Help a bucker !!

[pasoglide]

I have a short video of me riding him and him doing little bucks with me
he has been doing it now for a year but usually just when I ask him to go faster now he was doing it every ten steps or so . Where can I put the clip at ?

[Pinto Paso]

Sounds like pain or discomfort issue - I would be looking at saddle fit, back adjustment and/or back muscle soreness, or hock/stifle stiffness or soreness. Especially if this is a well trained horse that is not in the habit of refusal.
Is there also tail swishing and/or head lowering/raising that seem to indicate an unwillingness to go faster, choose correct lead, perform circles or lateral work?

[pasoglide]

This gelding is nine years old but has only been ridden maybe 50 times not counting the two months when Patti was training him when he was four.
I was watching the video and he was doing a lot of tail swishing but he didn't look like he was limping or anything .

[Pinto Paso]

If he had been a continuous bucker, it still should have resolved itself at this point and would not have increased unless he is very spoiled - the fact that it is at specific time (ie asking for more speed) tells me that it is saddle fit or pain because he needs to move differently (pick up a shoulder, work lateral, or collect back muscles etc). It doesnt mean pain as in LAME or injury, just ouch - I prefer not to do that...

Discomfort, I am thinking the cantle is to low or the width of the saddle is not just right. If it is more in the pain department then I would consider hocks or fetlocks.

If you want you can email me the video and I will try to take a look at it - sometimes not knowing the horse well does not catch the little subtlties...

[cowboy ed]

it sounds like this horse just does a few little hops when you ask him to go faster. that is a fairly common problem. he probably just needs someone to push him through it and make him work more.

[Rose Mary Axell]

I just ran into some thing simular with an 8 year old gelding. He has been to three trainers over the years and he goes really well most times but when he is feeling good, ocassionally he just bucks in exuberance! He is not sore and he is not protesting he is just having fun!

Finally I build a Monty Roberts style buck stopper. I would not advise it for every horse as I think it can be a dangerous tool, but I did use it on this gelding, and it stopped his behaviour short. He hit the buck stopper twice on first ride, then once on the second ride. I rode him 3 miles the third time and he never tried to duck his head once!

I have a bad back and no desire to ride a horse that bucks! I plan to ride this gelding a few more times with the buck stopper before I can say for sure he is cured, but at this point it looks very good. This is the only bad habit he has, otherwise this is a great gelding with a very amenable personality.

[pasoglide]

Is there a place where I can place the video on ? So anyone can see it ?
He is a spoiled horse . I have put six differant saddles on him and changed the girths out . I don't ride with a bit . He would buck even if I would just click to him to go faster . His ears would go back he would swish his tail and if I click again he would buck , this is before he even
go'es faster. He is a Carmin and El pastor grandson but he has always been lazy .

[Linda Y]

You can load video to photobucket if you have an account there. Also youtube.

[Pinto Paso]

I have 2 here that buck because they are feeling good at the beginning of a ride, they do not swish their tails or pin their ears. I also dont discourge it because it is only one or two jumps and then they are off to work... I like knowing that they are "full of themselves".

If he is just spoiled then he needs to be pushed through the bad habit he has developed.

What do you do when he bucks?

[pasoglide]

http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/kimie4/?action=view&current=100_0517.flv

[CarolU]

I'm at the hotel and they don't have Flash on here to watch the video.

I have a question. Are you kicking him to get him to go faster? He may just be kicking back. I've seen LOTS of Pasos do this. If that is the case, desensitize his sides to legs real well and then squeeze and lean a hair forward to ask for speed instead of kick.

[pasoglide]

I tried everything not kicking just clicking to him , I have changed girths
and saddles . I realy think he is doing it just be be bad . I think I will carry a crop and pop him when he bucks and see if that will help . He has gotten spunky this past year and is fun to ride now but I don't like the suprised bucks .

[Linda Y]

Does he do that only on the turns?
Can you remember if you are cueing him when he does that?
That tail is going the whole time...he is aggravated about something.
Does he get any worse about it than that?
He is really fat...wonder if he is getting pinched by the saddle somewhere.

