Nov 05, 2023 | Super Equestrian
Suppose, You are training your horse trotting in a wide, open space to perform in a canter show and suddenly you notice an unexpected scenario that was out of your imagination. “ Oh dear, is he hopping like a bunny ?” and you are left wondering what is the reason behind your horse's strange behavior.
Well, when your afflicted horses canter, they lose their normal balance and flexibility. Therefore they misjudge the pattern beat while trotting and alight their hind feet on the ground in an unsuitable way which causes them to stride incorrectly like a bunny hop pace.
Joint pain is the most common reason behind horses’ bunny hopping. Moreover, there are some issues that can subtly affect horses' performance, such as discomfort, muscle imbalance, weakness, improper training and riding technique, and so on.
Understanding the reasons behind your horses’ bunny hopping behavior can assist you in observing their movement. Because if you are not aware of their bunny hopping gait, it will not only degrade their performance but also can cause others serious health issues.
So, without wasting time, let's go to the arena and learn more about why a horse bunny hops and what the solution is!
Some people may laugh when they see horses hopping like a bunny in an odd way. Obviously, they don't perform like that on purpose. There are some issues that cause them to hop like a bunny in a canter.
Identifying the cause for any disease or health issue is one of the most important steps before going for a treatment, and understanding the reasons behind horses' odd behavior can help to determine the problem. So, the question is how can we determine the cause for horse’s bunny hopping? So, here we've discussed some strategies that can help you in determining the cause of horse bunny hopping.
1. Observing the horse's behavior and movement: It is the easiest way to determine the horse's issues while observing their behavior. If you have a good understanding with your equine, then it will take less effort to find out the cause. Aside from that, you can also observe their movement during the training period, and identify whether they are experiencing any kind of pain or discomfort from injuries or illness.
2. Consulting with a veterinarian or trainer: Having a consultation with an experienced veterinarian is the ideal option for finding out about your horse's bunny hopping problem. If they are feeling pain or in a somewhat uncomfortable situation, go to vets and seek their advice.
On the other hand, you can hire some professional trainers to provide proper training to your horses. It may help you to identify if there are any riding-related issues as well.
3. Assessing the rider's technique and equipment: The last but not least step is to assess the riding materials as well as the rider's technique. It may assist you if there is any fault in equipment that causes horse bunny hopping in the canter.
Despite being great performers, sometimes horses become helpless in such circumstances as bunny hopping while trotting. As they can't express their pain, weakness, anxiety, and discomfort verbally, so it is our responsibility to find out their problem and solution according to their behavior and movement. Therefore, we’ve discussed some ways out for bunny hopping.
Besides, if you want to know the guidelines about riding lessons, you can check out our other article on how often you should take horse riding lessons.
As people can learn more easily from watching videos than reading those monotonous lines! So out of concern for your convenience we have attached a video link about How to stop bouncing in a canter.
Overall, it is understandable that bunny hopping for horses is a serious issue. It can be caused due to physical, behavioral, or rider-related issues. So make sure you find out their problem properly and provide a possible treatment to solve this situation. Because it is important for the horse’s well-being and the safety of the riders as well. Besides, if needed you can seek professional help from any experienced veterinarian or trainer.
I hope this will significantly reduce their hopping behavior while performing canter. And please let us know if you have experienced any of your horse's bunny-hopping situations.
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