Horse bucks when asked to go forward
Today’s horse training question comes from Shiloh: “I just bought a 3 year old gelding. He will not move forward in any direction away from the other horse. When I kick harder or tap his hind end he starts to buck and frightens me. How do I correct this behavior?”
Shiloh, to correct this problem teach your horse to disengage the hindquarters. This is what I teach each time I have a horse who won’t move forward off my leg, and I teach it on the ground before I get on a colt for the first time so they will have a way to understand what my leg pressure means the first time I get on them.
Begin teaching this exercise from the ground with either a halter and lead rope or your bridle. Stand to one side of him, and ask him to move his hips over by walking towards him, swinging your rope, etc. You are looking for his inside hind foot to step across in front of his outside hind foot. It is very important that the inside hind foot actually crosses in front of the outside hind. His front feet should stop all forward motion when he crosses over with his hind end. By asking your horse to step under himself in this way, you are taking away his ability to brace against you. Once your horse will disingage the hindquarters on both sides on the ground, teach it from the saddle. Once you are on his back, take your rein on one side, walk him forward, and pick up on the rein, bending his head to the side and asking him to step under with the inside hind foot. If he bends his neck but keeps walking a straight line, bump him with your inside leg until he steps over with his hindquarters. When your horse won’t leave the other horses, bending him will keep him from bracing and this will also make it very hard for him to buck.
Thank you for your horse training question, and please let us know how you are doing!
