Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesGirl
I've heard different schools of thought on the "does the horse know it's job is to buck?". The cowboys I know all say the horses DO know their job after the first few years, which is why the majority of the horses at the Stampede (the "pros") stand calmly in the chutes until they're released and usually AFTER the cowboy is off, the bucks lessen in height/intensity.
Other people think more along the lines of Suzles - the open mouth, the white eyes, etc is a sign the horse is panicking because of the tight strap around the horse's flanks/croup - the most sensitive areas and the area horses are the most touchy about due to instinct/physiology. It goes back to when predators would jump on the horses and bring them down; that's where most of the vital organs reside and aren't protected by much.
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The young horses are definitely scared. Their whole body shakes and they are usually the ones rearing up in the chute or thrashing around in the chute. Most horses don't want to hurt themselves so the thrashing rarely results in an injury to the horse. Some times a horse will flip over in the chute or get its leg caught where the gate hinges when it rares up. I have never seen a horse seriously injured from this. The serious injuries happen in the arena from broken legs or backs while bucking.
The veteran horses on the other hand are usually pretty calm. You can get your halter and saddle on, climb on and get out of the chute with no incident. These horses will buck till the horn goes and then buck at a lower intensity or break into a gallop. So they know the routine. Some love to buck, some of the horses will explode out of the chute the second they hear the click of the gate latch pushing the gate open themselves.
The cowboys do treat the horses with great respect in either case. There is no advantage to the cowboy for being rough or careless around these animals while you have them in the chute. Anything that can hurt the animal can hurt them as well, a horse flipping over in the chute for instance. So being cautious and courteous to the animal is of the utmost importance to the stock contractor and the cowboys competing.