking her to canter, somedays I don't as I don't feel up to coping with these bucks. The problem is I need to teach her to canter as I am bringing her on and have got as far as I can without the canter. I have had her back checked, saddle checked and she has recently got a new saddle which she is much happier in but still bucks. I have been to numerous instructors and have tried a variety of methods but nothing seems to work! Does anybody have any ideas of what I can try?


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## 4HCountryGirl (Aug 31, 2011)

I know how you feel, the pony i'm training does this. When you start to ask her to canter, hold her head so she can't buck, DON'T give her a loose rein when asking. So just lean back a tad and hold her head. A horse needs to put it's head down to buck.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

^^I have to disagree, a horse can most certainly buck with their head up, but what happens most times when you pick up both reins in an attempt to keep their head up, they just suck the reins out of your hands and duck their head anyway.

It's much harder for them to brace or pull away from one rein.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

smrobs said:


> ^^I have to disagree, a* horse can most certainly buck with their head up,* but what happens most times when you pick up both reins in an attempt to keep their head up, they just suck the reins out of your hands and duck their head anyway.
> 
> It's much harder for them to brace or pull away from one rein.


Very true. They make not be able to get the same lift with their hind quarters but yes they can buck.


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## PoohLP (Jan 15, 2009)

Just finishing breaking my 4yo of this. He started when I started asking for some collection going into the canter. It was evasion pure and simple and it was nasty - he even broke a top board on a fence! I tried everything. What ultimately worked was starting from a medium (almost extended ) trot and then pushing him immediately forward into a medium canter with his head up until he got in a rhythm, then collecting him more to make him work round. If he bucked and changed leads, I made him work the counter until I was ready to ask for trot and then immediate change into correct lead canter. 

To address muscle issues, I also started working him in side reins on the lunge at the trot for 10 minutes before riding. That allowed him to develop a stronger topline and better balance that allowed him to better carry himself at the canter. 

Basically, you have to think of it as a little campaign and each ride is a separate battle. Every time you "win" - by riding through the buck to what you want - you get one step closer to not having the problem. Every time you lose, you are one step further away. When mine started, I addressed it immediately and took about a month to fix. Since this has been going on for a year, with you, you probably have A LOT of work to do and might seriously want to consider getting a trainer to help.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I'd bet that when she let out that first buck you pulled on the reins and stopped her. Find someone, if you cant, to ride it out and every time her butt starts to lift, deliver a hard whack with the riding crop behind the leg, not on the rump. She may scoot forward but don't try to stop her or slow her down, keep her going. This is playing her game with a few rule changes. Don't work her until she's puffing. Some say to run them until too tired to buck but that solves nothing. Push her on until she starts to relax then allow her to walk for a few minutes as that is her reward. Again ask her to canter. If she bucks do as before. When she will canter with no buck just canter her for 20 or so strides then let her walk. If she's not puffing you can even allow her to stand, again her reward. She has learned that bucking means pain. She may test you a little in a week, a few weeks, as that is what horses do so ride with your crop. She knows what it will do. One good session and it's likely done with. I've worked with horses that do this many times and this is what has always worked. Never had to go back.


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## 4HCountryGirl (Aug 31, 2011)

That is what I learned and it has worked every time.


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