bolting update advice please

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cheeryplatypus

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after being told to give up and put horsey on full livery by instructor who then refused to teach me as he was bolting in the school, i got my friend to have a look at horse
he bolted in the school with her too while wearing saddle
but has been fine bareback with her walk and trot, ok with me in walk but he gets upset when i bounce a little in trot.
we've decided bolting almost definately saddle but my nervousness not helping as he gets so upset if you dont sit still.
should i book a lunge lesson back where i used to ride (to improve my seat) and risk running into scary instructor or wait two weeks til saddle fitter can look at my saddle
cant afford to loose any more confidence
frown.gif
 
The most simple and common sense answer is to get your saddle checked by a professional sadler. Don't ride him unitl you've done that.
 
Well this is what I would do:

1)With your horse definitely wait until the saddler has checked the saddle. I would also have someone in to check his back. If the saddle wasn’t fitting probably there may be some damage.
2)I would book myself a lesson on a schoolmaster at a decent riding school.

Then after that I would review my situtaion and take it from there.
 
It's good that you have found out the reason for the bolting. I would get a chiropractor out before the saddler comes so you can make sure nothing wrong with his back. Sounds like he might be a bit sore.

S*d the instructor - she was the one in the wrong ! She did not even think of suggesting saddle didn't fit. I would book up some lessons in the meantime until you can ride your boy again.
 
Well I would deffinately not be riding the horse with or without the saddle whilst he has issues...so wait until your saddle fitter comes...although you will have problems having a saddle fitted too because anyone worth their salt will want to see the horse worked with their current saddle and then with new ones too...so won't you have bolting issues then too??????
Are you sure you do not need a back person out first to fix the underlying problem?
Improving your seat through lunge lessons is never a bad thing and if you feel you need it, then go for it...it can only do good!
Any instructor that tells you to give up...I would question! Everything is workable and fixable it is just finding the problem and right solution.
 
Wait until you have had your saddle checked. Also have you had his teeth and back checked. It might be worth looking at what you feed him too?

You could in the meantime lunge him in a roller to keep him working and supple, it might also be interesting to see how he moves on the lunge without the saddle on. ETS provided his back has been checked and that is ok.

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Not only must you wait until you have had decent saddle fitter out to check the saddle but in the mean time see if anyone can recommend a good reputable local backperson to check your horses back, if the saddle is a bad fit the horse may well have some back pain that needs to be eliminated first as well.
A rest and time off in this case would help the horse.
 
sorry if this has been gone over in a previous post, but apart from getting a saddler out immdiately, how long have you been riding?

I take it from 'bouncing around' you mean you cant sit in the saddle properly? I really think you should have some lessons on a different horse until you can learn to sit in the saddle properly, as like you said you are making your horse more nervous.
 
Any decent saddler would say to you to wait until your horse has his back checked and is correctly treated before even thinking about getting a saddle fitted .

This was the case with my last mare, she came with her tack and seemed to be doing ok until i took her to our first training show and the owner of the grounds had said that her back wasnt sound, he supposedly knew from the way she was jumping( i didnt see it ) but anyways got her back checked by a vet he then passed me onto a horse physio who got to work on her , in the mean time i rang around a few saddlers and asked them for their advice, they each told me to wait until she was fit again ( light lunge work without saddle after physio had worked on her) and the bring her up to him .

After having a new saddle fitted and work from the physio she was right as rain and was working even better than she had done before, her previous owner couldnt get over how much she had changed , she would have jumped you of the saddle whereas before she wasnt jumping half as well .

Sorry for long post
 
didn't used to bounce but finding it very hard to relax after the bolting and instructor advising i'd end up in a&e!!
will book lesson on schoolmaster to regain confidence while waiting for saddle fit

horsey on the slim side at the moment, could this be making him more sensitive?
 
Hello I've just read all the other posts offering good advice. You must get your horse's back checked out. If he is uncomfortable in his back then it will be agony for him to have any weight on his back whether it be you bouncing about a bit or not. Have you noticed whether he holds his tail at a funny angle at all? This is a sure fire sign of a bad back (though if he doesn't hold his tail awkwardly it doesn't mean he hasn't got one!).
Honestly a good horse physio/osteopath are worth their weight in gold, speaking from human experience it can mean the difference between agony and a pain free existence!
Having said that you can get horses who bolt in the school due to being over fresh – definitely give him a lunge, this will also allow you to see how he works when you ask him to do gradually smaller circles, and show up back problems.
Good luck!
 
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