Bucking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bucking is a movement performed by an animal in which it lowers its head and raises its hindquarters into the air while kicking out with the hind legs.[1] It is most commonly seen in herbivores such as equines, cattle, deer, goats, and sheep. Most research on this behavior has been directed towards horses and cattle.[2]
Bucking can vary in intensity from the animals' slight elevation of both hind legs, to lowering their head between their front legs, arching their back, and kicking out several times.[1] Originally, it was predominantly an anti-predator and play behavior, but with domestication, it is now also a behavioral issue in riding horses,[2] and a desired behavior in bucking horses and bulls.[3] If powerful, it may unseat a rider enough to fall off. Bucking, in some cases, may have consequences for serious injury to animal and rider.[2]