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You are in... Forums > Riding and Training > Hacking > Bucking

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piglady

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

piglady says:

Bucking

Hi

First I apologise for asking this as I am sure its probably been discussed thousands of times.

I am riding a racehorse which is owned by this ex-jockey. In my opinion he is doing things so wrong with serious consequences. The horse is not fit, it is fed twice a day on flaked maize, racehorse nuts etc. But it is not ridden every day, Last week despite my protests he wouldn't let me ride because it was raining!!!!!!! The horse stayed in its stable for two days fed the same.  The next day I rode it, it did vertical bucks.  I managed to stay on for 4 of them.  I am 48 and although I have been riding for many years and yes buckers, rearers etc, my confidence is not what it what nor is my skill.  How can I stop it bucking once it starts. It literally takes me by surprise, On this occasion, it was walking, surged forwards slightly then started.  It has thrown every groom off and I feel like not going back because I have two young children and can't afford an injury.  But I don't like to be beat. Any advice.  It's teeth etc is fine.  To make things even more difficult, this guy who owns it is deaf and won't listen to anyone. Everyone at the yard has told him he is overfeeding and not enough excercise. I think this is the problem.  Do I call it quits or can someone advise me what to do on when hacking out.  It galloped home by the way once I was off.

 

Thanks so much

Linda

 

 

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  • Posted 4 years ago (27 February 2010 14:02)
adele1008

Joined:

Apr 05

Posts: 2517

adele1008 says:

Re: Bucking

Tbh, i would say walk away unless you can get through to the owner and have more of a say in the way it is kept etc, you could pay a fortune on getting its back, teeth, tack checked, spend hours reschooling and building a relationship with this horse, rehabilitating it and seeing to all its needs for the rain to come on for a week then this idiot locks it up and feeds it rocket fuel for a week without it having any exercise and then the bucking starts again and who can blame the horse.  for ex-racehorses to make a smooth transition into being mannerly riding horses they thrive on routine and if this horse cant be offered that then i cant see that much is going to improve, sorry - you seem like a very caring, patient person with your head screwed on and if this horse was yours and you were in charge and doing things your way then i would say work away and things will come right with a little perseverence.  There are loads of people on here that will be able to offer you advice and have lots of experience with ex-racers but i really cant see that there is anything you can do to bring this horse on if you are limited to when you are allowed to exercise it and being fed a high energy diet when a horse is not in work is a recipe for disaster with any horse.  I hope you get something worked out!

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  • Posted 4 years ago (27 February 2010 14:32)
piglady

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

piglady says:

Re: Bucking

Its actually still apparentely racing. I have only been riding a week on it and I went in on Wednesday and was informed the racing had been cancelled  that day due to the rain. So I presume it is still racing but who is riding it I don't know.  The guy who owns it is in is 70's and I can't think he would ride him, but then I don't know.  This is horse is not fit by the way.

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  • Posted 4 years ago (27 February 2010 14:44)
adele1008

Joined:

Apr 05

Posts: 2517

adele1008 says:

Re: Bucking

What?? Hes racing an unfit horse that he wont allow to be ridden in the rain!! i think there is something weird going on here, thats mad and an accident waiting to happen, that horse could end up seriously injuring itself and im afraid i would want no part in that, that poor, poor horse!!  You could stick around and find out what the story is from other people on the yard, you could try changing it around for the poor horse but i think your efforts will ultimately be wasted, in my opinion that horse is being abused!!  Im not sure what to suggest or say tbh, you might get a better response if you post this in the yard section as more people look there, youve got yourself in a bit of a dilemma!!

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  • Posted 4 years ago (27 February 2010 15:15)
piglady

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

piglady says:

Re: Bucking

I know, I thought it was extremely odd. I have spoken to another groom who rides his other horse, but I can't seem to get much out of her.  When I mentioned to her about the racing the other day, she just raised her eyebrows.  Getting conversation out of her is hard work.

Everything else is fine, the stables are kept beautifully (my mucking out mind you lol) the horse is in good condition, although I would have said not suitable condition for racing and he has all the correct gear, snaffle with large loose rings, sheepskin neoseband, mineral licks etc etc

You can't converse with the owner because he is deaf  but can hear if you yell at the top of your voice.  I started parttime last week.  I do freelance work and needed a steady income from another job, hence the groom job).  I just don't know what to do, as I said I don't like quitting but I can't afford to injure myself and I don't bounce like I used to.  I had thought of writing him a note saying I would only ride if the horse went out every day come rain or shine.  He has an outdoor arena and won't even let the horse go out there to let of steam.  He used to but apparentely not for a while.

I had planned to go back on Monday because I am annoyed at myself for falling off, although the girl I was with said I couldn't have stayed.  I am annoyed though because when I was training for my AI many moons ago, I used to be able to sit on anything and very rarely come off.  I feel I ought to try and make more of an effort rather than give up at the first hurdle so to speak.

The owner does have a problem though, I was told when the last girl fell off, he was poking her with the whip saying "you stupid girl get up" 

Should I give up or persevere, everyone at the yard is so nice to me and I had two cars come out to fetch me home when I fell off. Not the owner though!!!

I could do with some advice on how to ride him to prevent him bucking.

