# Seriously ? Miniature bareback broncs????



## Minimor (Mar 4, 2013)

I just came across a video link today...an 8 year old kid ... A mini horse.... Bronc riding??? (can I post the link ? It's on YouTube )

I can't say that I am exactly impressed, nor do I find it 'cute'.


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## Jean_B (Mar 4, 2013)

The only thing I found upsetting was the fact that the kid was not wearing a helmet. That's just plain STUPID.


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## Minimor (Mar 5, 2013)

Yes, that too--that really surprised me!


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## ohmt (Mar 5, 2013)

I have always thought any bronc riding as cruel


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## Lil Eowyn (Mar 5, 2013)

Personally, I don't think bronc riding is cruel. Horses love to buck. You see them running in the pasture and bucking too. They're not hurting the horse in any way for bronc riding--and if they were, it'd be illegal. Some people think they're pinching the horses sheath to make them buck--that's not true. They tie a strap around the flank loose enough to not hurt the horse, but tight enough to make the horse think it can buck it off. I just think that the humans should wear helmets though, most do in rodeos, but its their choice I guess if they want to take chances XD

Mini bronc riding though....as long as the kid isn't more than 50 pounds I guess. So yeah, thats my opinion on bronc riding


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## rabbitsfizz (Mar 5, 2013)

They tie a strap around- predominantly,- geldings- think about it!

It is cruel, sorry, I know there are a lot of followers in the US- and some in Australia too, but the whole thing is banned in Europe,. and I am glad it is, too. Mind you, bullfighting isn't.....not yet, anyway!


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## Lil Eowyn (Mar 5, 2013)

I don't want to start a war or anything, but I just have to add, 80% of all bronc horses are females and they're cross bred from light horses and draft (if you look, you'll see a lot of broncs have feathers) and are bred for their bucking ability and stanima. And the strap is made to be unreleased right away.


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## Double T (Mar 5, 2013)

Umm ok I didn't see a link, but was this by any chance in TX in the panhandle? If so I know the one you're talking about. And lets just say a good friend picks up at that one for the big horses and has said himself, that it's the stupidest, most irresponsible thing they could do. Do I know people that go to it? yep, do I agree with it? nope. Do i disagree with ALL bronc riding? Nope.

I don't agree with the mini one because 1) there is no safe way to pick these kids up off these horses like there is with regular horses. 2) they don't gauge the kids size vs the horses, I've been told big old kids draw little actual minis and not Shetland sized horses, thus making it even more dangerous because the weight of the kid can very easily and has, pulled the horse over on top of the kid. Basically, it's nothing more than a bunch of people wanting their kids to get a start out young and wanting their kids to 'prove' themselves. It's stupid, and dangerous and they are gonna get a kid hurt bad one day at it.

That said regular bronc riding isn't cruel. My husband grew up riding them in HS and college. It doesn't hurt the horse, the flank strap is there to just apply slight pressure. If it's too tight, the horse won't buck, that's a proven fact. These horses buck because they love to do so and have been bred to do so. If they are having an off day or whatnot, they just won't buck, simple as that. They are also cared for and such by their owners as much as any of our mini's or regular sized saddle horses are.


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## ohmt (Mar 5, 2013)

If the strap isn't there and they don't buck, does that not prove the point that the horses do not care for it? Every rodeo I have been to, the horses did not want to be in that ring. To me, it is emotionally cruel. I don't even let people jog after my horses because it might frighten them. We all know how unforgiving horses can be and how it can take years to correct emotional problems with correct training.

Nope, not my thing, but then again, I don't enjoy much about a rodeo.

Sorry MODs! I'm off my soap box


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## Double T (Mar 5, 2013)

lol Amanda, didn't mean to even remotely start a war or debate on rodeo or bronc riding at all, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. So I'll let it go at that.


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## BSharpRanch (Mar 5, 2013)

The IPRA bucking horse of the year a while back was a retired champion show horse that decided he would rather buck than go around in circles. Was a really impressive bucker.

And yes, a lot of the buckers in my day were mares.


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## tagalong (Mar 6, 2013)

> They tie a strap around- predominantly,- geldings- think about it!


Ummm... have you seen where that flank strap/bucking strap is? And you do know about gelding/stallion physiology... how many times have you tried to clean a sheath and had to go waaaaay up there to coax everything down? Much further back than any flank strap goes. The flank strap bothers the flanks - and not any genitalia as you always hear about when bucking horses comes up. And how does that explain bucking mares?

Many times when the flank strap is pulled off, the horses keep bucking anyway.

Or - in the case of a champion saddle bronc from the Calgary Stampede herd years ago, some are riding horses that just decided they liked bucking better. Pawnee was a little Appy mare and ex-pleasure horse who bucked many cowboys off... the minute they hit the ground - or the buzzer/horn went off at the 8 second mark - whichever came first - she simply stopped bucking, even with that fleece-lined bucking strap on. She knew when her job was over. And she loved her job. If a cowboy managed to stay on her, she would simply quit bucking at 8 seconds and lope or jog quietly around the ring until they asked her to whoa and got off.

