Once upon a time, a kind hearted appaloosa lesson horse jumped a fence a little bit too high for the ambitious woman on his back. The horse’s name was Pumpkin. The rider will remain unnamed.
As Pumpkin leaped over the jump and landed, the woman bounced right out of the saddle. Instead of landing on the ground, she landed on Pumpkin’s neck, right in front of the saddle.
Pumpkin did not panic. The woman did not have time to panic.
Without changing the rhythm of his canter, Pumpkin calmly bucked twice and popped the woman right back in the saddle. He cantered 4 more strides to get his balance. Then he stopped and looked back at the woman, now sitting squarely in the saddle. She is forever grateful.
This is a true story of one of my most treasured and beloved lesson horses. That was the only time I ever saw him buck.
Not everyone notices that horses have a lot of different reasons to buck. Many people go no farther than to think bucking is bad. Bucking may have a lot of connotations, but the one that stands out is that you might fall off!
Bucking Under Saddle
Nine Good Reasons that make sense to a horse
- He trips and loses his balance and bucks so he won’t fall down.
- His back is sore and suddenly he can’t stand it.
- The saddle pinches his withers when he canters or lopes.
- The back of the saddle pops up and down on his back when he trots.
- He shares his joie de vivre, connected in confidence with is rider.
- The rider uses a whip unfairly.
- The rider uses spurs harshly and surprises a horse who never experienced spurs.
- The rider squeezes hard with her legs and pulls back on the reins at the same time.
- To put his rider back in the saddle: Pumpkin’s not often seen reason.