Horse bolts out hacking when spooked, how do I get past this?

[Meadow21]

I have a lovely ex racehorse, he has been off track and with me for a year. He schools beautifully and is so well behaved in the school. He however is a awful Bolter out hacking. He has done this since I first bought him, he is super chilled until something unsettled him, then he just jumps up into a gallop and will bolt all the way home. We can be with a herd of others and he will leave them to bolt home. I ride him in a Pelham out hacking and still he does not stop.
I have tried taking him in hand, long reining, going in company, tonnes of different calmers, stopping him like a jockey, stopping him using the seesaw way. No matter what if he spooks he will abandon whatever he is near and just gallop flat out home.
I know hacking is good for a horse but I am starting to think he just cannot hack, he is too unsafe and I am loosing my nerve slightly. Has anyone had this problem and been able to overcome it?
Also don’t worry about medical issues, he has had dentist, chiropractor, physio, saddle fitter and vet up all within the last month. No one found any problems or concerns.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

What sort of things cause him to bolt?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Are you feeling nervy when your out? Is he maybe just picking up on a wee slight energy? Can someone else hack him out to try and see if he does the same? ?

 

[Meadow21]

What sort of things cause him to bolt?

Anything that makes him jump, it can be birds flying out or a child being a bit noisy in a nearby garden. Basically anything a normal horse would have a jump at he just bolts home!

 

[Meadow21]

Are you feeling nervy when your out? Is he maybe just picking up on a wee slight energy? Can someone else hack him out to try and see if he does the same? ?

I’ve sent him to two different retraining yards, none have had much improvement with him. He will leave the yard on his own now, but still bolts. He was at both for over a month, both well run yards. He is also ridden regularly by an eventer (who has rides up too 4*), he still bolts with him and he will only hack him on a small circuit due to the bolting. Although I am not a top rider myself I am use to ex racers and never had an issue like this before with bolting.

 

[Abacus]

You’re very good and brave to still be riding him if this has happened several times. It’s dangerous - I think I would have lost my nerve at the second time if not the first. I expect there are other gadgets you could try (draw reins?) but he sounds incredibly over reactive. I’m finding myself musing about whether you could ride something else and lead him - partly to get yourself out of danger and partly to see if he is reacting to your nerves, although it sounds as though he’s waiting for the tiniest excuse to go. Of course this puts him in more danger if he does go.

is the route home across or along roads?

 

[Prancerpoos]

Does he really bolt, I.e. headlong flat out gallop with no attention to what is in his way, or does he just take a hold a go? What happens if there are gates between you and home when he takes off?

 

[Barton Bounty]

I’ve sent him to two different retraining yards, none have had much improvement with him. He will leave the yard on his own now, but still bolts. He was at both for over a month, both well run yards. He is also ridden regularly by an eventer (who has rides up too 4*), he still bolts with him and he will only hack him on a small circuit due to the bolting. Although I am not a top rider myself I am use to ex racers and never had an issue like this before with bolting.

What a shame, mine used to bronc ALL THE TIME when scared , sometimes reversing into cars, hedges down bankings, it was a nightmare, the only thing that stopped it was working on hacking alone, and at first giving him treats. Its very disheartening though, sorry this is happening

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I wouldn't hack him if he is fine in the school its too dangerous.

 

[AmyMay]

I wouldn't hack him if he is fine in the school its too dangerous.

Nor me.

Have you spoken to his trainer?

 

[ycbm]

I think you should stop hacking him, this is unsafe for you and the public who might get in his way.

You're also completely liable for any damage or injury he causes on the way, since you take him out knowing he will do it even with a pro on his back. I hope you have at least £10m in Public liability insurance.

You've done your best, you've been very brave, but the time has come to end the risk to yourself and others.

 

[Archangel]

Have you contacted the yard where he was in training? Have you seen any videos of him racing? They might be able to help you get to the bottom of it.

He sounds very dangerous.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

One of mine is not keen on hacking he only likes a quick 20 minutes or half hour on a route he knows, his not great if you go further naps leaps runs backwards.

So I don't force him and some weeks we don't hack at all his happier in the school, I often hack around the school with a friend much more enjoyable and safer.

 

[canteron]

Another one who wouldn’t hack atm.

I would however turn my attention to getting him less reactive by groundwork and more confident in himself.

lots of on-line stuff to inspire ie

le-trec
Trt method
Jenku
Parelli (don’t have to swollen whole just look for inspiration)
Clicker
Warwick schiller

go on you tube and Google ‘horse desensitisation and take your pick!