A good bucking horse is far more valuable to its owners and breeders than most riding or driving horses out there.


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## Sandee (Mar 6, 2013)

Not that I condone using minis this way but we did use a top dollar bucking horse in our string of riding horses at a Girl Scout camp. We had some little girls on him and he would barely move. He behaved better than many of the "personal" riding horses we had at camp. No one knew about him on the staff until after the camp. The owner then told us.


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## Lil Eowyn (Mar 6, 2013)

tagalong:

*thumbs up*


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## Minimor (Mar 6, 2013)

Well with the sagging market for minis just now perhaps more people should be promoting their little horses as bucking stock--a whole new market just waiting for the minis!!? We could hold mini shows on the weekends, and run a mini rodeo on the Friday and Saturday nights!

I will say though I showed the video to several different people at several different times, they weren't all together to hear what the others had to say, and pretty much all of them proclaimed it as DUMB...or some variation of that.

I don't personally mind ordinary bronc riding do much (let's face it, if the rough stock were the most abused horses in the country life would be pretty good....and I certainly don't mind the bull riding. I have no use for the calf roping, mutton busting, goat tying or barrel racing....and I admit i do NOT want to see Minis used for mini bronc riding!


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## Sanny (Mar 6, 2013)

For all the people freaking out about the kid riding the bucking mini....the video circulating on the internet (I posted it on my Facebook too) is 8 yr old Brody Baca from Casper Baca Rodeo Company on his personal miniature horse "Wild Thing". They are part of a rodeo act. He doesn't have a helmet on in that video but he does normally wear one. The mini isn't wild - it is trained to do a number of things including the "bucking bronco" and they practice together all the time. He's a kid that has been on the rodeo circuit since before he could walk and is a little pro himself. I would never agree with doing this intentionally with "normal minis" and kids "off the street". They are getting a ton of attention for this and are appearing around the country at rodeos and special events.


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## Minimor (Mar 6, 2013)

That actually is not the only video of mini bronc riding that is on the Internet--it is the most popular at the moment but there are others--cannot say if they too are acts or if they are actually competition. One I saw was really lame--the mini hardly bucked and the kid didn't stay on 2 seconds.


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## Lil Eowyn (Mar 7, 2013)

I don't mind bronc riding, and I think if they are starting mini bronc riding, then the kid shouldn't weigh more than the mini can carry, and the kid should wear a helmet. Plus the mini should be built/have the stamina to buck easily. I know some horses who don't like to buck, like one of my mares, Sweetheart, but Peanut on the other hand--she bucks ALL of the time. (I admit, I did get a bit offended when you said you have no use for barrel racing [barrel racing is my life] and I don't see why that is a problem) But anyway, as long as no animals are getting her, and the kid isn't being forced to this or anything, then I don't mind mini broncs.


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## Just_Rena (Mar 7, 2013)

I used to have a riding horse that you could ride all day at a walk, but if you ask him to trot or run -- the rodeo was on. Kick for walk all good, while walking kick to trot, starts bucking. Kiss to walk (I perfer the kiss) all good, while walking kiss to trot, starts bucking. He had his own rules if you wanted to safely ride him, nothing above a walk.


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## 2minis4us (Mar 7, 2013)

I don't care who the person is or the horse, I don't like bronc riding. As for the minis it's sad to see dumb person who is way too big trying to "ride" them. I think it's cruel.


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## GloriaJaney (Mar 12, 2013)

I've known a few families that raise bucking broncs for the rodeo circuit (I live pretty close to the world famous Bucking Horse Sale in Miles City MT). Most of the herd mares were proven bucking horses that have been retired to brood mares, and these families had no issues whatsoever w/ going in to the pasture, hopping up on the mares and riding them around. Not just adults, but their younger children as well. True rodeo families are just like you and I, they care for their stock (whether that's bulls for bareback, broncs, or roping steers), and they have animals that are considered family too. I understand that there is those "cowboys" out there giving the good rodeo folks a bad name, and that's all anyone seems to ever see.. it's a shame that people don't educate themselves before trashing a sport.

As far as the bucking mini, a little absurd, but doesn't seem any different than the little kiddos riding sheep!


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## ohmt (Mar 12, 2013)

Pot meets kettle


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## Jean_B (Mar 15, 2013)

Sometimes it amazes me the things that people will get their underwear in a twist over. Now....if your were truly a "Purist" - then a horse/pony should never be ridden, should never pull a cart or carriage, or even have a halter on its head. That little horse was clearly enjoying itself. The kid was enjoying himself. The horse/pony is obviously well cared for, as is all rodeo stock because that is the owner's bread and butter. So for those that feel this is all wrong....perhaps you should unhitch your own horse or take off that saddle and never do it again. These animals are WAY better off than many animals in some of these homes where they are supposedly much loved but the owner doesn't have the first clue about nutrition, worming, vaccinations, how to prevent founder, thrush, white line, etc. 'nuff said.


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