my horse starts to Bronco buck when I try to Gallop her. How do I stop this?

by Marla
(Deckerville, MI)

I rescued a horse near death and She is now in excellent health again.The previous owner said that she was a 4H horse and an English shown horse. She hates the bit (I use a snaffle) and I have tried a hackamore, curb bit and lead ropes on her halter and she hates them all! she does not rein at all, she wants to go towards the pasture and is stubborn about listening to me. When you do get her to go she walks great, trots fast, but goes into a bronco buck when I try to gallop her..it is bad..she is supposedly about 4-6yrs old. Can you please give me some advice? I love her and I know she has great potential. She is an Arab Appaloosa. I am starting to think I was lied to and that she was never actually rode, but just lead around with someone on her back!

Answer: It is entirely possible that you were lied to, believe me I know. It is also possible that she may have stifle problems. You should first have her checked out by and vet to rule that out. I have a mare that did the same thing. She is a dream to ride at a walk or trot, but if you try to gallop she would throw you to the moon! Turns out, she had stifle problems and it actually hurts her to gallop. If she does not have stifle problems, if you want to keep her, you should really check into getting her trained. It doesn't sound like she was ever a show horse....