 

[scats]

If he genuinely bolts all the way home and you can’t stop, then you are not only risking yourself, but also any poor person who happens to be in the way. If you are hacking on roads or he risks running into traffic, you absolutely must stop now.
Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge believer in getting horses hacking, but there’s a difference between a horse who is nappy and tricky to hack, and one who is a true bolter and could potentially cause an accident.

 

[Ratface]

Please stop hacking out immediately. You are wilfully putting yourself, him and the general public in danger. I fail to understand why you are continuing to do so.

 

[Meadow21]

Hi everyone thank you for the replies. I do think it is likely sensible to give up hacking and just try to vary his life within the arena. In regards to worrying about the general public, all the hacking where my horse is kept it private pathways/dirt tracks, there are no footpaths/roads so we are not at risk of hitting anyone unless there is a trespasser (which we rarely have luckily).

 

[cariadbach10]

Please stop hacking him. It sounds like you’ve invested a lot of effort trying to put this right but it’s terribly dangerous both for you and the general public. Best case scenario is you think you’ve solved it but the horse will always have a tendency to it. It could come back years later when you’re least expecting it, as happened to a friend of mine. She will never ride again and her injuries took her years to recover from. Honestly, I would retire him. There’s no other vice I would take so seriously as this.

 

[Equi]

Have you done much ground work with him? It’s easy to fall into the trap of “he has a problem hacking so I’ll hack him” but you need to go back to the ground first. There are many books and videos etc but give it a real good crack and work on “bombproofing” so that he has confidence enough to not want to just listen to himself. He needs to work his thinking brain not his reactive brain.

 

[Meadow21]

Does he really bolt, I.e. headlong flat out gallop with no attention to what is in his way, or does he just take a hold a go? What happens if there are gates between you and home when he takes off?

He full on bolts and there is no stopping or steering. He does luckily stop at gates however there are few due to the hacking being a dirt/sand track system!

 

[cariadbach10]

Please stop hacking him. It sounds like you’ve invested a lot of effort trying to put this right but it’s terribly dangerous both for you and the general public. Best case scenario is you think you’ve solved it but the horse will always have a tendency to it. It could come back years later when you’re least expecting it, as happened to a friend of mine. She will never ride again and her injuries took her years to recover from. Honestly, I would retire him. There’s no other vice I would take so seriously as this.

Sorry- just re-read. Of course if he’s fine in the arena then carry on with his work there.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I would echo everyone else's concern about hacking and yes feel that you may need to just press the "pause" button on this, for now anyway.

Agree with the person that said he may benefit from some groundwork at home. It sounds like he is a bag of nerves and has some serious trust issues; it is VERY unusual for a horse to be happy to leave a "herd" out hacking and gallop home on its own.

I'd say see what you can do at home with him; make yourself up a little TREC-style obstacle course and see if you can build up his trust. Take it carefully tho' and don't rush things (not that you would). Then perhaps try just leading him out in a pressure halti with a long line so that if he DOES spook you are at least in a better position to try and do something about it.

If you really can't deal with him then it might be that you have to seriously consider his future; horses with quirks are often extremely talented and it might be that he'd be really good at another discipline......... with possibly someone else, as TBH I get the feeling you just want something you can hack on safely and without frightening the living sh!te out of you .......... ???

 

[poiuytrewq]

He full on bolts and there is no stopping or steering. He does luckily stop at gates however there are few due to the hacking being a dirt/sand track system!

You really do need to stop trying to hack this horse out in that case, I’d never allow anyone else to try again either.
If he trips or corners too fast and just looses his footing he really could kill you. It’s just not worth it.

 

[NR88]

Is he OK when you hand walk and long rein him along the hacking routes?

If so then the problem is when someone is in the saddle. Most likely a confidence issue because he doesn't trust the rider so "flight" is activated and he is getting himself safely out of the situation.

If he is stopping for gates and more or less keeping himself safe that is not a bolt. He is taking off and running away with you but a true bolter does not stop regardless of fences, gates, ditches or cars.

Is he reactive in the arena?

The free YouTube videos from Warwick Schiller are a good place to start. If you sort them in order posted some of his very first videos are with reactive horses. He builds up to waving a stick with a plastic bag so that the movement and noise stimulates the horse. He teaches the horse how to deal with this first from the ground before ridden work.

Joe Midgley, the Good Horsemanship Channel, has a video series where he retrains a reactive ex racer. You might find that helpful.

Another thing worth looking into is the one rein stop. If you can put a bend in a horse you can stop it. Again this starts from the ground teaching the horse to release to pressure. I think Warwick covers this in some videos too.

