Bucking and head shaking

K

KAB

New Member
Mar 7, 2007
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Staffordshire
Hi, I`m a new member and would dearly like some advice please.
I have a horse that shakes his head and bucks as he goes into canter. He also wont hack out alone. Does anyone have any suggestions on how i can deal with these issues please. I`ve had back, saddle and teeth check and all is fine. I havent had him very long, and i am not a confident rider. I thought i was buying a quiet easy going kind of horse. He threw me off in December and i broke a bone in my spine and have been unable to ride since. I wasnt made aware he like this when i bought him, but i have since found out he is known for it. Would a good professional trainer be able to cure these problems? If so, does anyone know of a good one in the staffordshire area. Thanks!
 
Hello and welcome!

Have you tried lunging him? All this time that you haven't been able to ride because of your accident... has he been riddin by anyone else?
 
What's your bridle like? I read something recently that I found very interesting about poll pressure, and the reaction was bucking and headshaking. Apparently those bridles with the noseband strap over the headpiece, or padding under there can really make a difference.

A good trainer should be able to really help you. I developed a lot of confidence issues after my horse bolted with me in the woods. We've both had a lot of work since then, and a couple of weeks ago, I cantered for the first time in almost a year - a lot of that is thanks to two fantastic trainers. Ask around until you find one with a good reputation. :)

BTW - welcome to New Rider!:D
 
Good advice from pp's.

My mare displays similar behaviour whilst being lunged; my trainer says its a stress thing. You can see as she gets more confident that it lessens slightly. The head shaking is certainly stress related if it demonstrates at a particular time.

Megan does it when she sees me drive past her field on my way to bring her in, she does it with a new person riding and when being asked to speed up on the lunge. She will also buck, intentionally, at my RI when pushed out of her comfort zone. Perhaps your neddy isn't feeling confident at the mo, he's new to you (new environment too?) and it takes ages for some horses to settle into new routines and people - believe me, I know :rolleyes:

I'd say if all physical issues have been covered you'd be well off looking at the psycological issues. I'd say I agree that professional advice is the best route initially, you've had a nasty fall and you're probably feeling mighty shakey after that, somebody experienced will exude confidence to both of you.

Good luck hun x x
 
Well, I would have said all the usual like checking back, teeth saddle etc, but if you've already done them, I think it may be behavioural? Storm had developed a slight head shake and I had the vet check her over. We couldn't find any obvious reason - I too had tack and teeth and back checked - all were fine. Vets advice to me is to rider her strongly and positively through it - which I have started to do, and she soon stops doing the head shaking! Bucking is quite scary - specially if you're a bit nervous to start with. I would definitely recommend a good trainer / teacher, they can help you an awful lot and really build your confidence. Good luck - hope you find a solution. Welcome to NR too!
 
Are you able to ride again now?

Whether he can be cured of these problems depends on what the problems are really. First thing you need to do is rule out pain so you should have his teeth, back & saddle checked over.

After pain has been ruled out then you can start to work on the mental issues.

A good professional trainer would be able to assess both you & the horse & give you some advice on how to deal with his problems.
 
Thank you to all of you who have offered me advice. It is a breath of fresh air to be able to seek advice off experienced and knowledgeable people as i dont know many horsey folk. It appears that my horse only head shakes as he is trotting and going into canter. I have tried lungeing him, but he is doing it then too - it got so frightening that i had to give up on it. His bridle is just a normal standard type, so i will look into that option too. I`m still not able to ride at the moment and i would like him sorted before i get back on again....just in case! Thanks again.


Have you tried lunging him? All this time that you haven't been able to ride because of your accident... has he been riddin by anyone else?[/QUOTE]
 
If you're 110% sure that there's no physical issue causing him to behave like this, he might have picked the the behaviour as an evasion. My old cob used to be in a riding school & if he bucked when asked to canter it would usually scare his rider enough to deter them from asking him again. Top trick! He thinks. If I buck they stop trying to make me do any work!! So the behaviour embeds & you have a problem. My approach to this was turn the tables - if he bucked with me, I gave him a crack on the bum & made him canter for twice as long as the others on the lesson, so his top trick backfired. He was a clever chap & soon learned not to buck with me. You do have to be fairly intrepid to do this though, so if you're a bit apprehensive I'd definitely get the help of a good trainer. Whatever the issue is, I hope you get to the bottom of it - good luck!
 
That sounds extremely familiar. If you cant find anything Id reccomend having his back checked again - people do miss things unfortunately.

If you feel like sitting and reading a saga then read my thread;
http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103443&highlight=mammoth

Might be useful, I had a similar situation (though my horse did a lot more than headshake and buck :().

If not then you can try a process of elimination - ride bitless and see if it helps. Maybe borrow a treeless saddle and see if that helps. If you change something and the problem stops, then at least you know where the problem IS.

Horses :rolleyes:

xxx
 
My girl always nods her head up and down violently when hacking out (never in the school), or at least she did :D

I was worried and had her teeth/back checked and bought her a new saddle.

It is getting less common now. I now know it was an excitment thing and a will to go faster (we ride out with a plodder).

She still nods but not very much. There are 2 reasons for this.

1. We have been going out on much longer hacks and she got knackered and realised that it was all her doing!

2. I have been steadilly working towards getting her to carry herself in an outline and it has given her something else to concentrate on even on the slowest of plods.


If it is excitment with your horse then pulling up the moment it happens and trying again until you get what you want at which point loads of praise is in order :)
 
Hi there sorry to hear about your problems, I just thought I would share some tips with you. First of all my boy bucked with me in canter but it did turn out to be a problem with his tack as he no longer bucks now I have a new saddle that was proffessionally fitted, he also napped and did not enjoy going out on his own, I firstly made him go in front of a ride when we were out in company so he still had his friends with him even though he could not see them properly then I started taking him out on short hacks on his own and I also took him on fun rides and have cantered him out on a hack which he loves so he actually enjoys going out with me now as I have started to do more than plod him around he roads (I read in a magazine that doing different activities with your horse can stop napping).

Good luck.
 
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