I have a 6 yo Paso Fino that I've had since he was 4 months old. I
was riding with a friend last year. We were just sitting on the side of
the trail when with no warning he did a humongous buck and I was flat on the
ground before I knew I was out of the saddle. It was totally out of the
blue. I sure would like to blame it on bees, but it was winter and pretty
cold out. We had been out riding for a few hours and were almost back the
trailers. I've been riding horses for over 40 years and have never had a
horse do that before. He's never done it since, but now I'm wary about
riding him as I generally ride by myself.
Hearing
Carol's story really struck a chord. What
perseverance!
-----
Original Message ----- From: Suvut@xxxxxxx To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent:
Sunday, June 13, 2004 12:08 AM Subject: [RC] Cosmo's
Bucking
Now for the big question, if I keep Cosmo what can I
do to make sure he never bucks again? Is there some secret training method that
teaches a horse not to buck no matter what, even if a deerfly bites him, etc..?
Any and all advice is appreciated and I will say Thanks in
advance.
Carol, I believe you mentioned that Cosmo is a green
7yo. I will tell you this -- my youngster, a 6yo Arabian, is just getting
started in distance riding. I bred and raised this colt. When he was
4, on our 2nd trail ride, he did the same thing. He was going along quite
well, with two other very calm trail horses, when all of a sudden for no
apparent reason, he did a HUGE buck and launched me through the air. Could
have been a fly, could have been a branch tickled his belly, whatever.
Never determined what caused it. Luckily (unlike you), I wasn't
hurt. Since then, he has never done that again. He would buck
occasionally (very mildly) whenever I asked him to pick up the pace, but never
that HUGE buck. And he has totally stopped bucking as of this
time.
So far this year, he has done Chicken Chase (two 25 milers)
and Top of the Rock (two 30 milers). And on each ride, he has gained more
confidence in the lead, less/milder spooks, horses coming at him/passing him do
not bother him now, bicycles flying past do not bother him, etc.
My point is that your green youngster may never do that
again. A lot has to do with mental maturity. If you really like him
and he's good in most other areas, you may want to just keep on with him and
maybe get a friend to ride him while you are laid up. Lots of long, slow
miles and wet saddle pads are a wondrous cure for this problem!