I would also use your arena time wisely when schooling. A horse truly in front of the leg and in the hand cannot take off and the rider will feel subtle changes. Very simple but not easy, even more so if a 4 star event rider is struggling. It is probably worthwhile stripping your schooling right back and finding all the holes. There are undoubtedly gaps in the horse's education that are plugged until he gets a fright. It really pays to build a solid foundation especially with OTTB.

 

[Starzaan]

To me this doesn’t sound like bolting, this sounds like he’s tanking off with you - doesn’t mean it isn’t serious, but a bolting horse doesn’t stop for a gate. They go over or through it. Genuine bolters should not be ridden.

I would stop hacking for now, and I would get someone experienced to help you with him.

 

[sbloom]

I would imagine there are clues to this in his other work, they're just not so obvious. You need to get him out of fight or flight, I bet he's borderline most of the time. Take his "ambient temperature" down so that when you hit something scary (a "heat source") you have head room. I love the Balance Through Movement Method of groundwork, SO revealing of what's going on in the horse's body and mind, and starts you working on the VERY basics to get a horse out of the fight or flight state.

 

[Meadow21]

Is he OK when you hand walk and long rein him along the hacking routes?

If so then the problem is when someone is in the saddle. Most likely a confidence issue because he doesn't trust the rider so "flight" is activated and he is getting himself safely out of the situation.

If he is stopping for gates and more or less keeping himself safe that is not a bolt. He is taking off and running away with you but a true bolter does not stop regardless of fences, gates, ditches or cars.

Is he reactive in the arena?

The free YouTube videos from Warwick Schiller are a good place to start. If you sort them in order posted some of his very first videos are with reactive horses. He builds up to waving a stick with a plastic bag so that the movement and noise stimulates the horse. He teaches the horse how to deal with this first from the ground before ridden work.

Joe Midgley, the Good Horsemanship Channel, has a video series where he retrains a reactive ex racer. You might find that helpful.

Another thing worth looking into is the one rein stop. If you can put a bend in a horse you can stop it. Again this starts from the ground teaching the horse to release to pressure. I think Warwick covers this in some videos too.

I would also use your arena time wisely when schooling. A horse truly in front of the leg and in the hand cannot take off and the rider will feel subtle changes. Very simple but not easy, even more so if a 4 star event rider is struggling. It is probably worthwhile stripping your schooling right back and finding all the holes. There are undoubtedly gaps in the horse's education that are plugged until he gets a fright. It really pays to build a solid foundation especially with OTTB.

this is wear I struggle because he is perfect in the arena. He is like another horse, he schools up to elementary in dressage and always scores well (judges saying how relaxed etc he is). He also show jumps 90cm very safely, he has never been strong or taken off in the arena it is purely out hacking.

 

[Jenko109]

He sounds cracking when he isnt hacking.

So stop hacking.

He clearly doesnt like it and it's only a matter of time before he kills you.

 

[NR88]

this is wear I struggle because he is perfect in the arena. He is like another horse, he schools up to elementary in dressage and always scores well (judges saying how relaxed etc he is). He also show jumps 90cm very safely, he has never been strong or taken off in the arena it is purely out hacking.

That is why you need to strip it back. There are holes or he wouldn't over react to things that spook him. If he was properly schooled and responsive he would listen to you when you tried to stop him. He doesn't so there is an issue.

There is a lot of information out there if you are interested. I've already suggested Warwick Schiller and Joe Midgley. There are also books by Michael Pearce and Richard Maxwell. Richard Maxwell actually covers the bag and stick stuff in his foal book. There is another book about Bombproofing horses with a red cover that may be of use.

School while hacking. Get him doing shoulder fore and shoulder ins, Travers, leg yielding and half pass. If he is listening to you his brain can't be running away.

However I stand by my opinion that there is a hole in his foundation training and that needs identified and fixed. In my experience that means going back to groundwork.

 

[Gallop_Away]

To me this doesn’t sound like bolting, this sounds like he’s tanking off with you - doesn’t mean it isn’t serious, but a bolting horse doesn’t stop for a gate. They go over or through it. Genuine bolters should not be ridden.

I would stop hacking for now, and I would get someone experienced to help you with him.

Agree......having experienced a true bolter for myself, this sounds more like tanking off to me. A true bolter doesn’t give any thought to their own safety and will run through or dive over anything in their way.

That's not to say what your horse is doing isn't incredibly dangerous so I would stop hacking immediately.

Has every possible medical avenue been explored? If he is an ex-racer my first thought is ulcers. Has he been scoped?

It may just be something you will need to accept. Some horses are just not suitable for hacking.