Looking for advice & a bit of help (and maybe a horse therapist at this point 🤦‍♀️😂)

So… apparently my barrel horse has decided she’s auditioning for the broncs instead of the barrels 😅

I bought this 4 y/o mare about a month and a half ago. I’ve only ridden her a handful of times since — she had two weeks off when she first came home, then we got into riding and she was perfect. No bronc moves, no pain signs, just a little head tossing (she was previously ridden in a tie-down, I don’t use one).

Her background:

• Had a previous float accident before I bought her
• Went through a fence once — foot healed well, hasn’t caused issues since
• A bit head shy but has improved heaps with time and patience

Fast forward to now — she’s decided she wants a new career as a bucking horse 🫠

So far I’ve:

✅ Had full X-rays done (clear — fetlocks and back included)

✅ Regular massages, cryo therapy, acupuncture, water therapy

✅ Treated for ulcers (no signs, but treated her and my TB together anyway)

✅ Teeth done and rechecked when she arrived

✅ Full vet check — no issues found

✅ Saddle fitter out — both saddles fit perfectly

✅ Barefoot, trimmed every 6 weeks

✅ On a balanced diet — round bale of oaten hay and Lucerne fed 3x daily (still hunting for Lucerne rounds!)

✅ Been in consistent work for about 3–4 weeks

At this point she’s sound, healthy, and just… opinionated 😂

Has anyone had something similar happen with a young mare? Any ideas what else could be going on or tips for getting her back on track before she books her PBR debut?

Any advice, stories, or even sympathy appreciated 🤣

Are you working with a trainer or have a friend that could ride with you? Someone else might have some ideas of what it could be, but generally i think having someone on the ground would be better than listening to strangers online that dont know you or your horse, especially if theres no clear reason 😅

edit: id also make sure that you look at your own riding habits, position, timing, if theres anything you're doing that could be triggering her, etc. Not saying you're a bad rider but no ones perfect and some horses are super sensitive!

A lot of problems come from being overfed and underworked

Also she could just be testing to see if you're going to have the same expectations of good behavior as her last owner did, a lot of greenies do that

Also 100% what dusty said, itd be best to have a trainer there with you

I think issues under the saddle are best solved with ground work that helps build their emotional stamina. My favorite trainer is named Ryan Rose and he has a lot of great videos on Youtube on helping problem horses with groundwork. He also has a website and patreon. Maybe look into him?

Additionally, I just wanted to add that I think it's great you tried reaching out to a vet and body work first.

Just wanna say I LOVE Ryan rose, he reminds me of Monty Roberts<3 highly reccomend his video

Is she in a stall or out in a field with some friends? Every time my boys are inside for the winter, I get nasty behaviour. I really think the movement and friends of a field help loads with behaviours and any soreness/stiffness they might get from being stall-bound.

Beyond that, another mare I know was the absolute sweetest, and they checked her for EVERYTHING. A year or so later, they looked at her neck and the X-rays were not perfect (I'm not sure what the exact issue was, but once they started working with that, she got better)

Point number 3, perhaps its a bit issue? Since the bit sits on the tongue, which is attached to the hyoid apparatus, which further connects to sternohyoid (a muscle that runs all the way to the back legs), the entire body is connected to that little piece of metal on their tongue. This means the wrong choice for your horses mouth can have an effect on their whole body, which is why its important to choose a bit that fits your horses mouth conformation. With a horse so young and not consistent though, it will be hard to tell which one is right just by feel and without a fitter to asess the mouth. And maybe your horse doesn't care that much (however I have seen horses buck/refuse/become nasty from a simple bitting issue), so it's really hard to tell.

And now for my 4th statement (on to training), I agree with Hummingbird that groundwork is essential! My friend's 5yo had a huge bucking issue, trainer 1 just said to ride her through it and that she was being nastry on purpose. When she switched to trainer number 2 and started doing ground work, after the first session, she had her first ride with no bucks. She was infinitely better in that program! I think it helps the horse really understand what you want if you start on the ground, so then they don't get frustrated as easily under saddle.

I hope you find the solution soon! Good luck!

She's 4. If she's going through any sort of a growth spurt, she's going to feel unbalanced and insecure. She also just had her entire life change now that she's in a new home.

I personally would get one good ride in, even if it's walk only, and then give her some time off to adjust and settle, especially since you've already ruled out (mostly. Never say never, there's always a chance) pain.

My first thought is also if she is in a stall. My gelding gets nasty when he is in a stall, even with a run. It was to the point when he was five where we would pick up a canter and just one buck after another, even on a circle, same thing, had everything fitted, checked, xrayed, treated for ulcers, body work, nothing worked. I was told "Just make him go forward, he can't buck if he is going forward!". That was lie. I stopped riding him because I was worried about pain. The next winter he was in a stall and instead of bucking he would rear whenever I put a leg on. Did the same thing, does everything fit? Checked for ulcers, ungodly amount of body work and vet appointments, all came back with nothing. I let him have the winter off.

My only thoughts other then what the others have said are EPM. EPM is a nasty nasty neurological disease in horses caused by the parasites Sarcocystis neurona or Neospora hughesi. (Indigestion of possum or geese poop through contaminated hay, grass, or even water) I would definitely have your vet check her out for it. It's very commonly missed by vets. It is expensive to treat but you will 100% see a difference with treatment.

Here's some links for a little bit more information on it hope you figure out what's wrong with her <3

Edit: also try to find a magna wave therapist for her!

Judging off of calling Alfalfa Lucerine Im going to guess theyre aussie, so EPM is immediatly off the table they dont have it down there.

When shes bucking is it just in the arena when your working or what are you doing when she triggers? That also plays a big factor into what it could be