Bolting horse on a fun ride.

I am an organiser of a fun ride, and I must say, I would be annoyed if someone brought a horse to my ride which they knew there was a distinct possibility of them causing any danger, to themselves or other riders.
But, if you are determined to go, then ask to go last. Then there is no chance of another horse coming up behind you and setting yours off.
 
Lizzie66 said:
I was going to recommend the opposite!

Unless you are planning to go round pretty quick, if you dont want to be overtaken thengo last, that way it is just the group you go with
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Sorry, you are right. It worked for me as I went fast.
 
OP - wouldn't think there would be much fun taking a horse that has the strong possibility of ****ing off with you.
Also his/her adrenelin will be up with the excitement so that is also going to increase the risk.

I would do some group hacks & get horse well under control in group situations first. Maybe call the likes of the Bitbank to get some advice on trying something different.

I took my Mare hunting last year & she basically tanked off with me, i had zero control & she was barging through horses to get to the front. I had to run her into a hedge to stop her - I was MORTIFIED to say the least & called it a day.. I plan to do lots of group ride outs etc before attempting a busy " Fun ride" etc as I wouldnt want to be responsible for causing an accident.
 
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Is this a wind up? Only asking because from what I can understand she has a perfect horse that bolts and another one that bolts and rears! And she states she wants to take the perfect one on a fun ride.None of it make sense to me.
 
AnneCam said:
Gosh, guys. So much pouncing on the choice of words and so few constructive suggestions.

OP have you tried getting the nice calm horses he hacks well with to do things like overtaking, going ahead, getting behind, different gait to him etc.?

I probably wouldn't fun ride until he was hacking calmly with any sort of company I could find but I'm a wimp about horses that **** off without my permission.
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Ditto this basically; methinks early April is a tad optimistic for a "Fun" ride which may turn out, for you anyway, to be anything but.

Why put yourself through the stress.

May I suggest that you work with him to get him polite when other horses are around, doing daft things, in a "safe" space like a school/arena initially. Get other horses to walk past him in the first instance, then move up to trot, then canter, then do contra-circles, i.e. you're going in one direction and the other horse(s) are doing the opposite. Then do overtaking at the canter and then tucking in in front; etc etc.

I think also you need to look at bitting. Perhaps he needs a martingale or a different noseband. Whatever, I think you may make a good investment in asking an expert to help you with this; otherwise your horse is unfortunately going to realise (if he hasn't already) that he can do just as he pleases, when he pleases, how he pleases, and this isn't going to set either of you up for the future very well. You will get to the stage where you lose your confidence, and so this is why I'm suggesting get an expert in to help you NOW rather than later.

Personally I would hesitate to do a fun ride at the moment if you're at all worried about losing control of him. You need to bear in mind not only your own safety but also that of others on the ride.

My experiences of "fun" rides have been mixed: the Hunt ones generally tend to be a bit more of a hoon than say a privately organised affair. But unfortunately "Fun" rides do tend to attract those who want to go like merry b@ggery and just show off, and this maybe isn't going to be what you want at the present time.

My advice, for what its worth, is to wait just a while. Work on your horse, get your expert/professional, as I think it might be worth shelving the April fun ride for the best that is to come. Methinks it would be a tad ambitious for you both - but whatever, your call........
 
There is an awful lot of folks being hyper critical of OP. She has a horse that did have the habit of bombing off periodically, she has had lessons on it and hacked with others to try and train this behaviour out of the horse. It hasn't bombed off in over 4 months and she now intends to try taking it on a fun ride, she wants tips on how to manage this in the way least likely to revert the horse to its previous behaviour.

So lets have some constructive advice like going with a small group just you and one or two others, going last so nothing else can set him off by overtaking, make sure the people you are going with are aware that he has had a problem in the past and that they are willing to let you go in whichever position is most suited to him (first/last), possibly putting in a stronger bit, rather than all this negativity and condemnation.

