Bucking Towards Me

My 10 year old horse bucks towards me. Like she's trying to hit me with her back legs. Can this be trained out of her?

Answer:

Yes, this is a training issue but I would need to know under what circumstances she does this. Is it when she is eating? Is it when you approach her? What can you do with this horse? Groom, ride? What is her level of training now? Does she live with other horses? How long have you had her? How often does she do this?

When a horse does anything unwanted, I do not look at the effect, which in this case is the buck. I back up the situation and look at the cause that created the event.

Bucking and kicking are also two different things. Both stem from fear first caused by the horse perceiving mistrust of the situation which brings about what we consider lack of respect.

Understanding her history will point us in the direction of her perspective regarding human contact. No horse is ever just "bad" but they will react to any situation with self preservation in mind.

Elaine Polny
Training Horses Naturally