Loping, how would you....

[menagerie]

work with your horse to make sure he doesn't buck or bolt when loped or galloped?

I ask this because I would like to be able to lope/gallop on my horse without concern that he will buck. I never really lope him and haven't done so in quite some time but have a feeling that if I did there would be a problem! :doh: I don't know the best way to work with him in order to ease him into this without a train wreck though. So how would ya'll handle that?

[WP~Paint]

I would lunge him first. I used to worry about mine doing this also. Even though he is outside pretty much 24/7 I still worried about this. I would lunge him until he either looks tired or gives a few bucks, then he more than likely won't have much left in him. I hadn't loped in a while either and just decided to do it one day. Also work up to it...walk, trot, do other stuff before you take off. I think all of this helps to tire them out just a little, but not so much that they can't go a little faster. I hope this helps and good luck and have fun! Loping is awesome. OH! Do it in a round pen if you can...helps to contain them to a smaller area! Have fun!!!

[menagerie]

Thanks WB, ours are outside 24/7 as well and the one I ride is 5 so he's got plenty of energy!~ lol We haven't been riding very consistently lately so that adds to it as well. My husband doesn't care so much about lopeing but I remember the horse I had in my youth and how we would run and jump and play, what fun! So yea I want to be able to do that with my current horse but I just don't bounce as well as I use to!:p

[WashingtonBay]

Heh.... Your situation is actually a little bit like ours, I think.

Hubby's mare hasn't been cantered much since we got her because we usually ride trail. We ride here at home once, maybe twice a year, in spring, to check them out and check our gear over and make sure everything still fits and that's about it. Riding at home bores us to tears and we do very little 'schooling' type riding as a matter of routine.

So a while ago now we had a teenager over who rides who was going to farm sit for us, and she rode both the horses just to make sure she could. Being a teenager, all she wants to do is go-go-go :) So she walked around a little and then cued her to canter and off she went around our big field.... once, twice.... third time I could see our mare was getting a little irritated at this sudden change and new rider making her run and she bucked a little. Not bad. Didn't unseat the gal or anything, but it was enough to plant in my mind that there might be reason to worry about it with hubby.

He's cantered since on her, but I usually encourage it in small doses, just because with her, that's the way it seemed to build up. He'll let her break into a canter behind us on trail, when we're long trotting. Saves himself a bit on the trying to ride her fast trot. But I'd like to ease my mind that she won't pull that with him if he were to want to start taking her to the next level and do some schooling type work with her. Because after this long, she's a bit set in her ways. The only time he ever really wants to just up and canter her out of the blue is on that spring shakedown ride when she's not really been ridden much in 4-5 months, and I tell him that's not the best time.

I'd get on and do it, but I irritate the horse when I work her anyway, she works much better for him. It's a personality thing. I just have to take a deep breath and let him go. He's been riding now a few years, has a pretty good seat, and it's his battle. I just don't want to see him come off, he hasn't yet. (knock on wood)

So - I guess with yours, or the way I would do it with ours, is to not do it when the horse is really fresh, do it after a good relaxing ride of some distance, and when everything seems to be going well. And do it for a short time, work up to longer, particularly if you can see the horse is getting 'on the muscle' about it. And try to relax :)

[Buckpoco]

My former horse, my paint, always felt like he'd like to buck as he was a little cold backed and full of energy. I always lunged or round penned him,( tacked up), before I got on. His new owner doesn't do that and she did get a big buck, but didn't mind. I would have minded. If I felt him get a hump in his back, I'd lunge him, even if we were on a trail ride. It always seemed to work, as I never went off him.

[menagerie]

More good suggestions WB (Sorry WP I called you WB earlier! :o) and Buckpoco. I'll probably try a combo between ya'lls suggestions. I do currently lounge him before riding and most recently tacked up since he's quite sassy! I am probably going to try and put his bit halter over his regular halter so if he starts showing out I can get down and put him to work then get back on. See if that will discourage other bad behavior. Wish me luck! :eek:

[Harleys Owner]

I've found the best way to get a horse controllable at the speed you want is to change gaits often. Just go for short distances at the lope then bring them back down to the walk, or trot. the more often you change gaits the more the horse will listen to cues.
A small tightening of the reins and an voice command of easy should be enough to slow down the lope, after lots of changing.

[luvs2ride1979]

I always lunge or round pen my horse when I am feeling a bit scared of what they might do. So, work on the lunge or round pen using voice commands to get nice trot/canter transitions out of your horse, both up and down transitions (work on lots of transitions, until he's doing them relaxed), then hop on and give it a go!

Your horse will be warmed up and a bit calmer with all of the lunging or round pen work, so he'll be less likely to buck. When you ask, be sure you're relaxed, looking UP, feet and hips loose, arms and shoulders in your normal position (also relaxed), and use your voice command. If he doesn't lope/canter right away, slow back down, relax, and ask again. Rinse and repeat until you get a nice lope/canter. Praise him heavily right when he lopes/canter and while you're loping/cantering. Let him canter for a bit, then transition back to a trot. Praise him for transitioning down, even if it was a little rough. Walk and trot for a while, then ask again. Be sure to go both directions.

