Is it time to call it a day?

Foxy girl

Foxy girl

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Any advice gratefully received!

I bought my cob as a confidence giver after a bad time with my mare who had undiagnosed neurological issues. He is only 6 but is great to hack out and we have definitely bonded well. However, he is strong and even after trying a combination of tack, I’m still wary of him as when he goes, he goes and I can’t stop him. This was proved yesterday when a friend was riding him, he bolted for no reason we could see – down the road and we came round the corner to find him half way through a barbed wire fence, stuck in sheep netting, and my friend unconscious having been thrown and hit a telegraph pole. Bo was remarkably calm and my husband and I eventually managed to get him out after a lot of struggling in the boggy ditch by the fence. He was grazing two minutes later and miraculously is unhurt. My friend however is in a pretty bad way and although he’ll mend it was horrendous to witness and especially terrifying as we have 5 children with us who were all taking turns on the pony (who didn’t put a foot wrong).

My nerves haven’t been great for a while but now they are shot to bits and I am very shaken. I would get back on Bo but I can’t say if I’ll ever trust him again. He must have had a death wish yesterday and if I’d been hacking out with daughter and pony in tow I dread to think what would have happened.

I don’t know whether this is the time for me to give up riding and concentrate on my daughter and the pony instead. I just can’t help feeling there’s enough going wrong in the world without me risking life and limb for the very few times I get to ride out…
Please be blunt – I need to hear your honest views!

Thank you :-)
 
I dont think you should give up riding but i do think you should be rehoming that horse before it seriously hurts someone or worse!

To admit you are not compatable with this horse isnt the worst thing in the world but keeping a horse that could potentially kill you is so i think for your sake and that of the horse you should be looking to find him a new home. Be honest when you advertise him though.

Good luck and sorry to hear about your friend.
 
I wouldn't be sitting on him again right now.

As others have suggested check pain first.

Also is your friend experienced? If so and it was a true bolt and not a tank, you must tell anywhere he might go that it's happened.

Pain element aside if he were mine.
Tanker, I'd get better schooled and look at tack.
Bolter, would be turned away and never ridden again.
 
Definitely get him checked out, that's not normal behaviour for any horse. But I do understand where you're coming from re nerves, once you've seen him do that it's hard to know what he'll do next/why. Hopefully if you find the cause you'll be able to fix it though
 
To me, it depends upon the severity and the reasons behind the bolting.

If this was a case of poor rider, overly mild bit, irresponsible hacking companions, the world going wrong, etc... I'd stick at it, there's a lot of changes you can make and carry on enjoying your horse.

If, as you say, there really was no reason for a full speed, ongoing bolt, and its happened more than once... I'd retire or pts.

If the truth lies somewhere in between, that's entirely your call to do what you feel happy with.
 
How long have you had him for? Has he always been like this?

How many times has he ACTUALLY bolted??

How is he in the school/field? Or is it only out hacking?

I took on a similar sounding horse a few years ago, he wasn't dangerous, just needed schooling out of it and a calm confident rider. IF however, he is truly bolting, then I would look at tack, pain, etc and then decide what to do
 
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I don't think you should give up riding in general, unless you want to, but I'm curious about what is going on with the horse. The calmness and him going for apparently no reason suggests tanking off rather than bolting in a blind panic, yet ending up in a fence suggests a lack of concern for his own safety, which is consistent with bolting. Unless it was an accident? Could he have tried to jump both ditch and fence whilst lacking the athletic ability to do so? In other words, an error of judgement rather than a lack of concern for his own safety.

I don't think he is the horse for you, given that you're nervous of him and its not the first time this behaviour has happened. It's understandable that you have concerns about him. You currently don't know what's causing, or contributing to the continuation of, his behaviour.

Whether he's bolting or tanking off would determine the next course of action, if he were mine. Even if that course of action is only deciding how to market him and who to sell to.
 
Was it a true bolt or tank? either way I would not be getting back on this Horse just now.

