Training with Christa Petrillo

 

            NEVER get on a horse that has the potential of ending your life. I don’t care how tough you are. The very first thing I would say to someone with a bucking issue with their horse is to NOT get on them until they can diagnose what the source of the behavior is and correct that issue. A bucking horse is a dangerous horse.
There are several things that can lead to a horse’s decision to buck. Generally those things are pain, fear, excitement, lack of control or incomplete training. Figuring out what the problem is, is a process of elimination. There is a pressure points examination you can do that will indicate problem areas on your horse. Often times it is the saddle fit that is the culprit. Sometimes it is remnants of a previous accident- tendon problems, muscle damage or maybe even fractured bones in the spine. If you have a bronc I would recommend getting a vet out to examine your horse- and preferably a vet familiar with acupuncture that understands the pressure points and what they correlate to in your horse’s anatomy. (i.e.- digestive, liver, spine, fetlocks,etc.)
A few years ago a client brought me a horse to train that had steering and bucking issues. When this mare came into training the very first thing I did was to evaluate the horse physically. I have found that many training issues are caused from pain. If a horse begins doing something undesirable, such as bucking and it is a pain related issue that goes unnoticed or untreated, then the problem becomes a behavior.
This mare had sharp points on her teeth that cut into her cheeks every time she turned which were preventing her from bending and giving to pressure correctly. Due to the pain she started refusing to turn. This problem then became behavior, even after her teeth were floated.
Another problem the mare was experiencing was that her neck was extremely sore. The previous trainer had tied her head around to the saddle in order to “teach” her to turn or bend. This caused the mare to lean on pressure, develop improper neck muscles and it threw her back out of alignment.
The horse was being ridden hard and due to her sore neck muscles and her sore mouth she started to compensate with the way she moved and had severely stressed her sacroiliac and suspensory ligaments.
This mare’s long backed conformation only complicated the situation further. It is difficult for a long backed horse to collect up as it requires them to get their haunches underneath themselves which with this mare was an impossible thing to ask of her. When she was made to lope slow and collected it over worked her already stressed sacprilliac and suspensory ligaments. The alignment issue caused further pain in her back and neck as she tried to compensate for the stressed sacorliac and suspensory ligaments… it was one vicious pain filled existence. Due to this overall body soreness which had developed into a chronic situation, she began to bolt and buck.
The owner had a vet examine her at my recommendation and the mare was diagnosed with these chronic issues. She was literally one ride away from rupturing her suspensory ligament and being completely permanently destroyed physically. Her owner surrendered her to me not being able to place her in any other home and not being able to afford her rehabilitation. Once in my care I rehabilitated the mare over the better part of a year. She underwent acupuncture, chiropractic work, special shoeing and was given herbs for her specific issues to aid in healing.
Once she was physically better it was time for her training to resume. First she needed to be taught to give to pressure. Her first reaction was to fight the pressure. Ground training exercises such as bridle work and the direction lesson were useful to teaching her to properly give to pressure on the ground. Everything we do on the ground transfers to the back later when we mount. Once she learned on the ground to give to pressure and to respect me as the leader, I began to ride her again, teaching her giving to pressure under saddle with the crucial exercises of disengaging and serpentines. Also speed control exercises and the calm down cue are essential to preventing a buck.
This mare had the habit of bucking when being asked to lope which would require her to bring her haunches underneath which would trigger the learned behavior she developed while in physical pain. Even though her pain was fixed and she no longer experienced pain, she had learned behavior to overcome. When I felt a buck coming on I disengaged her.
In the end this mare became a fixed horse and a nice pleasure mount.
Another pain related issue that pertains to bucking is many times a horse will also buck due to an improper fitting saddle. I have also known horses to buck due to ulcers. If you have a bucking horse, rule out physical pain and saddle fit. If this doesn’t seem to be the cause then fear is usually the other most common reason why a horse may buck. As people we don’t stop to think of what may cause fear in our horses. Try to rule out as many things as you can until you happen on what is causing the fear. Bottom line is our horses need to learn emotional control and to focus on us and respond to our cues. Round penning is a useful tool for establishing who is in control and just who the horse needs to look to in any given situation. If the horse doesn’t have the confidence in their rider or feels they can’t look to the rider for leadership, then the horse will often make their own decisions. In a fearful situation where the horse is spooking this may mean a buck or a run away.
The three main culprits with a bucking horse are pain, fear and incomplete training- often in both the horse and the owner. By process of elimination you can get to the bottom of what is causing the bucking behavior and by applying the training techniques mentioned you can train your horse into a nice riding horse in most cases. I have written about the training techniques mentioned in previous articles. If you are interested in reading about them I would be happy to supply you with the information. Much of the information is also available in John Lyons’ books and on DVD.

Christa Petrillo
707-688-4358
Winters, CA.
www.christapetrillotraining.com