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bucking AT me?!

7K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  kait18 
#1 ·
My mare has been a bit moody lately, and there has been some disrespect and aggression. She tried to stampede me in the field, ears pinned and a crazy look in her eye, galloping straight towards me. And also avoiding me in the field. But sometimes in the field or during lunging, she will buck AT me. It's sideways and directed at me. Im not sure what to do about it, and i know its not her showing pain. She usually does it if i ask her to lope or if im following her as she runs away from me, lol. She hasnt ever bucked with me on her. So what should I do about this?
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#4 ·
Get help from someone who knows what they're doing, and do not handle this horse without someone there to call 911 if you get kicked in the face. I won't give advice because you honestly do not sound capable to handle this situation alone.

Please get help before this animal seriously hurts you.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
This could be pain still, she could be anticipating pain. I have a number of suggestions:

1) Get a vet to give her a Full check up! Including a soundness test. This could have something to do with her heat cycle, perhaps you should look into raspberry leaves or some equal alternative if it IS connected to that - talk to your vet.

2) Yes this is a SEVERE lack of respect, and regardless of the cause she Can Not get away with that. If she kicks in your direction on the lunge go right after her, make her go faster every time she kicks, let her slow down when she's being respectful. Now having said this I need to tell you - cantering on the lunge is NOT easy for a horse! Cantering IMO should only be done once, maybe twice around. I honestly don't see ANY reason to need to ever make a horse canter on the lunge aside from teaching a new rider the feel of a canter, which I assume you aren't doing. If your intention is to 'tire her out' before you ride her this is a poor way of doing it. Cantering is Very difficult on a horse's stifles and hocks, especially on tight circles! Personally I only ever make my horse canter on the lunge if it's to reprimand a horrible act she commits while trotting, and only enough to make my point - this has not happened yet, but it's an option I'm open to. Even if she's totally sound she may not be balanced enough. If you are repeated asking her to do something that hurts her or frightens her (feeling off balance can be quite scarey) she will try very hard, then when she can't do it she will finally try to let you know that this is too hard for her.
As for kicking at you while catching her I would round pen this horse, make her WANT to come to you. In the mean time carry a stick with you for self defense. You want to make her work more by having to be away from you than with you. So if she's going to insist on running away keep her running- only where you want, herd her around keep her going and going until she decides that sucks and it's easier to just go with you.

3) She clearly does not want to be with you. Could it be that every time you fetch her from the field you make her work? You make her do things that are unpleasant for her - so why would she willingly ever go to you? Perhaps next time you catch her you just take her out and let her graze? Maybe take her in and just groom her, itching ALL her favorite itchy spots, then let her go back out. Switch it up. If 50% of the time you do something wonderful for her and 50% you make her work, she's going to be more likely to take that gamble.

Practice ALL the typical ground work and yielding skills that all horses should know - if you don't know them I'd be happy to go into those details. If you don't have a round pen make one by roping off the corners of your most square paddock and round pen the horse. Spend time letting your horse enjoy you, not just the other way around.

You clearly love your horse, but it has to be mutual - you clearly respect your horse, but it HAS to be mutual. It's your job as her leader to make this happen.

Good luck, if you need any clarification, just ask.

ETA: I agree, get a trainer to help you - but I'm very much for do-it-yourself - but I think if you found someone more knowledgeable to come and just show you how that would be easier for you than advice given on the internet. I ALSO agree that you should not handle this horse unless someone is there to call if need occurs - but I say the same thing for most people with most horses.

ETA x2: ALL horses are potentially dangerous, even if it's an accident or they got scared - they can all be dangerous. Your horse has shown signs of severe lack of respect/trust and has acted out aggressively. This makes her a dangerous horse. But this does not make her unfixable. You Can Do This. You may need help - that's not bad, you've come this far in asking for help, I'm sure you can take it just one more little step to get some in-person help.
 
#10 ·
All it would take it one hoof to the head to kill you.

This horse has no respect for you. You need to get a professional trainer to help you with this mare. She isnt going to get any better with you alone, probably just worse. Its a very serious matter actually.

