The first horse I viewed bolted with me!

Have you done any riding outside of a school environment? I think you would benefit from doing so before you go in and buy a horse. That was textbook - you clamped and went stiff and the horse lost his confidence in you - you cannot buy a young green horse if you can't give it confidence generally.

You have a gorgeous seat and hands and you will be a lovely rider, it just rings alarm bells that you say you have only had lessons - if this is the case, please go out and buy a suitable schoolmaster not a baby, you simply aren't capable of bringing on.

I thought it was clever to go out and buy a 5yo competition schooled TB, i wasn't good enough for him and paid the price dearly - please don't do the same!

I'd be after a 9yo+ or very sensible younger horse, ridden in a snaffle and cavesson with a forgiving nature - that wont mind when you get the jumping wrong.
 
Oh yes and that was not bolting, no way about it, it took off, took hold, ran away - but it did not bolt...

If it had bolted, that arena fence you spoke about - you'd have been flying through it..
 
When I watched I noticed he was wearing a lot straight off...I agree you have a fab seat and sit very quietly, until you get out of sync and he panics...I wouldn't class that as a bolt, just a bit of a 'take off' and as he's only 5 and green, it's totally understandable really. he looked like a nice horse though.

Good luck finding something more suitable
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Yea, horse didn't bolt, but I know it feels like that when your in the saddle and your not in control, you did ride him very nicely though, but I think as others have said that he is a bit young for your first horse and something more experienced would be better for you, good luck.
 
The one thing you have to be very careful about is what sort of horses some people describe as suitable for Novices. My latest horse was described as anyone's ride in his ad but tbh if he had ended up in a true novices hands it would be a disaster. Like the one you looked at he is 5 and what they really meant is he is very sane and sensible FOR A 5YO!! He will hack out in heavy traffic, he is very calm in new situations like shows but if something spooks him he is liable to whip round and shoot off at a million miles an hour. With a novice on board they would almost certainly hit the deck and scare the horse even more into the bargain and suddenly you have a vicious circle!! The other thing you have to think about when viewing a young sporthorse type is as they get fitter and stronger they are likely to get sharper not quieter. Although he looks a very nice horse indeed he certainly should not be the type you are looking at as a first horse after only lessons. Riding school horses are very different as they are desensitised to the riders aids in most cases. I am currently having to explain this to my 6 year old as she has lessons on riding school ponies but also has her own little pony and she has to ride them in very different ways!! If she gave the sort of kick to her pony that she needs to give to the RS ponies to get even get them to move she would be off very fast indeed!

Do be careful what sort of horses you go and look at and get on and ALWAYS make sure you see it ridden first by someone else and if you do not like what you see do not get on yourself if you think it does not look safe. Recently I have heard a couple of stories of people being injured badly trying horses and there are some dishonest sellers out there who will not be truthful about the horses true behaviour. The others are right you need to be looking at an older horse for your first and a steadier sort. Good luck! You ride very well for your experience and the right horse will bring you on lepas and bounds!
 
Lovely young horse.

Really dont think bolted just young and green.

I really dont understand why ppl who are not very exp riders want young horses? They can be hard work even for top riders.

I think you would have far more fun on a lovey been there done it type.
 
I am surprised that people think he was wearing a lot of kit, a snaffle, flash and running martingale doesnt seem excessive to me really.

As said before nice looking horse
nice looking rider (though you looked a bit tense to me)
bad match.

chalk it up to experience you will know when you find the right horse, I viewed 10 before finding my boy so just be patient
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edited to add, and when you are looking for your first, the more you see the more you get an idea of what you want and what questions to ask before viewing.
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Ok so I didn't get through reading all of the posts, but I think the general consensus is that he's gorgeous, but a bit too green. I agree with both of those thoughts! He's beautiful and looks to be about the right height for you, but he may be a bit too young. I think you're a beautiful rider, very quiet and it's fantastic that you were able to recognize that you were tipped a bit forward and you need to watch your diagonal.

I definitely think you should look into a more schooled horse. Mum and I bought a 5 y.o red-headed thoroughbred as our first horse. He taught me loads but shattered my confidence jumping (and sent me to the emergency room so often that they knew me by name). Mum shattered her ankle and was too scared to ride him after that. Thankfully we were able to sell him on and we got a western-trained quarter horse (best decision we ever made!). I would hate to see your confidence shattered or to have you become a defensive rider! Please look into an older (10+) horse!
 
