how do you handle bolting?

[melissa1971]

I have a true bolter, he has had all the checks done etc nothing wrong but when he bolted with me for nearly a mile it knocked my confidence so much it took ages to get back on a horse and now when I ride every forward movement gives me a little panic..

no matter what bit you have in a true bolter it wont do the slightest bit of good, I was tempted to bail out but where we were was on an old railway so i knew there would be no cars..

He now sadly doesnt get ridden but i do a lot of ground work and in hand showing with him, its just a shame that some horses bolt for no reason but I would not risk my life or his ridding him out again.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

OP the horse sounds like he's tanking off rather than bolting, though I agree he's doing it to a dangerous extent. Some horses will tank off from excitement rather than fear/pain etc. Some will run from the pain of a bit that's too strong for them. I'd be inclined to stick with your cheek snaffle if that normally works.

Learn to hold a horse with your legs/seat/back and minimal rein contact, like the person whose father hunted the cob. Voice commands are very useful as is teaching the word No (to mean - stop whatever you just started to do). Several times a loud sharp No! has stopped a horse tanking off when I've been ducked under a branch and unable to do much else.

You say your horse is getting his tongue over the bit if you use your hands too harshly or a harsh bit, so there's no use you doing that. You could try using a pelham with two reins so you can ride off the snaffle rein, using the curb only as necessary, and see if that helps with control at all. Better to have a fast canter with some control than a flat out gallop with none. I'm not saying you're a rubbish rider, but you need to learn to be a better one to prevent this kind of dangerous situation happening again.

If you don't already do this, ensure you vary the places you trot and canter on your rides. With a horse like this trotting or cantering in the same place each time can lead to it getting longer and faster each time, until you find yourself one day completely out of control. Do short trots and canters too whilst you hack, working on transitions repeatedly.

I find it very effective, if a horse does tank off, to go immediately back to the place they did it and make them walk home from there, with maybe a few short trots if they're calm enough. It really drums into them that tanking off does not get them home any faster. Whereas if you leave it a day or a week then ride the same route, they remember the excitement of last time and are much more likely to try it again.

 

[Pale Rider]

I love horses which display this sort of behavior, because you need to get into their head.
I know it can be very frightening when it happens, a true bolt or simply running away with you, but, there is always a reason for it.
If it's triggered by a physical problem this is fairly easy to sort.
These sort of horses will kick into flight mode as an initial response, where others don't. So you need to be aware that the flight mode is always just under the surface. This though is easier to manage when you know about it and have a strategy to deal with it.
Other horses though are not reacting to a physical stimulus and can be more problematic.
Essentially they may well put up with a situation quietly and give little or no warning of their impending reaction. The classic ones you can see on YouTube when they rear up and go over for no apparent reason, or just bolt.
These horses are tapping into their most basic survival mode through a complete lack of confidence in themselves the situation and the rider.
This is the key to rectifying the behavior, building the horse's confidence in you.
The horse must look to you to decide how it behaves when it's gut instinct is to explode or bolt, (which are the same, basically).
It all comes down to your horsemanship skill as a confident leader for that horse.

 

[joeanne]

This is not a bolter. This is a Horse tanking with the rider. There is a huge difference between the 2. If a Horse bolts and by bolt I mean run in blind panic, it does not matter which bit a Horse has. Knowone will stop it.

^^^^ That!
A bolter will not stop until it simply cannot go any further or it hits something which stops it in its tracks.
Sounds like you both need some help from a good instructor.
Is he the same in company?

 

[storm123]

I think some of you should read the OP a little more carefully before calling the OP (who sounds like a youngster from the spelling) foolish/dangerous/hazardous etc

I don't think the horse is bolting OP, he is taking the piss out of you. How long have you had him? What is your routine with him? How often do you hack him out? Is he fine in his normal bit? What kind of horse is he?