I regularly steward at fun rides and if only people that had perfectly behaved horses were allowed to go the funrides would be cancelled, as there wouldn't be enough folks at them to make them worthwhile !
 
benson21 said:
I am an organiser of a fun ride, and I must say, I would be annoyed if someone brought a horse to my ride which they knew there was a distinct possibility of them causing any danger, to themselves or other riders.
But, if you are determined to go, then ask to go last. Then there is no chance of another horse coming up behind you and setting yours off.
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I'd agree with this but tail enders can be seriously slow. My friend's pony bolted a couple of years ago at the Windsor sponsored ride when some idiot cantered past her and nearly died in a ditch upside down (horse not rider). Not much 'fun' for anybody. I think if you have to ask the question then you shouldn't really go!
 
If he tanks off, then whether he tanks off or not is going to be governed by does he get excited by horses overtaking him (in which case he should go last) or does he get excited by watching horses in front disappear and leave him on his own (in which case he should go first).

Does he settle after one good lung-opener or does galloping het him up so he becomes a jogging not-listening machine?

I would prepare him for pleasure rides by going out on a few long group hacks with trusted friends who are aware that he may bolt. Trailer or box out to different places, go in all 3 paces, put him at front, middle, behind. See what happens. Once you've sussed his behaviour in company out properly, then enter a small, local pleasure ride with one or two of your trusted friends and stay in your group on the pleasure ride and see what happens.

Experiment with a different bit or noseband (eg my horse is in french link loose ring snaffle and cavesson for most hacking and pleasure rides but wears a flash noseband for hunter trials).
 
Me and my daughter took our 2 usually sensible mares to a few pleasure rides last year and it did get them a bit hyper, bouncing like Tiggers and not really listening. We are members of the place so have since gone on non public ride days and have had it easier, although they do still get very excited as they know there'll be lots of cantering, something we don't do much of on the stoney tracks and bridleways near us.
I certainly wouldn't take a horse on a pleasure ride which had a tendancy to bolt as I value my safety too much now. I certainly wouldn't like a bolting horse to charge passed us either as this could cause problems for other riders.
 
I'm afraid my advice would be a resounding DON'T GO!!!

Fun rides can excite even the calmest of horses and my experience has been that you can be unfortunate to be galloped past whatever time you go - either by people like yourself who have no brakes or people who have brakes but no manners.

Perhaps try different bitting arrangements in a slightly more controlled environment before you attempt a sponsored ride. Not only will it not be any fun for you if you are out of control, but you run the risk of ruining other riders' days out and possibly causing an accident.

I don't mean to sound harsh but, it's one thing to go to a ride and discover your usually well mannered horse turns into a fire-breathing dragon........but to knowingly take a horse that has braking issues to me is madness!
 
Sorry but a fun ride sounds like the worst possible situation to put him in, not only for yourself but other riders too.
It may be better if you wait until he is at a stage happily hacking with a group at home.
 
To knowingly take a horse that you are well aware has a tendency to bolt/tank/p**s off or whatever euphemism we are currently using, is highly irresponsible IMO.

If you are not confident in your ability or the bit you are using to bring your horse under control on a fun ride, then please don't put other riders and horses at risk even if you don't value your own neck. Because a run away horse is a huge risk to other horse's and riders and you would do well to bear that in mind.
 
scarymare said:
I'd agree with this but tail enders can be seriously slow. My friend's pony bolted a couple of years ago at the Windsor sponsored ride when some idiot cantered past her and nearly died in a ditch upside down (horse not rider). Not much 'fun' for anybody. I think if you have to ask the question then you shouldn't really go!
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Yes I was there.... safe pony but at the end of her tether after people cantered past her.... rider and horse very lucky no more Windsor rides for us!
 
Well I wouldn't go, for several reasons, but then I am a coward :rolleyes:

You could go last but then if he p*sses off you stand a very good chance of catching others and potential causing problems

If you go first, someone may come past you fast, there are a lot of people with no manners these days.

Yes you could put a stronger bit in but who says that will work

And I dont think it has been mentioned before, but stopping a horse which wants to p*ss off can cause even more problems. Think rearing, spinnning, leaping around, bucking etc.

And I speak from experience of having a similar horse for the last 31 years. At 37 I might get away with a fun ride, maybe, perhaps :confused::confused: I didn't take him to shows until he was 29 and he still behaved badly.

You can ride him on the buckle end 99% of the time, but the other 1% not a chance. Nothing including Pelhams etc work once he gets going and if you stop him getting going he will go up.

But at the end of the day its your choice, just try not to involve anyone else if things go wrong.
 
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