Well, after two weeks of not riding I was so looking forward to riding on Saturday. Jas was riding a young Section D so we took him out of the yard to a safe place to mount. No problems there - a couple of circuits round the circle and he was settled. Back to the yard to get on Santana who had been patiently waiting, already saddled. Up we get and ... suddenly I'm sitting on an exploding horse. Equally as suddenly I'm sitting on the concrete of the yard. Not the best start to a nice quiet hack.
He's never done that before - even when we were breaking him in in the Summer of 2008 he's not given the slightest inclination that he might buck. We checked his tack and there was nothing wrong there. We took him out of the yard to lunge him before I had another attempt (with someone holding him this time). He was a little tense at first but soon relaxed and we were back to 'normal'.
I have no idea what caused him to explode like that, but it has certainly made me wary. I didn't ride on Sunday because my old bones were aching from landing on the concrete and Santana was drenched from the rain. Not a good combination in the circumstances.
I shall definitely be lunging before I get on him this weekend and I'll try not to make excuses not to ride.
That's unusual, especially if there was nothing wrong with his tack. That's the first thing I would have checked too. I can't think of anything else except maybe he had a sore spot on his back. Glad you weren't hurt badly, but I can relate to those aches and pains from landing hard. OUCH!
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ReplyDeleteWe're now thinking that he did have a sore spot on his back and we're thinking that it was caused by his saddle. Saddle has now been changed and after an enforced break due to snow, he seems to be more comfortable. Fingers crossed problem is now solved.
Hello from Canada, Jooles! Thanks for stopping by. My horse, Gem, is 16.2hh. I am a beginner and I had my first fall a couple of weeks ago. I was very grateful that I landed on snow! Glad that you weren't hurt. I look forward to reading of your adventures!
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