Stopping a bucking horse

Question
I am an intermediate rider (7-8 yrs) Stormy, is 9-10 yrs old, my neighbor Jody's horse.

Stormy is smart, energetic, head strong, moves forward nicely, tosses her head often but not trustworthy?  Boarded with two other horses at Jody's.  

On trail ride Jody wanted to switch with me.  After 10 mins Stormy reared up, bucked Jody off.  I switched back to Stormy. Stormy seemed excitable and nervous.  But short rein "controlled" ride home with some side stepping at "road" (about 50 feet)where cars are not courteous.  

Later trainer rode Stormy with us.  Jody asked to ride stormy since trainer rode her 3 hrs now.  Jody was on Stormy about 30 seconds when she bucked Jody off again.  Trainer suggested "Stormy didn't like Jody".?

Jody's experience is similar to mine.  She has ridden for about 8-9 years, once or twice a week having her own horses. She's been feeding/grooming  Stormy for 3-4 years.

Jody wants to sell Stormy to avoid liability of owning a bucking horse. She wants me to buy Stormy.  I AM interested because I want to ride more often.  

But, I and my husband for me are hesitant.  This could be a very good horse.  She moves very well and is very smart and responsive.  

Can I get the "bucks" out of her by working often and building a trusting relationship ? Or is a bucking horse always a bucking horse.  I want to trail ride only and teach her to neck rein.  Is this too much horse for me and too much of a risk or can she be broken of this bad habit? And why only Jody?  Help.  

Answer
Hi Kay;

There are two possibilities.

Does Jody weigh more than you or the trainer?  Does Jody sit a horse as well as you or the trainer, or does she sit in a lot deeper, collapse a hip, or lean?

If Jody weighs more, of sits in the saddle such that the saddle puts uneven pressure on Stormy's back, then that could cause the bucking.  The bucking combined with the head tossing tells me she might have a sore back, and that quite possibly the saddle does not fit her.  

The other possibility is that Jody isn't as confident a rider and that Stormy senses this and then uses the bucking the intimidate Jody and get her to get off.  It may also be possible that Jody pulls on Stormy's mouth too much and this sets off Stormy.

If you are interested in this horse I suggest you have her examined (at your expense) by a chiropractor and see what comes up.  If it turns out she's perfectly alright, then I'd check the saddle that she normally wears to see if it fits.  

If that also checks out, then I'd suggest you ask Jody to let you take her on a 30 day month trial period.  Write up a contract that includes who pays for what, what happens if the horse gets hurt etc... then both of you sign it.  This will give you a chance to spend some time with her on your own and if all goes well, buy her, but if you find she starts to buck, then you can decide if you want to tackle the problem or would rather spend your money somewhere else.

It is possible to fix a bucker that does it out of intimidation, but that requires a special relationship between horse and rider.  

Best wishes and good luck!

Sincerely,

Lana Reinhardt
www.eq-paradise.com