YES, HE WAS TAKING THE PISS:
hes usually good as gold when with others hacking alone, but thatd day i forgot to change his bit over to the full cheek, he had his thinner one in and decied to have what he called 'fun' and to see all the things he could get away with, he usually bolts in this 1 field, but never usually anywhere else, hes 13, cobXappaloosa 14.2

 

[storm123]

ETA am sure the OP knows that it is a problem or they wouldn't have posted. Good luck Op keep us updated

thanks i will! ill ride him on a hack with the full cheek tommorow, the moment he misbehaves, hes having a yank, im NOT going to turn him round, because that is what he wants, but any misbehaving, hes going to have his gag back,
thank you!

 

[storm123]

Hope you're not too shaken up OP, being tanked off with isn't an enjoyable experience.

8 minutes is a seriously long time - at a gallop the horse would have covered well over 3 miles!?

i couldnt turn him in a circle, it was impossible, he was only focusing straight ahead, intill a building came up i managed to yank him into that, he kept trying to get out of the way of the building, but my friend(on her horse) came up beside me and blocked his way, yes the farm is massive, its a trout lake place

 

[Mike007]

Hi storm 123, firstly you are doing the right thing . You realise that this is a serious problem and you are seeking advice. Well done.You have recieved a fair amount of wisdom already. The most important of which was ,get some expert help. We can argue all day about whether a horse is truely bolting or meerely taking the piss. It is all irrelevant. You are out of control. You need to get some good help.If it makes you feel any better, a good friend of mine (also known on this forum) who is a seriously seriously good rider, got carted by her horse. We think the horse was stung by a bee, but whatever, That horse bolted for over 3 miles and did some pretty horrific things on the way. It can happen to the best, but the thing is,never be too proud to get help. Best wishes Mike.

 

[storm123]

AN ANSWER TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS:
that day he was taking the piss, he never does it with me, only in certain fields, hes usually perfect when with others but can be nappy alone, as i said hes usually ridden in a full cheek, but i forgot to change it, so he had his thinner bit in, he wanted to see how much he could get away with, and was just being a buggar, yes it was a bolt, as i couldn't even circle, we was only focused on ONE thing, and that was straight ahead of him, i was lucky enough
a building came up, where i crashed him into, he drew to a halt, but wanted to carry on, he was trying to get round it, even with me tugging him, my friend(on her horse) came up the side of me and blocked me, we carried on, he had a moment, and with some reassuring, he was ok, but usually in fields, he will BOLT, to the bottom of the gate, which im scared of him jumping onto the road, sometimes he slows down when i do the emergency stop on him, but in that field, theres a big cliff, and he was bolted down there with me before, but i never lose my confidence, and im always confident in him, i do trust this horse but this bolting is im afraid, a habit, but something i can help him with, as some horses do come around, as for the tongue over the bit, that is also a habit(from his previous owners, yanking him to much) this horse is perfect schooling, and had a lesson with a qualified instructor the other day,
he is a very good horse, and his tack fits well, no pain, and he has the dentist in a few weeks, but checked his teeth and no problems, this horse has obviously had a problem in the past, id like to resolve.
please mail me if you feel the need, and whoever wants to hear back from my work with him please message me too,
thanks

 

[Littlelegs]

Agree with others, of your horse was bolting, rather than tanking off, the tack wouldn't make any difference. I've been tanked with but only bolted with once. One inclined to tank off I'll get on any time. A bolter, never. Only reason I didn't suffer major injury on the bolter was cos she went over a frozen puddle & fell. At the least I would have had my legs smashed to pieces when she went through fences & a dry stone wall. She was pts following injury through trying to bolt through a fence, & discovered to have a brain tumour. Tack makes no difference to a bolter, neither does a good yank. I suggest you get your instructor to hack with you, & in the meantime don't. Even off road, its possible an out of control tanking horse will hurt another rider, animal, pedestrian etc.

