“First, let’s define what bucking truly is. What a lot of people call bucking is when the horse’s front legs stay on the ground and he kicks up his back legs. That’s not bucking. Bucking to me is what you see at the rodeo: All four feet are off the ground, the horse’s head is down low, his mouth is open, and he is bellowing like a cow giving birth.
Kicking up or “crow hopping” is a simple demonstration of the horse’s lack of respect. What type of horse usually kicks up? A fat, lazy horse that doesn’t want to go forward. When you ask a horse like this to go from a jog to a lope, and he kicks up with his back legs, it’s his way of telling you to get lost. Most hot, nervous horses don’t kick up that much because they want to go forward.
On the other hand, most horses that are really bucking are not showing a lack of respect. They are most likely reacting to fear: fear of you being on their back, the girth, the back cinch, your legs, the spurs, something that jumped out of the bushes in front of them or a tree branch that brushed against their sides. Something caused the horse to use the reactive side of his brain. That’s how most horses learn to buck.
Sometimes, once a horse has dumped a rider three or four times and has gotten used to bucking, he starts bucking out of habit, not so much out of fear. At this point, what may have started out as a fear issue has now turned into a lack-of-respect issue.” – Clinton
Whether your horse is kicking up to demonstrate his lack of respect or truly bucking out of fear or habit, there are several ways to fix the problem and Clinton covers them all in the Problem Solving section of the Downunder Horsemanship app and No Worries Club website. Learn how to solve your horse’s issue in these videos:
Horses That Break Into Unpredictable Bucking Fits
