sticking point with Silver

[ladynowak]

To me it sounds like her reaction is to buck and you have managed to overcome the other problems she has had where she resorted to bucking in a fairly short space of time.

How about a weighted dummy to start off with and just see what happens?

[Caroline]

As long as you can tie them down, you can use a variety of large soft toys as dummy riders. A horse trainer friend of mine once borrowed my large toy dog as a dummy rider which she tied to the saddle. It was for a horse that had stopped bucking when cantered on a long line wearing just a saddle - but which she suspected may buck if a rider was added. It made a good half way house.

I still reckon you should take some time out to make friends and build trust though. At the moment, she has no reason not to hurt you or anyone else.

[donnalex]

Or you could look at it another way and keep working her through it until the buck has gone then give her some time out to bond with you some more?
Letting up on the work whilst she is actively bucking could reinforce that backing gets the work to stop so make sure she bucks some more even harder and more determined.

[jackiedo]

I think she is saying "I have got to 12 years old and had several foals, been mishandled and abused, passed on and on, and I am happy here with my friends - now go sod off and pester another pony"

[Deleted]

My first thought was that it sounds like you've made massive progress very quickly, so I'd be tempted to turn her away for a couple of months to let that all sink in while you get to know eachother better, then see how she is when you start again. If she were a baby most people would turn away after the inital work and I do think it can hold a lot of value.

If you're sure she's not in pain then dummy legs could just show her the bucking isn't going to work, but as others have said I'd still be concerned that she might use it in the future whenshe's pushe dout of her comfort zone which wouldn't make me was to put kids on her.

Before using dummy legs or tying anything on to the saddle I'd ask the vet about a bute test as it's so simple to do and as Kafee says, Talin (and his known past) had everyone fooled that his bronking was from bad experiences and the bute test proved beyond a doubt he was in pain. As I'm sure you know if there's even the tiniest chance she's in pain and you tie something on you might inadvertantly teach her to escalate the bucking.