If it were a true bolter, I would either keep as a non ridden companion or PTS. If a tanker, I would get the obvious checks done. Teeth/saddle/back etc. If no problem then I would be booking some lessons asap. If you still can't ride him then I would sell, but you would have to be very honest about his tanking.

Tanking and bolting are 2 very different things.
 
Thank you all - to answer some of your questions -

He has 'tanked off' with me on a fun ride and in a field but not 'bolted' - more he got his head down and either went back towards home/companions or was just feeling fresh. Although I didn't enjoy the experience either time, I never felt comepletely out of control.

Yesterday was a bolt - pure and simple. Yes, my friend is a 'rusty' rider and I did wonder if his imbalance might have had something to do with it, but I still can't work out why he set off - we were all together, pony alongside him, calmly walking.

He had his back checked July time and was fine - I haven't seen any indication when I've ridden that he's in pain, but obviously an imbalanced rider might be twingeing something. I'm not the best rider in the world by any means though and wouldn't say I've got a particularly good seat!

If I do sell him on I will of course be honest - perhaps reschooling is the key but I think he and I have reached the end of the road together, and perhaps I have even reached the end of my own riding road! :-(
 
I would not be selling his Horse on then. True bolters are incredibly dangerous (I've had a bolting accident and was very lucky to have not been injured worse then I was!)

I would ask an experinced rider (perhaps get an instructor) to hack him out on the same route. If he does it again, it would be retire or PTS.
 
That hack out sounds pretty exciting to me with the kids swopping rides and there being a hefty crowd out for some fun! Tbh, think there are a few of us on here that would of been concerned myself included.:eek:

He's only a baby and you were making a big demand of him. Cobs maybe cobs but just because they look slw, we all know they are not and there's very often a highly strung racehorse under the fluff.

Get some professional help and lower your expectation of him until he's older and better schooled.

Hope your friend is OK.:)
 
This sounds a little like an incident we had with our haffie who spooked at a herd of alpaca and went straight through a very thick hawthorn hedge, ditch and wire fence and then stood grazing within 10 secs...he also had no sense of his own safety and how he didnt hurt himself or us I will never know. This was not a bolt and though it did knock our confidence in his sanity we worked through it and he is know a very safe hack in a snaffle. He does however need a confident rider who will give him the confidence he sometimes lacks to face new situations. Unless you can fulfill this confidence giving role I would be looking at parting with him, sad as it is he may not be for you. Is there a confident experienced rider who could help with his education...he is still a little young for me to be classing him as a bomb proof confidence giver.
This is all presuming there is no underlying issues causing these 'spooks'.
 
Elsbells said:
That hack out sounds pretty exciting to me with the kids swopping rides and there being a hefty crowd out for some fun! Tbh, think there are a few of us on here that would of been concerned myself included.:eek:

He's only a baby and you were making a big demand of him. Cobs maybe cobs but just because they look slw, we all know they are not and there's very often a highly strung racehorse under the fluff.

Get some professional help and lower your expectation of him until he's older and better schooled.

Hope your friend is OK.:)
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Very good point, does sound like alot going off!
 
I'm another who would recommend getting the horse checked over by a vet/dentist/
saddler, in case there is a pain issue. Do you know how the horse ended up in the ditch/barbed wire? Did the horse intend to go through or did he slip in the road and fall into the fence?
Again, was this a true bolt for no apparent reason, or was the horse just too strong for the rider and tanked off? What speed and surface were they on?

IMO, if it was a true bolt for no obvious reason and the horse tried to go through the fence, I would not let any-one ride it again. If there is a reason e.g. pain found then obviously that needs to be addressed. If the horse really just tanked off at a speed faster than the rider could control and slipped into the ditch/fence, then I would recommend you find a good instuctor, who can work with an experienced rider, in the first instance, to find the 'key' to this horse.
I can understand that this has completely knocked your confidence but there are horses out there which will look after novices/nervous riders, you will find one eventually but please do take someone VERY experienced if you decide to buy/loan another horse.
 