 

 

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  • Posted 4 years ago (27 February 2010 19:05)
adele1008

Joined:

Apr 05

Posts: 2517

adele1008 says:

Re: Bucking

Right, i see.  in that case you might persevere with it then, i would definitely ask the owner about putting it in the outdoor arena even just loose to let off steam whether its raining or not, theres no excuse for not even riding in the rain if you have a decent surface to work on, theres maybe something happened in the past though thats put the owner off - maybe the horse fell or tried to jump or something. i would try and find out a little more about the horse although by the sounds of it theyre not making that easy for you either if this other girls not speaking to you.  i would make sure firstly that the horse is not in any physical pain, does he have a correcly fitting saddle or does he have a sore back and lunging first might be a good idea to warm up the back muscles and let him get rid off all the excess energy then i would work with him slowly until you figure out exactly what triggers the bucking, without knowing what sets him off its difficult to know how best to deal with it. Be careful and good luck

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  • Posted 4 years ago (27 February 2010 20:06)
piglady

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

piglady says:

bucking

Thanks for your help, its actually good to talk to someone else who is horsy.  I have been out of the business for so long, non of my friends are remotely interested in them. I have decided to write him a note asking for the horse to go out everyday.  I am also going to see about lunging him.  I don't know if he has the equipment though.  The other thing that someone suggested was walking out from the stable for a few minutes than literally trotting him for quite a while to take the edge off. I know its not a good idea to do this because his muscles aren't warmed up but it will make him less likely to buck. I personally don't think he is in pain from teeth etc.  I think he has got into the habit of dumping people and what started off as being fresh is now a habit.  Someone also suggested giving him a good yank in the mouth the second he starts.  Again not recommended in the books but would this work.  I am only just over 5.1 and he is 16.2 so riding him forward with my legs doesn't seem to have an effect..

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  • Posted 4 years ago (27 February 2010 23:35)
adele1008

Joined:

Apr 05

Posts: 2517

adele1008 says:

Re: Bucking

I would begin by lunging him first if at all possible, even if the man doesnt have all the right equipment all you need is a lunge line which are really cheap and you can make do by doing it off the bridle, build this up slowly as  if he is unfit he will find this difficult and keep the circles large, 10mins should be enough to begin with then then even if you only ride him for 10mins try to make it as easy and fuss free for him as possible and always leave on a good note, even if it just getting him to walk and halt a couple of times without a fuss, by the sounds of it this horse has got into the habit if hes thrown as many people off so you need to rebuild his trust and let him know that nothing terrible is going to happen.  I wouldnt get on him and go straight into trot as it could make problems worse if hes uncomfortable thats why i would lunge him first and i dont think that yanking him in the mouth when he starts will help either, the best way is to sit quietly and push him forwards, if hes moving forwards then he cant really buck, well not to the full extent anyway, i know its difficult in the moment and with you being small, you may find that voice aids are effective, use the voice aids you would use when you are lunging him and if he misbehaves to encourage him forwards and do not lose your temper or shout as this could upset him even more. maybe gentle hacking out would be good for him if its safe to do so, stick to a walk to begin with as hes less likely to buck then and make sure when you school him to allow him a good walk and a stretch to begin with and only move up a gear when you feel his back soften and relax, it could have a lot to do with him being pushed when hes not physically able with being so unfit.  Take things slowly and listen to your instincts.  If all else fails then i have heard of some people having success with monty roberts buckstopper, type it into google,  i would only use this as a last resort when youve tried everything else and are 100% certain that the horse isnt in any pain.  Try the lunging first, taking the edge off might just make a difference and try to spend some time with him on the ground, he may just be testing you out and it takes time to get to know each other, hope you have better luck next week

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  • Posted 4 years ago (28 February 2010 00:22)
piglady

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

piglady says:

Re: Bucking

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  • Posted 4 years ago (28 February 2010 20:02)
piglady

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

piglady says:

Re: Bucking

I will take write a note tomorrow to the guy explaining that the horse needs to be lunged before I get on him again.  I will report back on how he takes it.  If he doesn't agree to it then that is the end.  I will also say that it has to go out no matter what the weather.  Thanks so much for your advice.

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  • Posted 4 years ago (28 February 2010 20:04)
piglady

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

piglady says:

Re: Bucking

Hi all

The latest is that as I suspected it was a no go for lunging.  He explained that he was a racehorse not a dressage horse and needed schooling up not schooling down??????? But he did tell me that he had put him out in the arena on Sat and Sun. 

Anyway I rode him again today and understandably was nervous, I took him out by myself this time and kept the reins short and talked to him for most of the way.  I kept focused on his movements and the moment he felt as if he was going to do something, I shouted walk on, walk on and closed my legs. I also did some walk to halt transitions to get him mind of dumping me!!  It did seem to work. However I did have a problem at one point when some geese flew up out of the field, he started half-rearing and spinning around. I managed to walk him on until he calmed down then turned him around and rode back.  Call me a coward but I don't think it is worth the hassle. I have been told he is going away to Edinburgh on Wednesday for race training. Hopefully he won't be back for a while and when he does he has had some manners knocked into him. lol. But thanks for your help adele, I did find it useful and was thinking about it as I rode him.

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  • Posted 4 years ago (01 March 2010 14:34)

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