| Horsey Problems - Bucking, Rearing, and Bolting |
| BUCKING Bucking is when a horse puts his head down and kicks out with his hind legs. It is usually caused when a horse is excited or has ill-fitting tack. It can also be caused by naughtiness. If your horse tries to buck, remember to keep his head up and to keep him moving foward at all times. If your horse is about to buck shorten the reins and kick your horse to keep him moving. Ride him in circles to help him calm down and prevent him from bucking.. Ask for an adult's help. |
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| REARING Rearing is when a horse stands on his hind legs in the air. Rearing is VERY dangerous. The horse could fall over and land on the rider. If your horse tries to rear, keep him moving foward. Tap him with a whip behind your leg if he dosen't listen to your legs. If your horse rears, losen the reins and lean forward. NEVER PULL BACK ON THE HORSE IF HE IS REARING. This could make him tip over. If you circle your horse, he can't rear. Every time he tries to rear up, do a circle. |
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| BOLTING Bolting is when a horse runs off with a rider. Your horse may do this because he is afraid of something and wants to get away. Some horses bolt when you are going too fast and they get excited. When a horse bolts he could trip or run into a fence. If your horse tries to bolt the first thing you do is circle, circle. circle! Shorten one rein and pull your horse's head toward your knee. NEVER ride a bolting horse with a loose rein. You may want to use a stonger bit. |
| Reader Comment: with the bolt (these are from experience) don't circle the horse. Not only can a horse suddenly fall because of the balance being thrown as you're trying to turn it but you also put both you and the horse at potential danger. If you try to turn like this, the horse with his head turning towards your knee may or will not see obstacles in his way ie: trees. This can cause nasty results, + a feeling of even less controll. If a horse is determined to get the rider off and will not stop heed any methods of stopping, the best thing for a rider to do is to lean slightly forward in the seat, either push the horse on faster, make him work (trust me it sounds mad but it does work) a horse/pony can only run long enough, in the end it will eventually have to slow. If you are riding a dressage pony you will probally have more luck with playing with the bit. The horses attention will change from a mad gallop to why are they pulling on my bit. Another thing, if you're scared the horse won't slow, wrap your arms around their neck and hang on, you are then out of reach of low hanging branches and if the horse throws in a few pigroots/bucks etc the rider WILL stay on. |
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| Warning: Horse Spirit does not guarantee that the comment below is accurate, or safe. The information on bolting above was found from Young Rider Magazine. |
| Information found from Young Rider Magazine. |