Everyone has said sensibly to look at an older horse. I think that so many people want to buy something just a little too sharp for themselves and then this limits what they feel comfortable doing - does this make sense? So maybe on a really, safe, experienced horse they will have the confidence to do XC, gallop, hunt or whatever, whilst on a sharper horse the adrenaline will be rushing just schooling in an arena. If you want a long and fun relationship then choose a schoolmaster that can teach you. Good luck !!!
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I am surprised that people think he was wearing a lot of kit, a snaffle, flash and running martingale doesnt seem excessive to me really.


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Agreed E - not to you or I, but for a very novice rider and what looks like a novice buyer too - they can be small signs to perhaps take note of before jumping on board.
 
i think you rode very nicely, very neat quiet riding style.. just an unfortunate combination of your nerves trying out a new horse ( which can be scary and intimidating) and an inexperienced youngster... well done, hope you find the one for you - have fun trying lots of different horses
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I actually like this horse - he seemed very genuine and I have to agree with the others - this horse was NOT bolting but you did not have control, again due I think to you not being in balance with him and using your hands to balance whilst gripping with your legs. If he was truly bolting he would not have stopped when you pointed him at the arena fence but either gone over or through it.

However I do think you have the makings of being a nice rider but there is a huge difference between an experienced riding school horse and a private horse - not least as he was not have much experience of different riders and the slight differences in the aids they give.

Good luck in your search for a suitable horse, you look like you will be a sympathetic owner.
 
for your first horse i would go for somthing a bit older than 10, just becuase they are that bit older means that they have alot more expericance, and when u are getting your first horse you want them to be showing you wat they are ment to do at shows and not you showing them how to behave, if that makes any sense.
however saying that, you can find youngestes that are brilliajnt, when i was looking for connor, he was my first horse, i had previosly only had a pony for 7months, we were looking for somthing that had been there done it, however what did we end up with, a 4year old that had never been to a show before, :S and for someone that had only ever had a pony for 6months and before then riding lessons, it was on papaer a match made in hell. however saying that connor acted like a 20year old, he never was anytrouble in anyway. now we are looking for anouther horse becasue connor died and my dad wants to get a youngester, i am thinking fo getting somthing a bit older, but i am looking at younger ones as well as you never know what you might get.
what type of thing are you looking for, i can have a look for you atm, as i am only sitting here watching the rugby.

p.s it was highly recommened to me never to go for the first horse you see, so it could be seen as a blessing that he did bolt with you.
he did look lovely though, such a shame
hope this helps x
 
Thanks for all the comments guys & the compliments on my riding.
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As said before I am looking for a been there, done that type of horse. Thats really important to me. I didn't know he was 5 until I was actually there
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I wouldn't want a green youngster for my first horse - that isn't what I have set out of buy.
 
I just thought that if OP discounts all horses wearing a flash and martingale there wont be many left........
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well pancho obv but apart from him!
 
There's a lot of horses at my riding school wearing flashes and martingales.. so it's not like I haven't ridden a horse in them before. And to someone who asked if I'd only ever ridden in lessons, I used to share a horse and have worked in riding schools.

Thanks Kitsune. It says on the advert TBxID, then when I was there I asked if he was full TB and she said yes. I asked if he was an ex-racer and she said he had no show name on his passport, so he wouldn't of been raced.
 
Thats not always true, when I had Charlie I was told there is a way of racing TB's without them having to register a name.

It saves people paying out a lot of money for a horse that might be crap
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And Ester - Ed doesn't wear anything either - our lovely ginger nedz
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*coughs* cant always guarantee the snaffle though
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OP keep hunting, right horse will come along
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and you will learn as you see them, I am still on my first horse, had him nearly 5 years now
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You look like a lovely quiet rider, which this horse obviously appreciated. I think the "bolt" (run off after fence) was something and nothing really, just looks as if somerthing you did spooked him a little.

Good luck finding your perfect horse
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HorseSpirit said:
Well after spending a little over a year saving up 3k for my first horse on a part-time wage, and forcing myself to live off £40 a month, I finally went to view a horse today.

The one thing I absolutely hate is bolting.. the feeling of not being in control is just terrifying! He was much greener than I had been told, and was actually 5 when the advert said 6. He seemed to just bolt right out of the blue.

Lovely horse though, such a shame!

