Bolting... is it me?!

[Cowpony]

Mine spooked when I was having a lesson with a dressage trainer. Of course I gathered up the reins and tensed up. He told me not to do that, just leave the rein where it is (we were long and low at the time) and put the horse on a circle. It does work, but you have to be quick to resist your instincts!

 

[Frano]

Do people these days know what bolting means? You can easily give a horse a bad reputation. It annoys me. Not helpful I know.

 

[ycbm]

When my PRE is buzzy, he's worse at walk as he looks around for something to spook at. So I do the equivalent of two laps in walk on each rein, then on into trot/canter with constant changes of direction so he doesn't know where he's going next (e.g squares, diamonds, zig zags, demi volte, 3/4 lines), then move onto your lateral work etc. Do something as you pass at least every other marker. Then he relaxes and listens to you.

Mine also needs you to have the contact correct before he will settle, walking on a long rein or dropping the contact winds him up. I thought I understood contact / outline but didn't! I needed a different instructor.

Riding with 'too much' inside bend helps to stop them spooking as 99% time they spook at something outside.

BUT none of this helped and we made no progress until I realised he couldn't handle any sugar, needed a complete diet overhaul and soaked hay. Then he stopped spooking/over reacting and was a different horse.

I doubt the best rider in the world could get much from the equine equivalent of a sugar crazed, hyperactive child with ADHD, mainly fed sweets. Plus who has been locked in a cupboard for weeks / months only let out for an occasional hour and expected to behave.

This is why people are suggesting you walk away. Its no reflection on you or your riding abiity, this situation sets anyone up to fail, plus a real risk of getting hurt in the process!

Oh so familiar! Only I go straight for trot when the walk is too buzzy (ie most days!)

 

[Arzada]

Do people these days know what bolting means? You can easily give a horse a bad reputation. It annoys me. Not helpful I know.

It's helpful. These horses are victims. It's handy to blame them when none of it is their fault. In human terms it's known as victim blaming.

 

[doodle]

Also annoys me when people say the horse “bolted”. No, they peed off for a bit. If a horse truely bolted then it should never be ridden again imo.

 

[Palindrome]

How dramatic. The horses don't care if someone says they have bolted.
This bolting thing is a bit cultural as well, it is not a concept you hear of in other countries, a bit like the chestnut mare or the mane braiding by thiefts.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I'm afraid I can't do much of long rein at all otherwise he will try to trot up to other horses or just spook immediately. But yes re: shoulder in that is exactly what I'm trying to do

My mare was the same on a long rein or even a short rein, she wanted to follow the other horses round the school. So I taught her that no that’s rude, she goes where I tell her to go. Now we can do everything on a long rein. That’s just napping.

As someone else said when they spook you don’t need to gather up the reins and tense, mine used to jog when she was spooky and we’d get into a battle of me collecting my reins more and more and her jogging faster and faster. I soon learnt not to touch my reins, stay relaxed and use my seat/weight and she stopped jogging straight away.

I don’t have experience of Iberians but no 5 year old horse should be kept in 24/7 (I personally don’t like a horse of any age to be kept in 24/7 but each to their own). I personally, no matter how much I enjoyed riding them, would not be able to be complicit in keeping horses in such a way and would be looking for a new share. It sounds like you’re losing confidence and doubting yourself and neither you nor the horses are having much fun.

 

[splashgirl45]

How dramatic. The horses don't care if someone says they have bolted.
This bolting thing is a bit cultural as well, it is not a concept you hear of in other countries, a bit like the chestnut mare or the mane braiding by thiefts.

you are right ,the horses dont care, but it gives a wrong impression of the horse and if they were up for sale and i was told they bolted, i wouldnt get on. as said previously bolting is when the horse takes off in a blind panic and they can run through fences or into walls or vehicles as they are in such a panic, it is very dangerous and luckily not that common..

 

[Cherryblossom]

Could you find someone to hack out with? I know you’re worried about their reactions, but these horses are still young and their management is the equivalent of being in lockdown with only sessions of home schooling. They need to get out and about, see the world and learn that not all riding is being asked to do specific things. I think that then they’ll start to relax and enjoy their work more, and you can school just as effectively on a hack.