How to ride a bucker

[NuttyMare]

I can usually sit to buckers, but I find that i panic and my riding goes to pieces. Any advice?

[Star Shaped]

My instructor always (I say always because I always seemed to ride the naughty ones) told me to sit back, look foward (ie make sure you're not looking down and the disappearing front end of the horse), squeeze the horse foward and pull the horses head up. The theory being that if you can get the horses head up and get it moving foward it can't buck. Oh yeah and I have always thought that calling the horse not nice names has helped me too.:D Just kidding...in most cases.

[PromiseMe]

Get their head up and get them moving forward.
Its harder for horses to buck with their head up....but not impossible. And if they do manage to buck, it wont be as big.
And why moving foward? Its harder for horses to buck when they are moving faster.
And maybe even try a circle. Its harder for a horse to do so many things at once....buck, go fast, circle, etc. its harder.

And just ride it!

[Cochise]

Laugh! Laugh like its the funniest thing ever! You may be freaking out inside, but if your horse is bucking because he feels good and not from pain you will find yourself relaxing and your horse will get over it. (well mine does)

You can still apply the aids others have mentioned in this thread, but honestly! Try and laugh! :D

[NuttyMare]

Thankyou to everyone :)

Next time I ride a bucker I shall put these into practice

[notpoodle]

my gut response would be : dont ride a bucker :D i know i wouldnt get on a horse if i already knew he bucked all the time. other than that, try to sit up straight (it seems that if you flop forwards or backwards you loose ...) and get them forward.

i was also taught when i was younger that it is almost impossible for horses to buck in trot, so you should have them do a couple of rounds in brisk, forward trot if they are fresh.

julia
x

[Wally]

Nope, don't ride a bucker until you have found the reason fro the bucking.

Horses, in general don't buck for no reason. They are tring to tell you something.

Trying to get a horses head up, get them going forwards etc. etc. is no good at all if the horse is in pain and in a desperate aim to comunicate with you.

If a horse bucks with me I get off and think things out and would not get on again until i was sure I'd made a good attempt to clear the bucking from the ground. Ie check teeth, saddle, back, bit etc.

[Bay Mare]

Originally posted by notpoodle
i was also taught when i was younger that it is almost impossible for horses to buck in trot, so you should have them do a couple of rounds in brisk, forward trot if they are fresh.

julia
x

LOL, yes they can! The horse that I used to ride at my old school could buck in any gait at any pace. He's a lovely boy but not suitable for the school, I'd love to get my hands on him because I do (as others have said) believe that he's trying to tell us something (apart from "I don't want to work in the b***** school"). I'm sure that with a single owner he'd be a fantastic horse and a brilliant jumper (he's the only horse there that I was truly comfortable jumping despite his reputation).

[PromiseMe]

lol yeah - horses can buck at any gait. Ive seen this pony buck at all gaits (she bucks SO much) - she bucks at halt, walk, trot, canter, etc. She bucks whenever you tell her to do something. (fortunately i never had to ride her :o i am too big for her lol!)
Of course she has improved A LOT right now!

And i like that idea of laughing...
it coudl release all that tension inside of you...

[kitkatt456]

When a horse bucks with me, I just hold on and try not to fall off! And it is usually totally unexpected so I don't have time to think. And horses can buck when they are trotting..

[NoviceNic]

Whilst having riding lessons after losing confidence on my own horse the instructor put me on a horse that bucked all the way round. After clinging on for dear life and ignoring her cries of sit back and kick on I stopped and asked why would I want to kick the horse on when I can't cope with what he is doing. She explained to me that if you make the horse go forward it cannot buck anymore. I put it into practice on the next corner which it was playing up at. And hey presto it worked. For some reason I have always had horses that buck. At first the instructor told me it was because I was giving the horse mixed signals with my hands and legs. Now I just look at ibucks as an experience into staying on.:D

[tasha]

Originally posted by PromiseMe
Get their head up and get them moving forward.
Its harder for horses to buck with their head up....but not impossible. And if they do manage to buck, it wont be as big.
And why moving foward? Its harder for horses to buck when they are moving faster.
And maybe even try a circle. Its harder for a horse to do so many things at once....buck, go fast, circle, etc. its harder.

And just ride it!

Kally breaks the rule books then...all her bucks are in a scatty canter with her head up. I once got smacked in the face by her neck during a buck. Circles, straight lines, she'd still do it. Pain response, and like Wally said, stopping, getting off and having everything physical checked out is the best way to 'ride' it.

[dressagebod]

My horse bucks used to do it an awful lot as he is easily confused. Now he is starting to understand he doesn't do it so much. Yes I have had his teeth, back and a new made to measure saddle!!! As for the claims that they are less likely to buck in trot or when their head is up :D mine puts in HUGE bucks doing both, he bucks and then throws his head down to get more leverage.

Turns out the people who had him before used to turn him away if he bucked them off GREAT REWARD

A strap between the D rings is a must for a confirmed bucker.

Strange also that I get thrown about less when doing rising trot. Make sure your weight is in your stirrups NOT in the saddle

[SA rider]

Just wanted to say how much I like Cochise's reply. I work at a riding school and if certain ponies have been playing up with the pupils I take them into the school for some intense riding/schooling (I'm an experienced but very small adult) this sometimes leads to a little bucking session.
My response with these ponies is to relax, laugh and push them on, bringing the head up by flexing the appropriate rein - and work them harder. By the end of the session they are behaving well, are relaxed and have remembered their manners - for a while anyway.
Other horses though have other reasons for bucking so need a more complex response, checking for pain or other problems etc. but many just need lots of work by a reasonably experienced rider to use up their spare energy and teach them what is acceptable and what is not.
The main thing is not to take bucking too too seriously. Unless your horse has a tendency to rodeo buck with all four feet off the ground at high speed (this happened to me and I broke my ankle and ended up with whiplash) you really don't have a massive problem. The occasional little high spirited buck should be laughed at and then controlled, not turned into a high drama.