 

[Lolo]

I've been bolted with twice. The first time was on a road, and my horse took off with no warning whatsoever. It was a small back road and I am forever grateful all we met until I fell off was one other lady on her horse. Who we nearly took out. I couldn't turn him, slow him, anything. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me and I am still very nervous about feeling out of control at all, ten years later. I never hacked him again, and he was promptly sold (the owner was told what he'd done). Nothing on earth could have stopped him without some serious force- he was truly out of the building. We went for about 3 miles before I came off, and he kept going after that. He somehow got back to the yard without being killed and then he stopped.

The second time, I'd learnt my lesson. It was a less random bolt- my stirrup snapped and was hitting his belly, panicking him. The faster he went, the more it hit him and the worse he got. I tried circling him, he was set on his chosen path and wan;t responding at all. So I bailed- he can deal with himself! The stirrup eventually came off and then he took himself back to the lorry where he felt safe...

How would I handle bolting? I'd bail straight away. I am not up for killing myself!

But piss taking? Standing martingale, stronger bit and being very on the ball about what sets them off... Hacking needs to be safe, especially if you're near machinery of any kind, or other people.

 

[storm123]

I've been bolted with twice. The first time was on a road, and my horse took off with no warning whatsoever. It was a small back road and I am forever grateful all we met until I fell off was one other lady on her horse. Who we nearly took out. I couldn't turn him, slow him, anything. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me and I am still very nervous about feeling out of control at all, ten years later. I never hacked him again, and he was promptly sold (the owner was told what he'd done). Nothing on earth could have stopped him without some serious force- he was truly out of the building. We went for about 3 miles before I came off, and he kept going after that. He somehow got back to the yard without being killed and then he stopped.

The second time, I'd learnt my lesson. It was a less random bolt- my stirrup snapped and was hitting his belly, panicking him. The faster he went, the more it hit him and the worse he got. I tried circling him, he was set on his chosen path and wan;t responding at all. So I bailed- he can deal with himself! The stirrup eventually came off and then he took himself back to the lorry where he felt safe...

How would I handle bolting? I'd bail straight away. I am not up for killing myself!

But piss taking? Standing martingale, stronger bit and being very on the ball about what sets them off... Hacking needs to be safe, especially if you're near machinery of any kind, or other people.

yes, but isnt it wierd how he never bolts or goes off when hes with others in his normal tack, but as soon as he has his thinner bit he goes, bit wierd huh?

 

[Lolo]

Maybe he just doesn't like it? Some horses are very sensitive to different bits. The second horse I wrote about was a textbook case for needing a waterford as he got very strong in the hand and tended to plough on XC, leaving me tired and struggling to control him. Tried it, and he went mad- kept charging off and then dropping right off the bit and virtually stopping dead. But a cherry roller bit he liked just fine!

 

[storm123]

Maybe he just doesn't like it? Some horses are very sensitive to different bits. The second horse I wrote about was a textbook case for needing a waterford as he got very strong in the hand and tended to plough on XC, leaving me tired and struggling to control him. Tried it, and he went mad- kept charging off and then dropping right off the bit and virtually stopping dead. But a cherry roller bit he liked just fine!

i rode him in it the day before and he was a babe!

 

[Mince Pie]

Then he's taking the piss with you.

 

[McNally]

OP how old are you? Im not meaning to sound rude sorry if i do! ;-)
Do your parents know what your riding? Are you on a livery yard? do you have any responsible experienced help? It sounds like you need more than forum advice.
Good luck and stay safe x

 

[storm123]

OP how old are you? Im not meaning to sound rude sorry if i do! ;-)
Do your parents know what your riding? Are you on a livery yard? do you have any responsible experienced help? It sounds like you need more than forum advice.
Good luck and stay safe x

yes, everyone knows what hes like, he never does this, so when he did it i know he was taking the mick, he usually bolts in fields, but never when out for a hack, the person who i was hacking with was very surprised also, as mine loves hacking with others but alone, can be nappy!
thanks x

 

[Waffles]

