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A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to
buck Buck may refer to: Common meanings * A colloquialism for a dollar or similar currency * An adult male in some animal species - see List of animal names * Derby shoes, nicknamed "bucks" for the common use of buckskin in their making People *Buck ...
. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
events. Roughstock breeders have long established strings of bucking horses with
broodmares A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...
and stallions that have been bred and
crossbred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
to more consistently produce the desired temperaments and athletic ability needed for bareback and saddle bronc competition. Bareback broncs are typically smaller, faster athletes whereas saddle broncs are heavier bodied athletes of great strength and endurance.


History


Etymology

The term comes from the Spanish language word ''bronco'' meaning "rough" (adj), or "gruff" (n), which in
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
usage also describes the horse.; panish It was borrowed and adapted in U.S.
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
lingo. It has also been spelled "broncho", though this form is virtually unknown in the western United States, where the word is most common. In modern English, the "o" is commonly dropped, particularly in the
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
, and the animal is simply called a "''bronc''". Many other instances of cowboy jargon were similarly borrowed from Mexican cowboys, including words such as lariat,
chaps Chaps ( or ) are sturdy coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over trousers with the chaps' integrated belt, but unlike trousers, they have no seat (the term "assless chaps" is a tautology) and are not jo ...
, and "buckaroo", which are in turn corruptions of the Spanish "''la reata''", "''chaparreras''", and "''
vaquero The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...
''". The exact term also refers to the bucking horses used in
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
"roughstock" events, such as bareback bronc riding and
saddle bronc Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or ''bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally b ...
riding. Some dictionaries define bronco as untrained range horses that roam freely in western North America, and may associate them with
mustangs The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...
; but they are not necessarily feral or wild horses. The only true wild horses are the Tarpan and Przewalski’s horse.


Modern usage

In modern usage, the word "bronco" is seldom used for a "wild" or feral horse, because the modern rodeo bucking horse is a domestic animal. Some are specifically bred for bucking ability and raised for the rodeo, while others are spoiled riding horses who have learned to quickly and effectively throw off riders. Informally, the term is often applied in a joking manner to describe any horse that acts up and bucks with or without a rider. In modern times, contractors that supply bucking horses for bronc riding events are called rough stock contractors. The silhouette of a cowboy on a bucking bronco is the official symbol for the State of Wyoming. In 2016, the Bucking Horse Breeders Association (BHBA) was founded to serve as a bucking horse DNA registry for the purpose of documenting and preserving the names and lineages of bucking horses.


Bucking behavior

Bucking is an instinctual characteristic in horses which serves to protect them against predators. It is quite natural for new foals and young horses to frolic and buck playfully. When Cowboys run spurs up their necks they buck. Cowboys have a unique appreciation and respect for horses that can buck - it is a desirable trait in rodeo roughstock; however, outside the rodeo arena, bucking is an undesirable trait and considered bad behavior. Bucking has caused some people to fear horses, much of which results from a lack of familiarity with and knowledge about horses, including the necessary horsemanship skills to help them better understand the true nature of horses.


Bucking Horse Breeders Association

In 2016, Steve Stone co-founded the BHBA, a private company located in Vernal, Utah. He saw a need for a DNA registry for bucking horses, something similar to what the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), American Bucking Bull, and stock contractors had created for bucking bulls. He started tracing bloodlines of top bucking horses provided by rodeo producer Sankey Pro Rodeo, and stock contractor Tooke Bucking Horses. While researching, he noticed the recurrence of Sankey's foundation bucking horse sire, "Custer", who died in 1994. Custer was a better sire of bucking horses than he was a bucking horse, and had sired strong quality athletes with longevity. Stone also discovered that some 30 head of the bucking horses used for the 1996 National Finals Rodeo (NFR) were descendants of Custer, and at least 15 were provided by Sankey. Custer was thought to be sired by Gray Wolf, one of the stallions in the Tooke's bucking horse string. After the BHBA was founded, the remains of Custer and Gray Wolf were exhumed in order to register their DNA. It was then discovered that Gray Wolf was not the sire of Custer, rather it was Timberline, another stallion in the Tooke's string.


References


Other sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saddle Bronc And Bareback Riding Rodeo horses Types of horse Horse behavior