15 yr old horse started to blind panic bolt! HELP!

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jenni_w

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We have had our 15 yr old 17.1 ISH for 6 months. We bought him off someone who has had him since 5 yrs old and he has never bolted with her or anyone. However, in the last month he has bolted twice.

Both out of the blue. Both with a buck and then no brakes at all. Both very experienced riders. First one came off and he continued running for 20 minutes until he got home. Second time had lovely hack out with cantering and no probs then went to canter and same things again. Turned himself inside out, set his neck and was off. Rider actually bailed out! Said she has never had to do that before and has had horses gallop off in the past but this was in a blind panic. This time he continued on for another few miles over dual carraigeways etc but luckily wasnt hurt.

I dont know what to do. I dotn want to ride him and neither does anyone else! We are happy to loan or sell him, but would anyone want him?

He has manners to die for on the gound and is a real sweetheart. He schools really nciely and loves to jump. Would anyone want a horse they cant hack out? This is heartbreaking for us.

We will get the vet out to look at him, but are reluctant to spend a lot of money if this is unlikely to change his behaviour.

Teeth checked, saddle checked and back to be checked soon. However, seeing as he is schooling nicely and jumping happily I dont think it could be any of these things.

He is on a low starch diet but has always been funny about touching his abdomen. I wonder if it may be cramps or sometihing that set him off when out hacking??

Any help/ ideas/ support would be gratefully received!
 
As this is a completely new and extreme behaviour you need to get the vet out.

It is more than likely that there is a physical reason behind this change in behaviour and only a vet can tell you what it is. Once you know what is causing it you can decide what to do, but loaning or selling the horse without knowing would be irresponsible. I don't mean to be harsh but the next person who gets bolted with could get very seriously hurt and you owe it to the horse to figure out what is going on.


Good luck!
 
to me the fact the horse is bucking and then taking off in a blind panic suggests some sort of pain reaction.The fact it has happened out hacking only so far may just be coincidence. I would definitely get further investigations into your horses back and by a vet as they will be able to organise further tests and scans if deemed neccessary. Alot of horses are funny about their stomachs being touched.There could be a genuine reason for this or it could just be one of this horses quirks. Are you absolutely 100% certain that the horse did not do any of this in the previous home? Do you know this horses history or are you just taking the previous owners word for it?
 
Sounds like its either a form of evasion or there is a problem going on somewhere. When he bolts does he look after him self or does he run through anything in his path? What is he like after he has bolted and has stopped? Does he bolt on the way home from a hack or is it during a hack in general?

prior to the episodes does he seem confused and not quite right?

I dont think it would be fair or safe to pass him on while this has not been fully investigated. If the behaviour is evasion then it needs working through, however if it is caused by a physical problem i.e a seziure/nurological problem then it is likely to become dangerous and could happen at any time. If this is found to be the case then it may be kinder to PTS.
 
I may sound like I'm jumping on the latest bandwagon but I'm not, I'm talking from experience. Please get him scoped to check for gastric ulcers. Don't let the vet tell you he thinks it's highly unlikely or they don't cause that sort of problem - IME they do & they can occur with very few "classic" symptoms in horses that shouldn't, in theory, get them.
 
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We will get the vet out to look at him, but are reluctant to spend a lot of money if this is unlikely to change his behaviour.

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In my opinion you owe it to the horse and his future riders to investigate what the reason for his bolting his. He could be in severe pain or distress.

If you're not prepared to spend the money, don't you think it would be far better to retire him or PTS than risk a further, potentially deadly incident, with someone you know or his future owners?
 
Have you spoken to previous owner since this has happened? Does sound like pain related problem, but I did have a horse who would do this - it was a young horse and previous owner swore blind that it hadn't done anything like this before. The behaviour only ever happened in the school though, it was generally ok to hack. I later found out that it had done exactly the same with her. By this time I had all the tests done and there was nothing physically wrong with it.

Sorry to hear you are having these problems - it really is horrible to have to go through.

This horse was sold to a professional (who knew the full story and approached me to buy it - I was too concerned to advertise) who told me it was for him to compete and he would sort it out (I was confident that he could do this as he rode a lot of difficult horses). I later received a letter from someone to say he had sold the horse to them and it had done exactly the same - bronked them off then made for home, galloped across a dual carriageway (so lucky no-one, never mind the horse, was killed. It could have caused a pile up). This was an experienced rider.

I thought I was doing the right thing, selling to a professional, but I hate the thought that it may have gone though the hands of so many people by now. You have to get to the bottom of why he is doing this before you even think about selling on. Was it a dealer or private sale? If a dealer you may have more chance of sending back, but after 6 months it might be tricky.

