Why Do Horses Buck
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
Last year during lockdown I was inspired to deepen my learning of equine behaviour, so I studied a module in Equine Behaviour from the University of Guelph. The final part of the assessment was to write a case study about an area of equine behaviour that interested me. I chose bucking as an example of an avoidance/conflict behaviour and what the various causes of this behaviour might be. I chose this because my pony (now retired and living in the UK) used to exhibit bucking, especially when excited eg hacking/jumping and I had never really taken the time to understand why this might manifest itself. The case study is attached for those who want to read the whole study, it is broken into several potential causes including;
Pain
Fear/anxiety
Training
Post inhibitory rebound
Play
Antecedents (stable management etc)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Kerr is self-employed and a rider with the Paddock Riding Club Trainer Pat Lincourt.
