Bolting horse

SpringArising said:
Do people need to post five posts about what rug to use before they're allowed to post something like this?
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????
There is a rules page on here somewhere.

I believe the rules for posting are 5 posts about what rug to use, 4 posts asking what colour to use on your horse and a minimum of 3 ' barefoot is the only way to go, ever' posts
 
Barnone said:
He has had his teeth checked, farrier done, saddle and bridle has been checked and fitted correctly so no problems there. He's 6 rising 7 and green, we have a trainer riding him three times a week but he does it with her as well. She's broken her leg after he a bronco session with her, bucking rearing and then bolting off.

I'm a very experienced rider, having come from a horse mad family, being chucked on any horse that needed a rider. I've been on bolter's before, and stopped them successfully, but this one just wouldn't.

I bought him as a project and thought with the help of my trainer i could handle him, but i'm just concerned over the saftey of myself and her on him
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Cripes, he has badly damaged one experienced rider and it sounds as though you had a lucky escape. I think it depends on how fond you are of him and what he is like apart from this behaviour. If you want to continue then I would agree that treating for ulcers is the next step, and there can be remarkable improvements in behaviour. If he is nice in every other way this sounds like a sort of learned behaviour which you might be able to get to the bottom of. Sounds as if he is just setting his neck against you and knows he can get away, whatever the original cause was. If you want to spend the money then a full investigation of possible pain causes with a vet would be the next step, and consider a broken rib or something really unusual.

I have a friend who has a companion horse from Blue Cross, an absolutely lovely looking horse full of quality and easy to handle on the ground, but absolutely cannot be ridden. A very well bred horse from a good stud and it is a mystery as to what happened to make him unridable.

I have never had to deal with this sort of behaviour. I have heard of "riding masters" who have cured bolters ny reschooling from the start, but said they wouldn't like to do it again. Mark Rashid cured a bolter by letting the horse run and then riding 35 miles to a town where his wife met him with the trailer, boxing them back home and then doing it again the next day and again until by the 4th day the horse realised that it was going have to go for a 35 mile ride and didn't bolt again. I know someone who did this too on Dartmoor where he let the horse bolt up a very steep hill, and again, repeated it until it realised that it was very hard work. There are risks to horse and rider with these situations though and what they have in common is miles of empty space where the horse isn't going to collide with an obstacle or car, etc. Also, these horses didn't buck or rear or attempt to get rid of the rider.

Personally I would be very, very careful and it might mean that he has to be PTS in the end.
 
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Barnone said:
He has had his teeth checked, farrier done, saddle and bridle has been checked and fitted correctly so no problems there. He's 6 rising 7 and green, we have a trainer riding him three times a week but he does it with her as well. She's broken her leg after he a bronco session with her, bucking rearing and then bolting off.

I'm a very experienced rider, having come from a horse mad family, being chucked on any horse that needed a rider. I've been on bolter's before, and stopped them successfully, but this one just wouldn't.

I bought him as a project and thought with the help of my trainer i could handle him, but i'm just concerned over the saftey of myself and her on him
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Then get the vet out and do a full work up - including but not limited to x-rays of spine, hooves, and hocks, MRIs for soft tissue damage, scoping for ulcers, all of it. As Spiritedly points out, he may well be reacting to as yet undiagnosed pain. And please don't tell me that "It's deffo not that 'cos the back lady/bloke says he's fine!" Seriously, I am very sick of people trotting that sort of line out. Your back person may well be utterly delightful, but they still aren't a vet, and can't see inside the horse.
 
Barnone said:
He has had his teeth checked, farrier done, saddle and bridle has been checked and fitted correctly so no problems there. He's 6 rising 7 and green, we have a trainer riding him three times a week but he does it with her as well. She's broken her leg after he a bronco session with her, bucking rearing and then bolting off.

I'm a very experienced rider, having come from a horse mad family, being chucked on any horse that needed a rider. I've been on bolter's before, and stopped them successfully, but this one just wouldn't.

I bought him as a project and thought with the help of my trainer i could handle him, but i'm just concerned over the saftey of myself and her on him
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If that's the case it's vet out ,check out, if nothing cureable comes up the pts now before it kills someone.
 
moosea said:
????
There is a rules page on here somewhere.

I believe the rules for posting are 5 posts about what rug to use, 4 posts asking what colour to use on your horse and a minimum of 3 ' barefoot is the only way to go, ever' posts
Click to expand...

Completely off topic, but this really made me laugh...especially the barefoot comment! It just reminds me of a few people I know....:D

Sorry to hijack your post OP. Sounds like a horrendous situation, I am unable to comment as I have no knowledge of this type of thing.
 
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Regardless of the fine definition of whether the horse is a "true" bolter, or just one that runs away (or indeed if the OP is a troll or not), why would you want to ride a horse that is obviously dangerous? There are plenty of horses out there that don't put people in hospital on a regular basis; go get one of those. Sell or PTS the one you've got.
 
I don't understand where the offence was caused about suggesting PTS? What else would you d with a dangerous horse? Carry on getting on it until it kills you or do close your eyes and act oblivious and sell it on to someone else? Having been on the receiving end of having a known dangerous horse sold to me as a rideable one I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
 
I've been on bolter's before, and stopped them successfully,
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This is an oxymoron.

The definition of a bolter is that it can't be stopped until it runs out of energy, falls over, or hits something it can't break. So I'm sorry to contradict you, but you've never been on a bolter before this one, you've only been run away with. Bad enough, but a true bolter needs a swift injection of lead between the eyes. Your horse has already caused very serious damage to two experienced riders, one a professional. I'd shoot it if a vet can't find a reason.
 
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popsdosh said:
Some people really cant spot them !
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This. The unfolding of vital information as an afterthought 'oh by the way he does it with a professional rider and broke her leg a week or two ago'. Really? Who would not have mentioned that in the very first post if they were for real? I'll bet you can count the number of arenas in this country with six bar fences without taking your socks off :D Half term, anyone?

But I've replied this time in case it helps other people.
 
Regardless of whether it is 'true bolt' or bolt (tanking off uncontrollably) I think you need to think long and hard about this horses future. He has badly injured 2 people already and if it has been bought as a project you will be looking to move it on in the future. At nearly 7 this sort of behaviour should have been sorted by now and since he is 'green' it may be possible he is still very inexperienced because he has shown these issues with previous owners.
 
the other thing is..............you are unlikely to find a trainer to want to work with you on this horse. so you are going to be working alone with little support.

horse sounds dangerous so if you cannot retire it from ridden work then PTS is a serious option, there are so many lovely horses in need of homes and this one sounds like a one way ticket to the hospital!
 
jrp204 said:
He has badly injured 2 people already and if it has been bought as a project you will be looking to move it on in the future.
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The only moving on a horse that has apparently badly injured two people - one of whom is also apparently a professional - should be doing is over the Rainbow Bridge.

My first horse was a bolter, luckily she never did it with me on board - she'd bolt across the field blindly, not even stopping when she met the dry stone walls surrounding it. She made a hell of a mess of one of her legs the first time and only just avoided the bullet through her injuries. The second time she did it a fellow yardie who had gone to catch her horse narrowly escaped injury just in time by leaping out of her path (again, she went straight through the dry stone wall). As there was a footpath through her field, I didn't wait for a third occasion and I organised her euthanasia. I couldn't have a serious injury or worse to a human being on my conscience.
 
What is your horse like to hack out? If the only times he's misbehaved has been in the school, maybe a bit of relaxed hacking out with a quiet horse would be better than endless schooling, some horses just hate too much arena work but will hack out happily. And you can do a lot of schooling out on your hacks. up to prelim anyway.
 
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