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My mare has been bucking me off the last two rides. She would wait till I bend down to get my right foot in the stirrup the start bucking with a left hand spin till I go off then stand there and look at me. I get right back on,getting my feet planted quick and she goes again. She can't throw me when I'am ready cause she don't like having the bit pulled through her head and stops and stands there. A minute later we are going down the trail like nothing ever happened, head down big walk. The rest of the day, off and on with no problem. She had an ingury on the withers a year ago that healed, I would put pressure on the area and she doesn't seem to mind it but I cut out a pad to go around it anyway.Wondering if she is just being a witch and bucking me cause she knows she can do it at least once, or is she afraid that old wound might hurt again. If it is the latter why does she let me get on in the first place?

Get your stirrups turned so you don't have to bend down. Helps to stick a 2x 2 between them when the saddle is on the rack with at least one twist to the fenders.

Before you get on, give her a few tight circles,both ways, to walk around and then give the saddle a good push and pull back and forth using the horn to get her balanced.

Practice on both sides,just putting your boot in the stirrup and standing straight up with out swinging your leg over,watch her ears for impending trouble.

If this is new, something is different. Could be a pinch on the cincha from long hair, could be that old injury acting up in the cold.Kinda hard to diagnos from afar. Might be that she just needs loosened up before getting on.

Thought about the chincha, but I can slide my fingers between it and her belly and up the sides. I believe its more defiance because she is very green for her age. I put my fingers on the wound area under the saddle and hang on the saddle to put pressure and she just stands there and looks at me. I rode this horse with no problems before the injury and several times after. I 'am hoping she just needs an attitude adjustment and not injury cause i am looking forward to giving her one.

It's a friggin' mare. What do you expect?....

LOL Yeah, really

It worked for her the 1st time. Horses are critters of habit and now she's got the habit. Sometimes you really have to wish they wouldn't learn so fast.

Back in high school I had a mare that was really easy to load in a trailer. I'd just throw the lead over her neck and she'd walk in. Then one day she refused. Dad and I worked on loading her for 20 min. Then Dad got hot, picked up a 4' 2x4 and 'tapped' her on the rear end, knocking her clear to the front of the trailer. The next time we loaded her, she tried the same trick. The board was still lying there and Dad reached for it. He didn't even get close to it and she went over the top of me into that trailer. She never refused again. We unlearned her.

Had a buddy that kept a 1x6 slid in behind the spare tire. He would lead his mare up to the trailer, pick up the board and the mare would walk in.She probably forgot why she didn't want to go in,but now the board was an integral part of loading.

My sister had a gelding that was about as bad. The devil himself couldn't get that horse in a trailer...until you picked up a front foot and set it in the trailer. Then he'd walk right in. We never did figure that one out.

Might try one of those gag bridles on her, let her inflict the pain on her self when she tries to throw her head down to buck.

Shorten your reins and loop them on the horn?

I can do that, I'am not riding an english saddle. Then I can give her head back when she settles down. The last two times she would win the first round but lose the fight, then gets compliant. I antisapated problems so I would take her to spot with a soft landing area in the event I go off. I need to win the first round because soft landings still hurt.

years ago, we were pasturing a horse for a friend of my dad's. He asked me to ride her on occasion to keep her gentled. Dang thing was a classic bucker. A neighbor suggested I tie a rope under her neck with both ends tied to the horn to keep her from putting her head down. Worth a try, but he didn't mention that you need a saddle with a double cinch and mine didn't. When she put her head down to buck, the saddle catapulted me straight over her head.

Later the guy took her to a sale to get rid of her. Dang fool rode her through the sale ring and she unloaded him right there in the ring. I heard later that she ended up in a rodeo string.

Some of the old time methods was to carry a quirt and when the bronc commenced to bucking ,lay it smartly down between the ears. Probably not the best gentling technique ,but it must have worked on some.
I had a horse that I got for nothing (you know the chaepest kind). It had a habit of rearing to get rid of it's rider,After I spent 6 weeks in a neck brace from it coming down on top of me backwards, I crawled on with a bowling pin in one hand. As it came off the ground I let it have it with the bowling pin and not gently, between the ears ( At that point,I really didn't care if I killed it).It never reared again in it's life.

If its an attitude thing ,and you can ride it out,I would put a set of spurs on with good rowels and climb aboard. When she commences to bucking,lay them on her and keep at it.Keep her bucking until she can't hardly stand anymore.Either make bucking horse out of her for good or cure her for good,She isn't any good to you now or anyone else. Just make sur that is her problem first.

I am leaning towards attitude, grabbed her withers when I went down to feed and she didn't flinch. I did lay the spurs on her and she reared up on me then went back to bucking a little then gave up. Going to try the gag bit and take her to an area for horses like that, miles of long steep grades. Nothing like a one mile pull up a steep grade to get them in the right frame of mind and after that a 10 mile round trip of rolling hills. Wet saddle blankets is whats going to cure her.

That is good for today, but what about tommorrow when she is fresh.
If you cando it every day for a week or two ,that would help.

To much protein? I feed straight oats and corn. Timothy and orchard grass

Oats? You may have hit on the problem...she is just feeling her oats.

Seriously, when I encounter a bucker and they don't get over it with a lot of saddle time, I put a hackamore and a big old bosal on em. Don't take em long to figure out bucking means no oxygen.

Yea,I would cut out all grain to start.

Especially the corn! I find that makes them hotter than oats.

If you do wrap reins on the horn, be ready to release them as I've seen horses do over backwards trying to free their head.

Do you have a round pen?

I have the 5 foot high 12 foot long panels that clip together to make a round pen.