Bucking When Asked to Canter

by Lori
(Ontario)

We bought the horse in Aug she is 4 and now has developed to buck every time my daughter asks her to canter.

Hi Lori,
There is always a reason why horses start a behavior that they have not done in the past. These include but are not limited to stress, anxiety, fear and pain.
The first thing I would check is the horses physical health and then tack to be sure nothing is pinching, poking and that it is correctly fitted to her. (this includes removing bits)
Horses need to have the benefit of the doubt considered first because they don’t start behaving differently without a reason. This is a young horse that has very few years of training and different rider’s cues and experiences behind her. What you are seeing is the effect of the horse’s accumulated experience not the cause. It’s best to retrace your steps to note when and under what circumstances this horse does this exactly.

A tell tale sign of this behavior is noting that when the horse is without a rider and picking up the canter they don’t buck. (If they did this would be a physical health issue then) Providing this horse is in physical health then retraining from the ground is the best way to help this horse understand.
I prefer to do this at liberty in a round pen so the horse feels more freedom to move naturally. Getting cues to walk, trot and canter solidly are necessary. Clicker Training is the tool that will really help this communication for clarity and understanding.

Elaine Polny