Carry the whip with you whenever you go into the field. You cannot turn your back on her, be careful and take precautions. If you cannot find a trainer, perhaps a new owner for the mare is in order. Youd be much happier with a nice horse that wants tl please you and be with you. Its much funner that way too. :)
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#8 ·
My mare has been a bit moody lately, and there has been some disrespect and aggression. She tried to stampede me in the field, ears pinned and a crazy look in her eye, galloping straight towards me. And also avoiding me in the field. But sometimes in the field or during lunging, she will buck AT me. It's sideways and directed at me. Im not sure what to do about it, and i know its not her showing pain. She usually does it if i ask her to lope or if im following her as she runs away from me, lol. She hasnt ever bucked with me on her. So what should I do about this?
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That sounds dangerous to me, she NEEDS to respect you. Earn her respect now, and really work with her on the ground, I too would make sure you have someone there when you work with her just in case something happens. Safe by choice, not by chance.
 
#11 ·
Until your horse is trotting up to meet you at the fence, I'd carry a stick with me whenever I would go to get her, just in case she turns her hind end to you. Teach her how to yield - how to yield her hind and front ends, how to back up and side pass and put her head down on all verbal and physical command. This comes in great handy. Eventually you can just point to a part of her body and she'll move it away - if you do it right, then you never have to fear her hind end as you can Always move it away from you.
 
#13 ·
My horse would buck/ kick every time he was lunged or asked to canter. We found out that he had Lymes disease and that he had very weak stifles. Also, my saddle was causing him back pain. I agree that she could be anticipating pain, in which case lunging is the worst thing to do. It is very hard on their joints. After the vet, chiropractor, and saddle fitter clear your horse of pain then get a trainer to help you show her who is boss.
 
#14 ·
This is because she wants to be good, but she doesn't really respect you. Horses are typically well behaved at heart, most mares would much rather you make their decisions for them, but if they ever have reason to doubt one of your decisions they will take it upon themselves to make a better one. This is how mares work in a herd, watch carefully and you'll see this.

She may obey willingly when the surroundings are perfect, but if things aren't perfect and she's not listening, she's not really trusting you, she's just taking the path of least resistance.

She may also have 'mare' problems, talk to your vet about it, mark her heat cycles on the calender and mark her mood that day along with the cycle. They make 'mood charts' for women, you can use one of those for your horse. I prefer to go herbal paths for horses like that, but knowing exactly when a horse is feeling bad can let the vet know how to treat it (which hormone she is lacking or in excess of)

ETA: I just want to restate this in case you missed it the first time - yes lunging at the canter is very very very difficult for a horse, even a strong, balanced horse should only do it in limited times. Why are you even lunging her?
 
#17 ·
While I respect what you went through - yes using a whip is a great way to maintain distance and space for an aggressive horse in the field. But a horse attacking you in the field is the result - not the problem. The problem is a severe lack of respect and TRUST. This horse sees you as something to fear and/or hate if he is out right coming at you to Attack unprovoked.
If you are chasing a horse to catch them and they attack it's because they have no respect for you but they do have trust - they TRUST that you will make them do something they don't want to.

You don't need to beat a horse to make them respectful. You need to earn their respect, not beat the submission out of them. I have learned this long and hard with my mare. She was never aggressive or violent, but she had NO respect for me or my space. After being run over a few too many times when she got 'spooked' I took the same action as you are advising. I carried a stick with me and lead her near all the things that had scared her. When she stepped into my space I gave her a good schwack with the stick and told her 'space'. Well this worked 1 or 2 times. Then she was horrified of me. Then I was scarier than anything in the outside world that she was previously spooking at. If I was able to catch her she did all she could to get away from me. When something else would frighten her rather than running to (and into) me like she had previously she took it into her own hooves to save herself. I did not earn her respect I made her fear me. There is a big difference and I learned that difference. She respected my space yes - but when she got scared she respected my space so much she was half way across my property before I knew she had spooked and my hands were thoroughly damaged with rope burn (always wear gloves!)

Beating your horse for being disrespectful will not earn you respect - just fear. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference, but sometimes the difference means everything.

NOW, to fix this you need to practice ALL the yielding training. You need to practice those yielding skills in situations that are difficult for her. If she gives you a hard time catching her, make her work her little behind off. When you catch her, let her rest, do something good for her. Then go on to your training - teach her respect by controlling her feet. If you control their feet you control the Entire horse. Think about Every type of training you've ever heard of. All of them route in controlling a horse's feet.