How quickly did this behaviour start? Have you changed feed - may be an intolerance to what your feeding him, if sensitive to abdomen being touched?
 
Thanks all.

I am getting the vet out Mon morn.

As another thought - we have put him on the EPSM (PPSM) low starch diet a few months ago as he showed many of the systoms of this. Any ideas if this could be related? Ie mucles cramps etc?? He has respeonded well and seemed happier on this diet.

He is a very laid back boy and these episodes came out of the blue. Its totally out of character and I spoke to his old owner today about it and she was geniunely shocked. She thinks it is most likely a pain thing. He never spooks out hacking normally, so its unlikely to be a spooked bolt.

I dont know if he has self preservation or not. Both times he kept on running once the rider came off. If someone came off in the past he stoped and waited with them! Both times he was unhurt on his return, but the first time there was one bridleway between him and home that he came back on. This time he ran across roads etc and came back unharmed. His tack has been unscathed both times, so its hard to say if he has self preservation or is just lucky!
 
This may sound like a really silly question, but is he used to being hacked out in company, and was he out on his own when the bolting occurred? If he was alone, then could something have spooked him that the rider didn't notice? My horse is a saint in company, but on her own, everything, (even a twig) is the scariest thing in the world!
Good luck with finding the problem, it must be really hard trying to figure out why its happening.....
 
He is used to being out in company and alone. Never had an issue before out hacking. Old owner said he was a total confidence giver hacking. I do really believe her. She isnt a dealer and has been very helpful. She came to visit our horse a lot when we bought him to make sure he was ok and I do believe that he hasnt done this before. She had him for 10 years and had a very genuine reason for his sale.

Both times the bolt happened out with another horse. Neither time did they react to anything to say it may have been a frightened spook.
 
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I may sound like I'm jumping on the latest bandwagon but I'm not, I'm talking from experience. Please get him scoped to check for gastric ulcers. Don't let the vet tell you he thinks it's highly unlikely or they don't cause that sort of problem - IME they do & they can occur with very few "classic" symptoms in horses that shouldn't, in theory, get them.

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I agree with getting him checked for ulcers. A friend of mine has a horse who is generally ok to hack but had a nasty episode where he was spinning in the road and really being quite dangerous. Luckily he was prevented from bolting after his rider decided she liked living and got off. After an unrelated trip to the vet hospital was found to have ulcers. He is so much better now they have been treated
 
In my opinion there are two possible causes:-

1. feed (change it back to old feed regime and keep it bland and completely non-heating. I once had an old hack that turned into a nutter - reared and took off with me after one too many energy feeds to pep him up a bit)

2. Acute neurological problem (such as a brain tumour) - definately get the vet to check him out given the sudden onset behaviour.

I personally would not ride him until he'd seen the vet for your own safety.
 
I doubt feed would make such huge behaviour changes so id deff get the vet out. I would imagine it was something neurological, or something like ulcers. goold luck with getting to the bottom of it
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It does sound like this is genuinely out of character for the horse and a very extreme reaction, so I would agree with everyone else that there is likely to be a physical cause. Fingers crosses it's something like ulcers which can be dealt with.

Let us know how you get on with the vet on Monday!
 
in my opinion (yes mine) 80% of behavioural problems come from what is in the bucket!!(once you done the saddle the teeth the back!)(the owner!!) put him onto good hay (as per haylage=rocket fuel) work him well tell him off and stick him in his place and give him lots of turnout! leave out for a few nights to wilt!! if he drops a few ounds he will regain this in spring! did it bolt big time like eyes popping out 40 MPH? or did it drop rider on a big big whooppee and piss off?
 
I really don't think this is a behaviour issue. It is totally out of character! He is on hay. Turned out for 8 hrs a day. Kept on Alfa-a oil and garlic, nothing else. Is a perfect gent in hand and in the school. Never known a better behaved horse! It was an eyes wild 100mph bolt not a yippee and charge off. Had alreadyhad a lovely canter and been out for an hour the last time. I am starting to really believe he is running from pain.
 
A lot of the time when a horse starts bolting when it has previously been a calm, level-headed sort, it's usually a veterinary issue and in some cases I've heard of neurological problems being at the root of bolting issues.
 
Latest update... Found out that both times he was in a wide open space and was asked to canter then took off. Getting vet out to check him anyhow. Luckily the guy who was out with them last time is a pro eventer who says he's seen this many times before and is going to work through this. Hopefully vet will give clean bill of health, pro will work through it and our boy will be eventing this summer! Didn't know that he hadn't been in open spaces much before and this may be exuberance followed by bad behaviour trying to run home once rider off. We shall see.
 
That sounds promising. It's a shame the riders didn't tell you the full story to begin with, it would have saved you some worry. Good luck with him!
 
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