spooking and bolting (sorry quite long)

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cheeryplatypus

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seem to be getting into a spiral of problems with new horse and would appreciate any advice, here's what's happening:

i've had him a month, first he rushed a lot in the school but was ok, good to hack out with occasional spook but nothing major. then about three weeks ago he took major spook in school (which is a field) and bolted, i turned him to circle but he accelerated and i had to bale out, at which point he eventually stopped. we had a few good hacks, then a similar thing happened in the stubble field.

to cut a long story short i think this is the problem: horse loses confidence in rider, gets more spooky, rider thinks horse more spooky and cant relax. horse spooks and rider subconsciously grips to hold on and bolting ensues.

i've tried taking light seat to stop gripping but dont have the strength to stop him when he takes off (he's only seven and very sensitive to leg, also with grooming)

i have instructor now who says i must ride him everyday else will be heading to casualty!! now i'm even worse (used to give a fairly long rein on hack but yesterday held onto him which i'm sure made him more worried)

help

is their anything i can do on the ground to help him trust me more or do i just have to ride out the problem?
 
I think the issue is probably more to do with wide open spaces, and a bit of Yippee on the horses part.

Unless you have an enclosed menage, I would leave schooling in wide open spaces until you have the hang of each other a bit.

Enjoy getting to know each other for a few months by hacking out etc with friends and on your own.

And relax.........
 
he's 15.2 welsh cobx TB 7 yrs old(was sold as IDx but instructor thinks not)
he's fed alpha A oil and happy chaff in morning and at night and mineral supplement, trying to give ad lib hay (2 soaked nets at night and some in field during day)
his tack has been checked currently ridden in snaffle and flash, teeth recently rasped and feet just done last week

he's generally in at night and out during day but had to stay in a couple of days last week with the fields being so bad

he's been through two dealers and another owner in the last year but just seems to have been due to circumstances. he's easy to do otherwise although gets scared with noise eg when kicked a pole in the school
 
havent tried lunging him as field been quite muddy and didnt want any slips!, although bolting obviously much safer
laugh.gif
 
Groundwork could probably improve your relationship and trust with him. Have you tried natural horsemanship? I agree with avoiding the open spaces for now, he may be testing you out a bit too. My mare is terrible for this she spooks to check I'm concentrating and in charge. Rescue remedy for hacking and maybe hum your favourite tune? You must stay relaxed. But groundwork can be fun and rewarding.
 
Sorry to hear this K, especially with the trouble with the last one! Can you ride out with someone else for a while to get your confidence up? Spike is quite full of himself at the moment - I think we are getting spring grass through, but the muddy fields and dark nights make it hard to exercise him.

When he is spooky in the school I do something really quiet with him - walk and trot circles, working long and low, and walk to halt transitions, then leg yields and turn on the forehand. Do you think quiet work like this would help?
 
ground work will deffinately improve his trust in you, it helped me loads with my horse who happily follows me like a little lamb.
hes stll really nervious though so i have started playing all types of music to him whilst hes being groomed the louder and more head banging the better. i find this is helping to de sensatise him to new things.
but i find it has to be regular, we have a couple on the yard with young horses who wonder why they fall off when they only pull them out of there boxes into the sand school once every other weekend lol.
 
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