For NOT Telling my Friend that her Cob Bucked me Off?

[Heathercob]

I regularly ride my friend's cob, Max for her (usually once a week) as she can't ride as much as she would like due to work, and she is quite a nervous rider. Today we were about to set off in canter in the far corner, just as the pump went off, spooking him. Max bucked in fright, and I went flying over his head ( no real injuries other than a bruised shoulder and a slightly sprained wrist). AIBU to not tell Cath about the incident, so that she won't worry?

Boris Johnson is a bucking cob as well

Now that's funny.

I'm going to adopt it as my new non-swearing insult of choice.

ArseDarkly, bucking cob, BJ, best today! 😂

Just tell her, why tf does it matter if she knows

I'd tell her. It helps her get a complete picture of how her horse behaves. Plus I'd feel bloody awful if he did something similar to her and she was thinking "that's odd, he hasn't done that before". Spooked or not, the only time my horse bucked was due to saddle fit. With a more comfortable saddle he'd still react but the reaction wasn't to buck and put me on the floor.

Yes you should tell her.

Was this a proper buck (drop shoulder, bronc, twist, spin type) or just a fly buck and you lost your balance?

I assume he's never done it before and is normally a steady eddie?

She needs to know because whilst all horses can buck, if this is very out of character for him it could well be because something has changed - perhaps he's getting too fresh because he's being kept in more, or fed too much hard feed, perhaps his saddle is pinching him or his back is sore etc

Maybe it's just a one off but she needs to know because it's not very common for a normally super chilled horse to suddenly buck someone off for no reason.

Of course you should tell her. It could be a one-off buck, or it could indicate any number of health or wellness issues starting to become apparent as some PP have said. Maybe it's nothing and the pump went off at exactly the wrong time, or maybe it's saddle fit/feed/soreness/any number of other things horses seem to like to get into just to spend their owners' money.

Either way she needs to know.

Tell her - also are you fully insured?

I've told his owner about it now. He does Nick on occasion anyway - when he was on working livery he was banned from jumping lessons due to over excited bucking, and he can buck on the beach when other horses bomb past him.
He didn't seem to intend to get me off - when I was halfway round his ears he flung his head up (in what I thought was a way to try and keep me on), but that had the opposite effect of flipping me over his head. When I was on the floor he had a look of, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE??? "!