Bucking, rearing and not standing still while mounting

Question
Hello Cheri,
I have been riding most of my life but not extensively, I still consider myself a beginner. I purchased my first horse, a 6 yr old, TWH gelding this year in the month of March.  It was very cold when I purchased him but my husband and myself along with the husband & wife owners of the time all rode him in a small round pen.  He did everything perfectly!  Once we got him home though, he became very standoffish.  We figured he was adjusting and sure enough after about a month he became friendly again.  But, he is now so difficult to mount, stepping backwards and sideways and even stepping into the person trying to mount.  He's very tall so it makes it nearly impossible to mount him.  My husband, thanks to his stubborn nature, still is able to eventually mount the gelding with much effort.  Still he horse rears, not violently but just bunny hops and does get very straight up at times.  My husband rode him on a wooded trail and gave him some lead to get up a hill.  The horse dropped his head and began to buck violently.  My husband lost his grip and flew into the air and landed on hands and knees beside the horse.  Luckily, he wasn't hurt, but the horse ran into the neighbors woods and got cut on some barbed wire.  He got a few small cuts nothing too serious.  My question I guess, is if I'm ever able to get on the horse what do I do in a bucking or rearing situtation?  Is there any better way to ride it out or should we even get on a horse that does this?  After all any spooked horse may do this right?  We've tried a few different bits.  The typical walking bit makes the sides of his mouth bleed but with the milder snaffle bit there is no way to control him.  We've also tried a few different saddles too.  Any suggestions?  Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Linda, I am sorry it has taken so long to write back.  I have been away at a show.  Boy, sounds like you have some problems.  I have a couple of questions I need you to answer for me.  

You mentioned that you rode your horse in a round pen at the previous owner's place...where are you riding him to work with him now?  Do you have an enclosed area that you are working with him in?  

Is he loose with other horses at your place?

Have you been showed how a bit should be properly worn and how it should fit and work in your horse's mouth?  A bleeding mouth is a sign of some major heavy hands or a major baaaad horse?  YOu should not have to pull that hard.  Either the bit is not fitting right or you are not using the proper bit for how you rein.

Does your horse neck rein or plow rein?  Neck rein means you ride with one hand.  Plow rein means you ride with two hands.  If you have to use two hands...do NOT use a curb bit!  A curb bit is a bit with no break in the middle.  If you use a curb bit and ride with two hands you are twisting the whole bit in the horse's mouth when you apply pressure to either side.  This hurts your horse and sends mixed signals.

Let me know if you ride with one hand or two, please.  I personally recommend a Tom Thumb Snaffle.  Thay are inexpensive, work like a snaffle, but have shafts like a curb and give you a bit more leverage.  I can explain all of that once you let me know what type of steering you are doing.

Do you lunge your horse?  Does he know walk, trot, and canter on the lunge line, to voice command?

What are your cues to your horse for different gaits such as walk, trot, canter?  Do you just kick or pull or do you use leg pressure and voice commands?  (Once you have conditioned a horse to expet to be pulled on for everything command, your horse will learn to tune out the pressure or fight back against it.  Using bit pressure should be the last resort or the reinforcement to the original cue.  As in if you say whoa and the horse does not whoa, then you pull back on the reins.  The discipline for not whoaing on your command was having his mouth pulled on.  If he wants to avoid having his mouth pulled on again he will whoa when you tell him to.  

So many people think that the reins are the signals.  Like the steering wheel and the breaks.  Well, they are in an emergency or when the horse is not listening but you can not use yanking and pulling as your only signal.  You would not like it if you were walking along being good and all of a sudden somebody yanked on your face and pulled it the other direction with no warning, no nothing.  It is mean.  You have to think the same way about your horse and give him an opportunity to avoid being pulled on.  Otherwise, yes, he will eventually fight back, ignore the bit, or hate being ridden and be cranky about the whole situation.

The getting on thing can be fixed easy enough if I can find from you if you work him other then riding.  As in lunging.  Does he stand for being brushed and tacked?  Do you lunge him before getting on and make sure he has loosened up and gotten any bucks out?  

I have to caution you about man handling this horse.  You could get hurt.  He has obviously won a few battles and feels he has the upper hand here.  Make sure you are asking him to do things and not demanding that he does it.  Not to say you can't crack him one for being a brat, but first let's find out what is making him be one.  It could be your lack of experience and you may have created some of your own problems.

Right now your horse is fighting you on everything and doesn't want to cooperate at all.  We have to find out why and what has led up to this and I am sure we can work out a solution.  No problem.  Don't panic, all things can be fixed.  

Write me back and answer the above questions and we will go from there to find solutions to your problems.  I am sure it is simply a power struggle right now.  No, your horse is not beyond hope but I do recommend that you start over a bit here and stay off of him for now.  You will just make it worse until we find a constructive way to deal with his issues.  Fighting with him right now is not going to make things better.  

Get back to me and we get you started on some ground work and get you started back on the right track here.

Write me at Adante3053@aol.com      Happy to help, Cheri