[Pinto Paso]

I think it is a discomfort issue - not severe pain, or lameness. Does he do this through the whole ride and what is the distance of your average ride?

I agree with Linda - he is quite heavy and it may be a "fat roll" LOL getting pinched when he moves a specific way.

[pasoglide]

He has alway been this fat . I thought it was the girth at first , Iwas using a neaprene and then I switched to a fuzzy one . This is a new saddle and he had never had a breast color before but he bucked before that . He will get just alittle more agressive in his bucking than that but not much .
He realy acted up when I took him out of the yard yesterday . He bucks when he goes straight also . I will see if I can get my daughter-in law to record him . My husband doesn't do too good . :lol: I don't want to get rough with him if he is hurting .

[Pinto Paso]

Is there any way to have him worked more often? I would start conditioning him either lunging or riding a minimut of 15 minutes per day. This discomfort (or memory of it) could be from not being used on a regular basis combined with simply being out of shape is probably not helping.

Now of the saddles that you tried on him
what was the bar difference (were some qhorse bar, some semi-qh etc)
What is the gullet differences (tall short etc)
Have you also tried different saddle pads?

Just trying to narrow down a possible cause without actually riding him :D

[cowboy ed]

i just watched your video. this horse just needs to go to work. that little hop is his way of protesting because you actually asked him to do something. :lol:

[PLEASURE PASOFINO]

Question? can the your Flex to the right with no problem?

[Hacienda Del Sol]

I agree with Ed, more work! Your horse looks stiff as a board and my guess is that he does more things wrong than just the small bucking. You definitely need to get control of your horse. Start back on the ground and work from there.

[pasoglide]

Thanks everyone I ride by myself , he has never been anywhere except behind my house in the field and I only ride him for 30 minutes . He has the Carmin temper and attitude if he don't want to go he don't go , :mad:
I have to ride with long reins so I can pop him with them to make him go . Now he is showing more energy and is fun to ride . I want to get him in shape and start showing him in my local shows . Patti trained him for two months when he was four and she will tell you he was spoiled . He knows how to use his weight to get what he wants . I just wanted to be sure he wasn't hurt anywhere before I started to get tough with him .

[Terry Wallace]

I have to agree with Ed and Jamie. The horse is lumbering along, stiff and heavy on the forehand. He's really out of shape and protesting being ridden. I would longe him every day making sure he is WORKING... I mean on a short rope, making sure he is crossing over in the hind, making sure hthere is arc in his body.

You mentioned you have tried different saddles and girths... it *may* be a saddle fit issue..though I kind of doubt it. I think he wants to go back to the pasture... !

If he were here for training... He'd get whopped one good one every time he did the hop... I'd push him forward and get him moving. I'd work him on 40 meter circles...slow at first....to help him get in better shape so he can arc his body, limber up, and get out of his "rut"...

[Pinto Paso]

Being stiff and overweight leads to a number of problems... he needs to be conditioned properly - sure he can be "popped" for misbehaving but it is still harder for an animal that is out of condition to perform all required tasks.. I would start with conditioning the horse.

[The Professional]

This gelding is nine years old but has only been ridden maybe 50 times not counting the two months when Patti was training him when he was four.

This is the problem here, your horse has very little schooling. As Ed says, he needs more work, more training if I may say. It's a simple matter of riding him with training equipment and once he starts with the first buck, refrain him with a loud and firm voice command at the same time you give him a quick pull up on the rains (a "haquima" not by the bit, never by the bit). If he tries again then you repeat the command and the bridle jerking and hurrying him to go faster. Once he realizes you are in control he will give.

The thing is that in the beginning, acording with what you said, you allowed him to buck. One never, and I mean NEVER should allow a horse to buck, for this is a way of telling him, " you can do it when you please". A horse can prove his disposition and willingness to work by moving his ears back and foward in awareness while be prompt to move at the rider's commands. Also try to lunge him in a couple of circles before mounting him. That will give him the chance to warm up, before the ride. Let us know how he's performing.

Cordially,
~The Professional