[Lynn_70]

If you have a controlled area like an arena or roundpen that would be a good place to start with cantering OR if you have any hills nearby. I have found the best thing to get over the fear is to DO IT and DO IT often with your horse. Soon they don't even attempt to run out on you because they remember all the work you made them do last time you rode. My gelding used to be so "pent up" like a little bomb waiting to go off! Now he will lope casually, not like a race horse! He needed sweaty saddle blankets to settle down. Now that we have done that I'm not always holding him back anymore and he is happier too.

[Palogal]

Some horses buck because it's fun, there's no malicious intent, just spring, feeling good etc. Realistically there is no way to make sure he won't buck but pre-riding things like lunging are a good way to reduce your risk. Also make sure your tack fits correctly and all of that. It's kind of like you can't guarantee that you won't catch a cold but eating right and vitamins help.

[menagerie]

More cool responses, all helpful too. Thanks for giving me several different ideas/perspectives to work from. Palogal I don't have alot of hills here at home but we used to go ride on a trail that had lots of them and I would definately lope those, sounds like I'm going to have get hubby to take me out there again! ;)

[vicklynn]

I usually work up my horses before a ride. I dont just round and round them in the pen, I work them, make them do roll backs(free lunging)disengaging, ect. I get in their head before I get on their back.
I can not express my feelings about horses learing to do a propler one rein stop. I taught it to myself when I was 12, and just gets me that people are making money off that stop today.
Bend, flex, disengage, backing, just plain ground work, are keys to a great ride.
My horses know that if I pull them up, mount and they start acting up, they have to work. Their choice. There are times I know I just need to do ground work. Depends on time frame of when they were last riden.

[Buckpoco]

As Vicklynn stated, round penning is not about chasing the horse in circles and neither is lungeing. Both are designed to get the horse's attention focused on you. It's important to do the round penning with lots of changes of direction. Before and after I round pen I do ground work...my new horse was so focused on our other horse that it took about twenty minutes before he realized I was there. Now he is focused on me, not his friend. It's fun to see the progress.

[Horserider]

Yep my mare used to buck for no other reason than high spirits and she only did it at a canter. We started lunging her before I rode her to get the bucks out and she worked just fine.

I've heard people say you shouldn't let a horse buck on a lunge line before, but then what are you supposed to do?

[vicklynn]

Horserider, City bucks on a lunge line, I am not sure why that is an issue with some. I can, and will, let him get his play out for a min, then we get down to business, he knows the difference. I cant see me not letting my horse be a horse for a few, playing it out. Thats just me. Sometimes Myst has tossed her front out, or gave a small kick out in complaint to having to answer to me, but she continues on, and knows who it boss.
I put it like this. How many kids go Humpf when mom or dad tell them do to something? How many kids go play before they work at their sports? I know, huge difference in size and weight. But my horses know they are smaller than me, in the sence of respect, that is.
Does any of that make sence.

[WashingtonBay]

In my opinion, once the halter goes on, bucking and play needs to be suppressed. I correct it... if it's just an 'eye roll' smart aleck teenager behavior, it gets an 'Acccck' yank. If it's a bigger hissy fit, I'll give a much bigger correction and bring them all the way down to a stop. "Stop that! Get ahold of yourself". "OK - move out, eeeeeeeeasy now".

Lunging for me is not to let them run and buck out all their impulsive energy, it's teaching them to control and focus their impulsive energy. Just like us, when we're at work, we can't always express every emotion we feel the moment we feel it, neither can they. Yes, teenagers do, but part of maturity is learning 'not' to. What transfers hopefully under saddle is that ability to keep their composure and emotions in check even when they are irritated, sassy, rebellious, or even just feeling good. There are better ways to express that!

[Harleys Owner]

I agree WB:)...they have almost all the time in the world out in the pasture to run and buck. When the halter goes on they need to know that at all times who the boss is.

[WashingtonBay]

Now... My only exception to that rule is Bay. When he bucks on the lunge, once in a blue moon, it's actually funny and I laugh. But he's so beyond bucking under saddle that I think he's earned that exception. Cyn gets no such quarter. And won't. Until she's 28 at least. :D

[luvs2ride1979]

I've heard people say you shouldn't let a horse buck on a lunge line before, but then what are you supposed to do?

Make them work. Once tack is applied, it's time to be MY horse, not just A horse, and MY horses aren't allowed to buck, rear, spin (without being told), bite, pull back, or any other such non-sense. On the lunge we work on transitions in and out of gaits and within the gaits, changes in direction, stop, back up, etc. We keep working until the horse is 100% in working mode.

Now, I don't lunge every ride. I only lunge if we need training or if it's been a while since the horse has been ridden. My mare does not buck undersaddle, period. She did a little when we first started riding her (I broke her myself), but we nipped that in the bud QUICK! I do like my horses to have some personality. I don't mind her calling to her friends (as long as she keeps working), looking around on the trail, or getting a little "frisky" and wanting to walk/trot/canter a little faster than I asked, but when we're in working mode (not just riding for fun or on the trail), then I expect my horses to be all business: yes ma'am, no ma'am, thank you ma'am. To have a real working relationship you cannot be your horse's friend, you need to be its leader.