Had to bail out yesterday youngster bolted

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springtime13

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Just thought I'd get some advice on what to do next. I've backed and ridden away a few over the years. Was given a rising 4 year old warmblood x highland gelding in March, fab temperament and didn't take long at all to get to the gentle hacking with a sensible companion stage. He's been hacking out for about 4 weeks, and been fab, wise beyond his years and very responsive.

Anyway, last night I was out with a steady companion and all was well until the boy caught sight of some lambs jumping about. He stopped and I was giving him a moment to take it all in and then he suddenly spun and hoofed it. As a main road 60 mph blind bend was upon us in less than 50m I tried very hard to pull him up - both hands on one rein near the bit to try and yank him round. There was seriously nothing on the end of the reins so I decided to bail out. Pony then galloped home, crossing several roads and ending up waiting at the yard gate. I ended up in A+E because I was extremely dazed and confused.

I've had sharp horses in my 30 years of riding (and still have a very sharp warmblood mare) but never had that feeling of no control. For added info, he's on a handful of lucie nuts and hi fi lite to hide his sarcoid supplement in but that it. Out 24/7 in a stable herd of geldings.

What would people advise?
 
Glad to hear that you are ok, though you must be sore today. I'm not qualified to advise either, but wanted to ask, when you tried a one rein stop, did he just set his neck so that you couldn't pull him round? Sounds very frightening.
 
Terrifying for you, so sorry you had that experience, but glad that you are both still just about in one piece. Hope you can get him sorted.
 
Vet wrap, yup when I attempted the one rein stop his neck was totally set. I couldn't move his head at all. Strange also that he galloped home, my experience is that they usually hang about if they're with a horse they know well. I'm also 99% sure that he saw the offending lambs on our hack on Sunday as it is the ride we're doing a lot at the moment.
hayinamanger, think I'm going to try and long rein him up there some point in the week when I'm recovered and stick to the school until I'm sure it was a freak accident.
 
Long reining is a very good idea to check he's not going to do it again. In all likelihood he won't do it again, but I would think about minimising risks i ncase he does. I would advise a body protector and an air jacket, if you have one. Also, is there anything you can add to his bridle which could help you to stop? As much as I hate them, the 3 ring gag may be your friend with double reins so you can ride off the snaffle ring but have the bottom ring just in case as it may give you more say in turning his head. Or even a headcollar with a rope on the side ring so you can force his nose round?
 
The mule - strangely I was pondering over buying an air jacket just the other day. It feels awful to be considering bitting up a rising 4 year old, but really it was so dangerous. I too am not a fan of the 3 ring gag, but safety must come first. I did wonder if his current bit didn't help, he is currently in a fulmer with a single joint - now I hate single joints but he didn't seem to mind it. I do wonder that what with him being such a good boy and only needing the lightest of touches, he'd never really felt the action of the bit on the roof of his mouth. He might have been running from the fear/ pain of that.
 
I feel for you! I too have had uber sharp horses in the past but my current mare is a calm and sedate show cob - that is until I took her hunting and she did exactly what you described. It did not matter how hard I pulled there was just nothing! She stood like a lamb at the meet but as soon as we set off in trot I knew I was in trouble! Navigated the outside of one large field and through one wood and decided enough was enough!

It has taken months of schooling since then (boxing day!) to finally get her right through her right rein and a small fortune in a professional taking her for 3 weeks. If I ever take her again I will be putting far better brakes in her mouth but quite frankly at the moment her showing career comes first and I wouldn't want to risk it.

I will add that she hacks out in company like a dream and it was just that one time that she has behaved that way!

My suggestion would be lots of schooling but if you do go out - bigger brakes in the mouth!
 
I have to say that I gave up on one who did almost exactly this, although in our case she bolted away from home. We were actually very nearly home and and when she went I was convinced she'd go home - she didn't - went straight past the turning to home and picked up speed on a very bendy road with loads of blind bends and a fair deal of traffic. Neck was set and there was absoutely no getting through to her in anyway. Bailed out at the first bend and she disappeared off. She was finally brought back by someone who stopped their car and caught her. She was led back like a lamb as if butter wouldn't melt. It wasn't the first time she had gone and we called it a day - I'm convinced there was something not quite right about her. She had been very succesful in hand and had won her very first ridden class at the breed show (Fell Pony) which wasn't great as she de-noviced herself on her first outing. The judge had loved her so much she said that if I was ever selling her to give her a ring and first refusal. I did just that........ :)

So sorry - no advice - as I never solved the issue. I know where she is - her breeder has her back as the lady I sold her too struggled with her under saddle too and also gave up (I did tell her everything when I sold her). She tried breeding from her (ridiculous idea, but she was a prolific winner in hand and there's nowt stranger than folk I suppose) and she was very difficult to get in foal. The one foal she did have was overcooked and just wrong from the start and eventually died at around 4 months old. More proof to me that nature knows when something's not quite right. I have recently seen photos of her on Facebook being 'gently rebacked'. Again.

Sometimes there is a better way for the safety of all involved and I think that perhaps I should have been braver and taken that decision 8 years ago - but I thought that a more experienced person would be able to sort her out.
 
How frightening! I too am not qualified to comment and given what you tried I think it's a case of when they're gone they're gone. I've had a few bolts in my time and it's been like trying to rein in concrete, completely impossible.

I agree with the body protector and air jacket. Although he's young and it was hopefully a one off I am always wary getting back on anything that's bolted and not come back to me. The long reining up there idea is a good idea.

Like I say, I'm not qualified to comment but I'd get back in the school and introduce some spooky things and if he bolts and sets his neck and clamps on the bit again perhaps look into a different bit. I had a horse who was light as a feather in a snaffle even when at shows but needed a 3 ring gag (double reins), flash and martingale out hunting as he turned into a rude steam train. In time with lots of training and good people who allowed me to run up their horses bums he became a gent again and we reverted back to the snaffle with a flash.