I agree it sounds hectic(!) but to be fair we regularly ride out with a lot going on and this was all calm and quiet until he shot off. I am in no hurry to pass the horse on to anyone else and if I did believe this was his natural instinct, I wouldn't dream of putting anyone else in that situation.

I think redriverock has it right - I am not the one who can give him the confidence he needs and obviously my friend was even less experienced and maybe that's why he did what he did. What I can't get out of my head though is the fact that he endangered himself so much in the process. I am not sure of the difference between a 'bolter' and a young horse with an overdeveloped flight instinct - I think my boy is the latter and I have been fooling myself into thinking I can cope with him. What I actually need is something of 26, not 6, that's seen and done it all. Just gutted it's taken an incident like this to make me realise that...
 
It is worth remembering that true bolters are pretty rare...very difficult for us to comment on whether this was a bolt or something else. I would be very interested to know how much work this horse is getting and how often it is hacked out, especially with swapping riders, 'rusty' riders and surrounded by kids...sorry if I sound abit harsh as I know exactly how you feel but im not convinced this is all down to the horse? My haffie came to us at 5 and was owned by a adult 'rider' who could do nothing with him, wasnt even able to lead him without 3 adults anchoring him down! Within 2 weeks my daughter who was 11 at the time was happily and safely leading him to and from his field with no interference from me. I am no expert but I think it does prove the point that for whatever reason some horses do just take the p*** without firm consistent handling.
 
Many many years ago I bought myself a mare which would zoom off when my partner or her friends rode her.
I stopped anyone else riding her and just hacked her out myself and over the first few years started from smallish 1 hour hacks to 6 hour hacks. She turned in to an absolute dream of a horse and I owned her for 21 years. She just did not like other people riding her as it clearly unsettled her. She was the most brilliant of horses and we had many years of fun together. I am so pleased that I persisted with her.
 
Antw23uk said:
I dont think you should give up riding but i do think you should be rehoming that horse before it seriously hurts someone or worse!

To admit you are not compatable with this horse isnt the worst thing in the world but keeping a horse that could potentially kill you is so i think for your sake and that of the horse you should be looking to find him a new home. Be honest when you advertise him though.

Good luck and sorry to hear about your friend.
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so she should rehome before he hurts someone else! Totally irresponsible advice to give:( First find out if there is an explanation for his behaviour, fix it if poss then sell. If not poss to fix...grass ornament or PTS.
 
Foxy girl said:
I agree it sounds hectic(!) but to be fair we regularly ride out with a lot going on and this was all calm and quiet until he shot off. I am in no hurry to pass the horse on to anyone else and if I did believe this was his natural instinct, I wouldn't dream of putting anyone else in that situation.

I think redriverock has it right - I am not the one who can give him the confidence he needs and obviously my friend was even less experienced and maybe that's why he did what he did. What I can't get out of my head though is the fact that he endangered himself so much in the process. I am not sure of the difference between a 'bolter' and a young horse with an overdeveloped flight instinct - I think my boy is the latter and I have been fooling myself into thinking I can cope with him. What I actually need is something of 26, not 6, that's seen and done it all. Just gutted it's taken an incident like this to make me realise that...
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Dont feel bad, my haffie's previous owner was devastated at how things turned out but she had the sense to realise they were never going to work! He has a very cushy life with us and my 'strong' personality seems to be exactly what he needs...is there anyone at the yard who could help train him up abit so he is more sellable?
 
I am normally the only one who rides him and we hack out about 3 times a week and he is turned out all day, stabled at night - no hard feed, just hay. My little girl's instructor has ridden him and got good results - other than that it's mainly me.

So... hands up in hindsight yesterday probably was too much to ask of him BUT until he galloped off, he was calm, normal and seemingly taking it all in his stride on a route we ride all the time.

I will never know exactly what happened yesterday but I do know that he's probably too much for me to handle with my lack of confidence. I will get him checked again for any pain and will take it from there - hopefully with some professional help.