I had an ex racer that had the red mist and would bolt good an proper - absolutely flat out 45mph in a straight line. The only thing that would stop him would be if he literally hit something. He used to get his tongue over the bit - you could see it flapping out of the side of his mouth. One time, when I'd only had him a few days, I stupidly asked him to canter across a recreation ground (I was only 14 at the time, but should have known better, but I'd come from riding a 12.2 gymkhana pony who was very fast and thought it was the same only bigger - wrong!) anyway, had read in books about turning them on a large circle to wear them out - yanked on the right rein during the blind, flat out gallop and he fell with me still in the saddle, landing with my right leg underneath him. It hurt, but no serious injuries other than limping for a few days. After a few times of nearly getting killed, I bought an English hackamore - I figured that if he didn't have anything to push against with his tongue, he might be ok, so I risked it - he was absolutely fine and I never looked back. These days though, (many years later) when someone says "my horse galloped off with me" I think "No he didn't". Sorry - have not read all the posts here, but it's an extremely scary experience heading for a main road with absolutely no control whatsoever thinking "I AM GOING TO DIE!!".

 

[Destario]

When I was younger and rode at a local RS I was struggling with hacks - the only time my monster rodeo wannabe could get me off and he had a nasty habit of kicking everything and charging off - didn't want to lose him in the woods, anyway, I ended up with private hack lessons on RS ponies, starting off with happy hackers and moving onto slightly more crazy ones! There was a gorgeous pally called Dusty, strong, fast and loved running in the woods. While cantering her alongside my RI, I could feel myself losing control - Dusty was taking the mick and plunging as she ploughed on faster and faster and my RI said that if you can feel them running because they can, not because they can't not run (fear bolting etc) then if you have tried all else, put one hand half way up the mane and grab some mane (rein tight) and pull constantly on the other (not yanking) to get greater control with the bit and cause a steady slowing and circling. It worked pretty well - no yanking on her head and no sudden stops or sudden circles, it just made her pay attention and slow down. After that I felt more confident with the speed and if I lost control I knew that if all else failed I had that as a back up and can happily say I have since used it only once (on the same pony, the next time we went out!). But definitely get tack, teeth, back etc checked and try some lessons in a small field to get him more comfortable, and less "oh my god! A FIELD WOOOOO"

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

The above method is useful, but with a horse that throws its head right up and puts its tongue over the bit in response to heavy hands, its possible it could make the situation worse. It should also be a pull and release with the spare hand that's not in the mane, a steady pull usually just has them fighting against you.

OP if you regularly let him tank off with you in a field, then at some point his behavior will get worse. I'd say that's what happened the other day when you took him out in the other bit, he saw a chance and took it. You need to work on schooling exercises, especially transitions, in the fields until you break the tanking off habit. It may mean that every time you enjoy a wild gallop intentionally, you then need to spend the next two months riding that same route/field and schooling on it, to prevent the horse deciding to gallop when you haven't asked for it. This is how it is with some horses, to enable you to stay safe.

 

[Destario]

Ooops yes! Pull and release, but not yanking, nice and steady...I have very light hands yeah...but still always a last resort...I think transitions in fields is a great idea, my youngster when he was young really benefited from this, he never bolted but would see a massive field (we were yarding on a farm) and get super excited so transitions were excellent...

 

[storm123]

The above method is useful, but with a horse that throws its head right up and puts its tongue over the bit in response to heavy hands, its possible it could make the situation worse. It should also be a pull and release with the spare hand that's not in the mane, a steady pull usually just has them fighting against you.

OP if you regularly let him tank off with you in a field, then at some point his behavior will get worse. I'd say that's what happened the other day when you took him out in the other bit, he saw a chance and took it. You need to work on schooling exercises, especially transitions, in the fields until you break the tanking off habit. It may mean that every time you enjoy a wild gallop intentionally, you then need to spend the next two months riding that same route/field and schooling on it, to prevent the horse deciding to gallop when you haven't asked for it. This is how it is with some horses, to enable you to stay safe.

thank you, thats actually really helpful!

 

[storm123]

thank you for people who gave me tips and advice, i will use it!