That being said - carry a stick with you and USE it to defend yourself. Your horse has teeth and hooves, with very powerful hooves. She can hurt/kill you. Do not be afraid to defend yourself! Any higher horse in her herd would gladly pop her a good kick if she acted that way to them. You need to do the same. But once you've caught her beating her will just make her fear you/hate you more.

Practice all those skills I mentioned in all my other posts. Always keep your safety as your top priority (I know it's hard because we love our horses so much, but no one else is going to put up with your horse if you aren't there) and always have someone around in case of emergency (even if your working with a bombproof kid's pony).
 
#18 ·
HCTJM is needed.

She does not respect you and thinks she is teaching you a lesson when she is doing this.

I will not tolerate any of this from any horse, period. These types of things can get you killed, or worse, crippled and a vegetable.

You need to reassess your handling period, as I imagine that has much to do with this attitude of hers.

You may be babying her, soothing her, or letting her insults slide by, and you may not even be reading her well enough to realize that she is doing them.

Quit treating her like a friend, and treat her like a horse, in that you don't talk to her, no treats and everything is on a business like level. And don't handle her at all without lead/halter, as that is one way to establish that you are the boss.
 
#19 ·
You DO have a big problem.

You DO have a dangerous horse whether you want to recognize it or not.

You ARE in over your head.

You don't need a bigger whip. You need to learn how to interact with a horse and how to relate to them. You need to know how to get a horse to respect you and never give you a cross look.

I have several 2 yer olds and none of them ever lays an ear back at me. I don't carry a whip and never raise my voice. I just know how to handle and get along with horses. They all treat me like I am their god. They all meet me at the pasture gate, stick their heads in halter and do anything I want and I do not know where a whip even is around here.

You need someone to teach you the same skills. You do not have to be bigger or meaner. You just need to learn how to interact more effectively.
 
#20 ·
Lump me in with those who think you need to hire a trainer or get rid of the horse. A hundred little things have led up to this, but posters can't find them all and advise about them over the Internet. You need someone watching you, and someone who can first defuse things to a level where you are not in danger.

I fully agree that fear is not respect, but respect takes time & you don't have it. There are holes too deep to get out of on your own. This sounds like one of them.
 
#21 ·
i just went thru the thread quickly but op if you look up some of my first threads on this forum you will notice my horse was very similiar.

charged if i entered the field, kicked in my direction, respectful when being ridden but horrible on the ground etc etc. i was given some great advice on those threads so please do check them out.

my advice to you would be to get a trainer first and foremost! this horse already knows she can take advantage of you. thats hard to win back with some horses. and to be honest everything you probably consider respectful is really the horse only putting up with it because of her training.

next thing i want you to be honest with yourself and really think about this: ARE YOU SCARED OF HER? Your mind might not think you are scared but does your body react like someone who is scared? horses go off of body language and with my guy, he read my body like a book and new i was scared even though in my head i swore i wasn't. that hindered any ability of gaining his respect on the ground.

third, as for what you can do... really carrying a whip, bat, buckets, leads whatever to hit her with when she comes at you is not gonna help in the long run at this point. trust me, been there done that and it just made the horse react even more aggressive over time. right now she sees you as someone below her, where she should be below you in the herd.

fourth, you really need the help of someone who can look at a horse and instantly read there body language. because her charging and reacting are all last minute signs of her being upset. simple things as neck twitch, ears back, hind out, shoulders in, are all different signs of horses slowly getting aggravated. but enless the horse is caught at those stages the respect aspect you want with your horse will never be gained because you are not correcting them at the right time.

however you can fix the problem you, just need help. i have been going strong now with my trainer for a few months now and my "dangerous horse" has turned into a great functional reliable horse i can't wait to spend my days with. but without the knowledge of someone else i really don't see this problem getting better but only worse. i dont mean to sound mean if i do, i just know where you are coming from and at this point you are lucky she hasn't broken your bones like my guy has done to me in the past. so please find a trainer who can work with you both. once you do i guarantee if you find the right trainer you and your mare will have loads of fun and will have no respect issues.
 
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