Thank you all for your advice.
 
redriverrock said:
Dont feel bad, my haffie's previous owner was devastated at how things turned out but she had the sense to realise they were never going to work! He has a very cushy life with us and my 'strong' personality seems to be exactly what he needs...is there anyone at the yard who could help train him up abit so he is more sellable?
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I keep him at home with my daughter's pony so a bit on my own with this one unfortunately!
 
Foxy girl said:
Thank you all - to answer some of your questions -

He has 'tanked off' with me on a fun ride and in a field but not 'bolted' - more he got his head down and either went back towards home/companions or was just feeling fresh. Although I didn't enjoy the experience either time, I never felt comepletely out of control.

Yesterday was a bolt - pure and simple. Yes, my friend is a 'rusty' rider and I did wonder if his imbalance might have had something to do with it, but I still can't work out why he set off - we were all together, pony alongside him, calmly walking.
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Ok, so he's acted like a lot of other horses then in the situation of a fun ride (all very exciting and all that), and some horses do find being ridden in a field rather exciting.

A rusty rider is not going to help - as this horse sounds like it is not suiteable for a novice.

Get your instructor on it. Get a capable rider to work it during the week for you and sell it.

It simply sounds too much horse for your experience.
 
Horse are unpredictable at the best of times. Don't assume that just because a horse appears quiet, that it's not churning inside. My girl lets me know if she's unhappy and will jog etc, but a friend of mines horse coliced in his stable after returning from a quiet road hack with us. All she had asked of him was to take the lead and it was enough to stress him out, although it didn't appear to at the time??
 
Thats difficult, presuming everything pans out ok re pain etc is there anyway you could give him the winter off riding and work on your bonding. It might seem abit hairy fairy but this is what we did. He was basically ill manered and lacking confidence...not a good mix in a big haffie who the term 'bull in a china shop' was invented for! We worked at his confidence from the ground (and without realising our confidence too) as if we were training him to be a police horse but also built on him respecting our space etc, we had no grey areas with this. I am a firm believer that if they dont respect you on the ground you have got no hope when you are on there backs, if they dont respect you how can you give them confidence? We had cones to walk around, tarpaulin to walk over, flags flapping, weird sudden noises...you get the picture! We did everything we could to up the scary situations...enough to slightly stress him but not enough to blow his mind and tank off...gradually he learnt to deal with his emotions and when things got really scarey he had the trust in us to know we would never ask him to do anything that was going to hurt him.
From what you have said your horsey sounds very like Shrek (our haffie), very calm and ploddy and then suddenly off and though I cant in all honesty say he will never do it again we are able to happily walk past the alpacas with no bother which is something I never thought we would beable to do.
 
Sounds as though it's a combination of (heavy?) unbalanced rider and a pain issue to me. Very frightening, though and so pleased your friend will recover. I echo what others have said about true bolters being very rare. I have never been bolted with and I've ridden a couple of hundred horses in my time, but I have been tanked off with a few times. The last time was with the 14hh cob at my yard. He had a double bridle on as well! He plans his tanks. He knows he is going to do it a minute or two before he does. You can see it. He does it in the school too.
 
Elsbells said:
I just love your Haffies name redriverrock:D:D
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Yes it is a little unusual! His breeder named him as he was a little 'ugly' as a foal...lets just say his nose and lips took a lot of growing into!!
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Foxy girl said:
I am normally the only one who rides him and we hack out about 3 times a week and he is turned out all day, stabled at night - no hard feed, just hay. My little girl's instructor has ridden him and got good results - other than that it's mainly me.

So... hands up in hindsight yesterday probably was too much to ask of him BUT until he galloped off, he was calm, normal and seemingly taking it all in his stride on a route we ride all the time.

I will never know exactly what happened yesterday but I do know that he's probably too much for me to handle with my lack of confidence. I will get him checked again for any pain and will take it from there - hopefully with some professional help.

Thank you all for your advice.
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A horse that runs into a fence is IMO a true bolter as they normally have the sense to save themselves. I wouldn't get on him again but I'm not overly brave either.
 
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