!!! HELP!!! my horse is dangerous!!!

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megwan1

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Right u lovely people!!!
i need ur advice....
fliss is a 17yo idx who has recently taken to bolting flat out when being led to the field regardless of whether she is 1st or last out!!! so far she has broken my dads ribs pullin him over pulled me into a gate post and bolted towards the road twice (this is in 2 weeks).... she is normally well behaved and sane i have had her for 2.5 yrs with no probs!

we have tried...
headcollar
bridle
stallion chain
dually
be nice halter
and chifney!
none have worked!
any suggestions please?!!!!!

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thanks!
 
Can you think of an reason that has caused this behaviour change? Sounds like she may have had a bad scare and is still reacting to that.

I was going to suggest a Parelli type halter which worked wonders on my bargy youngster but I am guessing this is very similar to the dually which you have already tried.

Have you tried riding her first and then riding her down to the field?
 
Is she behaving in a fearful or excited way? A good way to tell is to look at her eyes and ears.

If her ears are pricked forward and her eyes are alert, sparkling and generally excited looking then she is probably excited to be going out. If her ears are back or flicking around, her eyes are large and 'bulging' or rolling, nostrils are flared etc then she is likely to be scared.

Having physically hurt you and your Dad during her bolting episodes when she is generally a well behaved beasty I would guess it is a fear issue. Sadly this is more difficult to resolve as no amount of gadgets will keep her steady... you need to establish what is scaring her and tackle the root cause.

Best of luck x x
 
I would take a bucket of feed to the gate and bury her nose in it all the way back to the stable so she has a distraction from whatever has been setting her off.... and an incentive to staying with you
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Horses are too big to be messing around and there is no way you can hold her if she wants to go - try giving her a reason to stay with you!
 
This may be way off the mark but...have you looked at the ground carefully at point where she bolts... I had a similar issue once with horse being silly at certain point on way in and out.... then one day dog ran along same route and suddenly jumped a mile...after much searching we found an electrical cable buried with a bare spot on it near enough the surface to have given animals a shock, but not us because of insulating wellingtons...
 
What does she do when she gets loose? Keep running? Stop and let you catch her? Could you take a different route or move her to a field nearer the stables til you sort the issue? I personally would have her in a bridle and on a lunge line, and if you can tell when she is about to go start working on moving her backwards/sideways/anything really to distract her.
DO you have anyone very experienced on your yard who can help you? As this sounds like it could become very dangerous and you might need to take her groundwork back to basics to overcome whatever has caused this?
My mare started doing this to me about 10 years ago when I was about 18/19, and we moved to a yard where the fields were about 750m up the drive from the yard. Hers was separation anxiety tho as when I was away at uni she was taken in and out as a pair with another mare. I evetually solved the problem (but tool a while) by turning her in circles every time she 'grew' and started snorting - that when I knew she was about to go!!
 
If she only does it across the field, could you simply call her over to the gate with a bucket of feed and simply catch her at the gate so you dont have to lead her across the field at all? Might eventually break her out of the habit. Sounds like she's had a scare?
 
QR Has she been exercised recently, has the weather meant she's in more than out? Is it possible she's just full of energy? If so cut her feed down to next to nothing if you're not exercising her and keep her out for as long possible. Get rid of the energy and avoid building it up with food until exercise etc can go back to normal.
 
If its fear a big stick and a lunge line will not help. You need to work out why she's doing it, keep yourself safe.
Have you tried leading her with a companion horse to see if that keeps her calm.
 
Little Lad does this, but it's one of his known quirks shall we say
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He'll usually behave in a chiffney, but if he's having a particularly bad day he'll be in a Parelli pressure halter, a chiffney, and be led by two people with long lead ropes. He's talked to and fussed all the way to the field to keep his attention (he's laminitic so doesn't get carrots/Polos, but if he wasn't I'd be stuffing them in all the way!).

He's definately a lot better than he used to be. We've done a lot of ground work with him, getting his attention and generally behaving better than he used to
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I agree something must have changed for behaviour to change so much. As anyone else put her out apart from you and your dad in the last few weeks?
 
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Try a big stick, put it in a chifney and take him down in a lunge line and stand your ground.

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Agree with Dotty.

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I agree - Pointless getting in to a fight with a 17hh horse and I'm not in favour of sticks - behaviour is out of character so something is bothering her.
 
Take him on a lunge line i used to have a problem with a pony i looked after she was super intelligent and she knew full well how to double barrel you and bolt off across the field. With the lunge if he bolts when hes nearing the the end of the lunge line give a big tug to shock him and turn his head and his body will probs follow
 
Dangerous advice. I think that ,without wishing to give offence,if you had sufficient experience to do this with a lunge line and keep your self safe ,you wouldnt have this problem in the first place. I dont want you toget tangled up in a lunge line and dragged.I agree this may teach the horse a lesson, but dont do it on your own, and please find someone strong and experienced to help you.Stay safe.
 
Mine used to do this, so i got an experianced lady to help. As soon as B looked like he was about to take off she would take him back and tie him up untill he was settled, then took him back to the feild again and if B done it again he would get tied back up and so on....until he walked out nicely aqnd quietly.
 
i only dissappeared cos i've had family round 2day!!!!!!!!

thank u for ur advice! she will still do it after exercise and i cant ride her 2 the field as i need to unlock and open the gates
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sad because she is one of these horses ur better off bein on! i am not by any means inexperienced but this is 16hh of hands bolting!!!
when she goes she doesnt seem to run from anything and will continue to run for a good few mins after shes free! my strong person was my dad now his best suggestion is shoot her!!! (he's not horsey and the rib incident has damaged his man pionts lol)

i will try her in another field her diet is hay high fibre cubes and chaff same as all ways and so is her routine...
i'm gunna get the vet out on tuesday for to do tests to see if shes got a physical prob... has anyone ever heard of this cos of hormone probs etc????

thanks!
 
Use at least a 12 foot lead rope to keep yourself safe and to give you leverage so you can turn the horse. As soon as he gets strong you must disengage his rear end and send him round you. Keep this up until he works out that it's no fun and being nuice gets him where he wants to be

Don't be nasty, but be firm and fair.

Maybe think about giving some Agnus Castus too - a heaped teaspoon of ground twice a day - it may help to even the horse out.
 
I really dont know what your answer is but it ceratinly is dangerous and a tricky problem to deal with. I have a similar situation when i turn my horse out, he doesnt bolt walking to the field but the minute you get to the gate u have to be able to push it and let him go instantly or he will be gone. I posted on here several times about my problem and got to the stage of just letting him go, funny thing is now when he is going out regularly he doest do it anymore, your problem is that you cant even get to the field. If i think of anything i will post again but have no other thoughts than what other people have given you, good luck xxx
 
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i'm gunna get the vet out on tuesday for to do tests to see if shes got a physical prob... has anyone ever heard of this cos of hormone probs etc????

thanks!

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Whenever a mare starts behaving out of character, that's the first thing I'd be looking at! She could have a painful ovary, due to a haemorrhagic follicle (although the bolting is a bit extreme). She could also have a granulosa theca cell tumour (have you noticed any signs of aggressive behaviour? An u/s scan of the ovaries would be well worth doing - if only to rule itout. Otherwise, you need to look for something else causing fear and/or pain!
 
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