Good luck and glad you are reasonably OK after that nasty fall.
 
Mcnaughty, yes its so scary to feel nothing on the end of the reins. Think I'll stick to the sand school until I feel I can trust him more, but speaking to my mum this morning I wonder if I should send him back. He came to me through my mum's friend and I hadn't had him gifted over to me yet. He also has sarcoids that I didn't know about which seem to be growing rapidly. Wondering that what with having my own lovely warmblood whether really if it is worth keeping him. Sounds awful I know.
 
If you have the option then I would definitely send him back without a second thought. Not just because of my experience above, but fast growing sarcoids are going to be expensive and a pain to deal with. I wouldn't want the hassle of either of these issues, let alone both!
 
Bedlam, glad it's not too harsh. He's a lovely little chap and very cute, but I've only had him 7 weeks and have already spend a small fortune on 6 months supple of sarc ex, vets fees and a Liverpool referral. It's also a worry because with his sarcoids being at a very active phase and currently open I feel there is a real risk of the flies spreading them to other horses in his fields. It would be sad to send him back, I had high hopes to hunt him this season, my warmblood has some issues with her sacroiliac and is used for dressage so can't take the risk of bombing round the countryside with her.
 
OP, in your shoes, if there was that option to return him, he would be back there this afternoon. I'm sure your Mum would agree with me.
 
Yes, it's certainly an easy option. Seems a shame when he'd been foot perfect, angel for his first set of shoes on, perfect in traffic etc. Took him out on the lorry schooling and he didn't put a foot wrong. Still, it was hands down the most scary horse situation ever last night, and I'm not sure I want to risk it happening again. Mum was all for ringing the owner up right now and getting him gone asap.

I do wonder if being such a sensible chap whether I rushed him a bit, but with him seeming to take to the backing process like a duck to water it seemed like I was going at the right pace for him. I have backed and brought on quite a few over the years, so am fairly decent at training to suit each particular horse.
 
I would absolutely send him back- sarcoids can be awful to deal with and very expensive. With his breeding, I suspect he's deep and strong through the neck and although a different bit *may* bring him round, to what expense if you're going flat out on concrete? I'd send him back without a second thought.

Good luck!
 
my horse bolted with me yesterday in the woods -very scary and i just managed to get his head around before he got to full tilt -got to be honest if hed done it on the road i would have bailed too. if you have the option of sending him back then do it-cut your losses and get another one.:)
 
springtime13 I completely understand your reasons for not giving up on him. He's the worst sort though, apparently straightforward, then BAM. He's likely to do it again.
 
Hayinthemanger, I totally agree. He is so straight forward it was like he'd already been backed and ridden away, nothing phased him and he is so bright. Got leg aids almost straight away, not wobbly at all. But I agree, nothing to BAM! my latest mare is I bought as a 2 year old and brought on myself is sharp, prone to the odd passage, spooky etc but she's never done anything remotely dangerous. Him on the other hand, I'm not keen on the idea of hacking him out again, especially as it wasn't like it was an understandable bolting moment - like a gun shot going off under their nose or a huge tractor surprising him. He's seen lambs and sheep before.
 
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Think hayinamanger has really hit the nail on the head. Would you ever be able to trust him? And with the sarcoidosis issues, could be such a stressful relationship. Believe me, I am not at all a hard person at all, but don't think you would be making the wrong decision in letting him go back. You have tried really hard and clearly care for this horse but if he has some 'quirky' issue which results in him being so unpredictable, then I really don't know how you could do more.
 
I've had one bolt in fear like that before, if they don't turn then bumping the opposite side of the face across sometimes works. If it were a horse I had broken then I would be questioning myself as to where his training had failed to allow something like this to happen. Someone like Jason Webb would sort him but obviously if he's not yours it's a lot of money to spend. I would worry what would happen to him if I passed him on without this issue sorted though.
 
Harrysmum, you have a very good point. I'm not sure how much I trust him now. Especially as he gave me so little warning. On the issue of trust, well I think he trusts me less now. I've upset him a lot in the last week, needing to clean up his sarcoids, Vaseline and fly spray round them every day. He's also had issues with flies around his sheath so I've been scrubbing gunge off his inside legs every day. He hates it and I did notice a bit of a change in his attitude towards me, backing off when I go up to him and trying to break the string when tied up. I wonder if he isn't so keen on working for me now. Before I got him he spent his whole life pleasing himself as companion, with no questions asked of him.
 
Foxy, I have questioned myself, but really I have backed and ridden him away by the book ensuring he's understood every step. I haven't had any issues with steering or stopping him until last night, he only needed the lightest of touches. I do question my choice of bits, and wished I put my hands in my pocket and bought him a lozenge full cheek instead of using the single jointed full cheek I had lying around. I do wonder if he was at least partly running from the pain of the single joint socking him in the roof of his mouth, but obviously he was already at a decent speed by the time I really pulled hard but I was desperate to stop him before he ran out on the road.
 
OP, I have no advice just wanted to say I am SO glad that you weren't hurt, how terrifying that must have been for you. Personally, if that were me, or my daughter, I would not be able to trust that horse again, and I would urge her to return him (if that's an option)

There is inherent risk in riding and being around horses but some horses have an unpredictable streak that can tip that risk into unacceptable territory, he sounds like he might be one of those. Whatever you decide, good luck and stay safe!
 
Thank you skint. It's not like I'd be sending him off to the horrible unknown. If he goes back, he goes back to being a companion to his mother, so not exactly a terrible life. It would be a shame because he is a lovely looking type and until yesterday, a real gift horse!
 
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