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWdJXHYpCws

Critique on my riding much much appreciated, I know its quite dreadful! Must remember to check my diagonal next time. Also leaning forward seems to be my newest habit.
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Bear in mind I've only ever had group lessons for 6 years, so as for getting a horse to work correctlty, I was basically guessing!
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As you are constantly having negative thoughts in your mind that is making the horse be afraid.and also tipping forward will make it so much worse as your body is saying faster and your hands are saying slower.Try to make your aids clearer.
 
First of all I echo what others have said - that wasn't a bolt! But well done for staying on. Would it be possible to take an instructor with you to view your next horse. I would suggest something 10+ thats been around the block a few times. Or even loaning and older chap for a year or two just to get you going until you find the right horse.
Good luck in your search.
 
nokia said:
if the lady said it bolted it must of bolted..where we their to see exactly what happened ?

Get ur self something older and wiser, a lot of colleges and riding centres give their old schoolmasters away free or quite cheep to good homes, we got one last year from mysc and a friend of mine got a retired police horse
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Damn right. She did not ask for the definition of bolting.

Whatever happened, a horse that is out of control could be considered to be bolting. You don't have to be at a flat-out gallop to be out of control!

I hope you found what you were looking for in the end, and employed someone with some experience in finding your new friend, and age DOESN'T really matter sometimes you know....i've dealt with younger horses that are like teddy bears. My mare who is 16 is a loon, don't fall into that trap!

Take your time in your search!
 
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Eaglestone said:
I am not sure if I would call that bolting though, but just he was a bit green and thought you wanted more?
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It's not bolting. I've noticed lots of people use the term bolting too easily (especially on You Tube!) when the horse is just cantering off a bit. Bolting is when the horse literally goes off full pelt and doesn't have any self preservation (when one of mine bolted, he went straight through a barbed wire fence!).

I think this horse is simply green. It wouldn't have put me off. Did you try another jump after? Perhaps look for an older horse? Youngsters will always be more unreliable than older ones as I'm sure you know.
 
I have only been back in the saddle for 3 years after a 15 year break. I brought my first horse inFeb 2010. He is a six year old, has competed etc sold as novice ride and he is pretty much like that from time to time. Looking back if I had known I wouldn't have brought him. But I love him to pieces and wouldn#t change him for the world, we just have to go through the highs and the complete confidence crashes. He charges like that when we jump (due to my lack of confidence and position) but I am learning how to sit to bring him back under control now, he also sometimes out of the blue does it when we do dressage. When we do a single jump I don't let im turn afterwards but make sure we stop straight and where I want. Or if all else fails I circle him in and he will stop.
 
I disagree DS, to label on a public forum, a horse a "bolter" when said horse is up for sale is a really bad thing to do. Especially when you have people here who are very knowledgeable who disagree with that statement. For the seller it could mean the difference between selling and not selling the horse, who with an experienced rider would not show any such tendancies!
 
This topic always bugs me. OK in this instance it looks very much like a horse and rider with no confidence in one another scaring each other, but I like a horse that stops when I pull the reins. If that jump had been a hedge out onto an open field are you so confident that it wouldn't have landed and run itself on into a full on bolt ending disastrously?

As people say its green, but to me f-ing off in a school is bolting, just not in its worst form or circumstance, like little tantrum rears in a school aren't vertical rears on the road, but they are still rears that the horse needs to learn aren't the way to go. That horse is at a stage in its life where it needs a confident rider to keep its training in the right direction.

OP, I hope you find something soon with better brakes. :D
 
I'd agree with everyone's comments - that he is a smashing horse but just too young for a first time buy. Go for something older that has been there and done it for your first horse. Lots of horses are lovely and quiet when 1st backed - and its around the 6yr old mark that they start pushing the boundaries a bit so definately not the best age to start off with.

I also think you are a really nice rider! You have a nice seat and really nice soft hands - and are what my dad would call a 'quiet' rider which is a big complement - nice and calm looking and relaxed. You rode him really nicely.

Hope you are not put off by that viewing - go and see lots more so you can get a real feel for what you are happy with. Could you also take the person you've been having lessons with at your riding school with you for advice / or someone a bit more experienced who could also ride the horses you go to see. Always good to get a 2nd opinion!

Happy horse shopping :)
 
Sorry but being nosey I looked at your other vids on Youtube and one was of you riding Bailey and it is dated September, and says you've owned him for months now! So how is this your first horse?

Dazed and confused!!
 
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