Bucking Problem

Question
I have a 15 yr old Arab that started to buck last summer.  He had never bucked in his life until then.  My daughter started taking basic jumping lessons with him in June and he was doing very well until August.  He started with kicking out then progressed to full out bucking(only at a canter).  He never did it during the lesson and he never bucks when he is on a trail ride.  He seems to really like jumping so I can't see that being the problem but I have been wrong before.  A friend of mine told me she thinks he is just spoiled rotten and needs a good tune-up.  I don't know if that is it.  Could it have something to do with the English saddle?  He was always rode with a western saddle and a D-Ring snaffle.  Any input would be great.  Thanks  

Answer
Trina,

Good horses just don't start acting badly without reason. In this case it sure sounds like a saddle fit problem, possibly coupled with a chiropractic problem and I'm sure associated muscle problems.  First off, disregard any info like what you got from your friend.  

Put the saddle you are using on his back, no pad or cloth just the saddle.  Press down on the seat hard with one hand and run the other one along under the panels feeling for differences in the amount of pressure being transfered to the tree.  Look at the saddle on his back.  Is it level? Is the adequate clearance under the gullet in the pomel?  You should be able to see daylight along the channel of the saddle where the panels split in the middle to keep pressure off the spine.  Put the saddle on him, use the same pad you always use.  If it's white make sure it's clean.  If not white put a piece of thin white material on his back first then put your pad and saddle on.  Ride him long enough to get him sweating under the saddle.  Don't ask him to canter, just trotting will do.  Take the saddle off and look at his back and the pad.  His back should be evenly wet all over with no dry spots or areas of ruffled hair.  Look at the white material.  There should be a perfect imprint of the saddle on it. No dry areas. The whole thing should be soiled evenly with no areas where it is darker than the others.  Any/all of these things indicate a saddle that doesn't fit.  Like a pair of shoes that don't fit.  

Square him up and get on a stool or bucket about 5 ft. directly behind him and look at his shoulders.  Are they even?  If not then that's something you have to address with his saddle, usually by having more stuffing in the panel on the side where the shoulder is lower.  

If it sounds like a lot, it is.  Saddle fit is something that is all too often ignored.  He's probably more comfortable in the Western saddle which is why he doesn't buck when you ride him in that.  That should have been a dead giveaway that the English saddle was a problem.  

I would also get the horse looked at by an equine chiropractor to make sure that he's not out anywhere.  I suspect his back and withers are not "right".  A good massage therapist would do wonders.  I know all this sounds like a lot but horse health care, like human, has come a long way in the last 15 yrs. or so.  

I assume you are still using the same bit since D-rings are English bits and that he is up-to-date on his dental care.

I hope this helps.  People are getting better but there are still a lot of "old-style" horsemen, like your friend, who are sadly ignorant when it comes to horses.  They resort to force rather than figuring out they why.  Thankfully they are getting to be in the minority as more horsemen become better educated.  

Check his saddle out and let me know what you figure out.  If the saddle fit check comes out OK then the chiropractor is the next, best step.  

Lyn