Tips to stop horse "bolting" under saddle

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Billy Pig

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Can anyone offer any advice please? I have a little cob who I've had for about 6 months. He is ace, so much fun, solid to hack etc. However, he has quite an anxious streak and can "bolt" which can be unnerving.
Today I took him in the school and he went from 0 to 60 and just kept going and going. On the left rein I had literally nothing, he kept galloping full pelt at the arena fence and I was pulling my left rein for dear life just to avoid running into it. Eventually he slowed a little (into a canter) but I still couldn't stop so I just kept him going in canter and when he felt tired I kept him going some more! I then swapped onto the right rein and he took off again, so repeated what I had done on the left rein and kept him going till tired. Eventually had a nice quiet trot on both reins and called it a day.
He is perfect to lunge and perfect for ground work (we had an incident of him taking off in hand a few months ago, which has been resolved since with groundwork) but just has his moments where he bolts under saddle.
He has also span and taken off on the road in canter when alone (no trigger that I can see) so have just continued to hack in company to build his confidence (is totally solid in company, not spooky or anxious etc.)
This whole bolting thing feels out of the blue with no obvious trigger.
He has regular physio, passed vetting when he was bought, up to date with teeth, saddle etc. (Literally wants for nothing).
I have swapped him into a pelham to try and gain an ounce of control, but doesnt seem to do much, neck is fixed and I literally have nothing. Can't one rein stop, can't steer, nothing...
It's not a regular occurrence, maybe once a week, he is otherwise golden but I'm worried he's going to make a habit of it!
My question is, has anyone got any training advice for this sort of thing?
 
What is his turnout situation and what are you feeding? I had one of my nastiest falls when a horse did this - the saddle went and I came off at speed. It was a friend's horse (I'd known the horse for years and never had an issue) and we thought it was a one-off until he did it again with a pro rider about 3 months later. She clocked that it was a balance issue and when he felt unbalanced he ran.

He'd been a happy hacker until my friend bought him and school work was all new. The school was huge but he was finding it too hard so we had to take it back many steps - well the pro rider did because I took a while to recover.

loads and loads of work in walk in the school. If he felt like he was about to boil over then he was brought back to a halt, everything was allowed to chill and then walk on again. On full turnout in summer he started to work really nicely but he did relapse when they had to come in overnight and his feed was cut back to just hay.
 
sbloom said:
I'm afraid I'd put money on pain - that the vet, physio and/or saddle fitter are all missing something. Second opinions potentially needed. Not that many things this severe are purely training or behavioural.

You may find it useful to use some of the resources on equitopiacenter.com to assess him yourself.
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Thanks so much, it's a really difficult one when all the professionals are saying there's nothing wrong! Will get second opinions and look at the link you've shared.
 
SEL said:
What is his turnout situation and what are you feeding? I had one of my nastiest falls when a horse did this - the saddle went and I came off at speed. It was a friend's horse (I'd known the horse for years and never had an issue) and we thought it was a one-off until he did it again with a pro rider about 3 months later. She clocked that it was a balance issue and when he felt unbalanced he ran.

He'd been a happy hacker until my friend bought him and school work was all new. The school was huge but he was finding it too hard so we had to take it back many steps - well the pro rider did because I took a while to recover.

loads and loads of work in walk in the school. If he felt like he was about to boil over then he was brought back to a halt, everything was allowed to chill and then walk on again. On full turnout in summer he started to work really nicely but he did relapse when they had to come in overnight and his feed was cut back to just hay.
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He is currently out 24/7 and gets a balancer, calmer and gut balancer.
I had thought after this morning's episode that it might be worth taking it straight back to walk work and build him up from there. He is an anxious soul and once something upsets him, he's then usually difficult to get to focus on schooling.
It's a shame because he schools really nicely, jumps like a stag and really knows his job, but has these random episodes where he feels anxious and takes off! Would love to know the trigger, but doesn't seem to be one 🤷🏼‍♀️
 
Any chance it correlates with a certain saddle pad? It's not unknown to have tiny bits of thistles or similar, not visible, but digging into the horse. I recommend it all the time but the Slow Walk Work on FB is great, free, start with the featured posts, it's so gentle it may help reveal anything else that might be going on.
 
sbloom said:
I'm afraid I'd put money on pain - that the vet, physio and/or saddle fitter are all missing something.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I'd say the same, I had a little horse like this and despite nothing obvious being found I, and the person who took him on from me, are convinced now that he was in pain somewhere. Mine was worse in that I couldn't school him at all from the day I bought him - he would go into a panic if I took him in the school. However he was solid to hack for about a month or 6 weeks, then his behaviour hacking deteriorated too. The more I rode the worse his behaviour got, and the more generally anxious he became. It was really sad. He was an anxious character anyway and without describing the whole backstory, I think he'd been set up to fail by his genetics and his backing and just had meltdowns when he couldn't cope.

With hindsight and some distance from the whole horrific situation I'm fairly the physical part of the problem was his back. He's in a companion home now because even if I'd found and fixed the problem, I'd lost all trust in him (although I didn't blame him at all). But for a horse I'd owned and had good time with for more than a couple of months, I would keep digging for an answer. Sorry you're in this situation and always try to remember it's not your fault.
 
Let's just say that's it's not pain and it's anxiety. I suspect what is happening is he is trigger stacking and obvious signs are being missed or ignored. Things like can he stand in the middle of the arena in a headcollar and be relaxed with a soft eye? If he can't then you can't expect it to be better under saddle. Is his attention on you or what is going on around him? Does he move when mounted? Does he brace when mounted? The list is pretty endless of ticks you should get before riding in an arena. It's easy to paper over a lot due to horses willingness but the holes will catch up. It would probably be worth your time finding an alternative trainer in the guise of Warwick Schiller/ joe Midgley/ Sean Coleman/ Jason Webb ilk.
 
How old is the horse?

My youngster is away being started at the moment, not to go into details but he didn't have the best start to his ridden career and is very anxious about the rider. Horses are fight or flight creatures when stressed and he certainly has the flight! He's away with a very reputable trainer re-educating that it's okay to be scared, but you need to work out a different answer than running!
 
sbloom said:
I'm afraid I'd put money on pain - that the vet, physio and/or saddle fitter are all missing something. Second opinions potentially needed. Not that many things this severe are purely training or behavioural.

You may find it useful to use some of the resources on equitopiacenter.com to assess him yourself.
Click to expand...
^^^ This.

Something somewhere is causing him pain. I had a similar situation with my coblet; she's a total sweetie out hacking but on the few occasions I'd taken her in the school, she was beginning to buck when asked to go into canter. She was also hollowing out her back & poking her nose - all of which was very unlike her.

Turned out one of her stifles was inflamed.

Yes know you've done the bog-standard "checks", but please don't think he is "being naughty" because he isn't. He is telling you something.
 
If you get on him again use a standing martingale for his own and your safety as it sounds so unpredictable

If he is out of control to that extent I would revert to lunging and long reining in the arena to see if he is the same and until you decide what line of investigations to undertake

Is he responsive to the bit, does he understand what is being asked, is he part trotter, do you lunge before riding is he turned out before riding, is the person riding him when he spins on the road competant
 
LEC said:
Let's just say that's it's not pain and it's anxiety. I suspect what is happening is he is trigger stacking and obvious signs are being missed or ignored. Things like can he stand in the middle of the arena in a headcollar and be relaxed with a soft eye? If he can't then you can't expect it to be better under saddle. Is his attention on you or what is going on around him? Does he move when mounted? Does he brace when mounted? The list is pretty endless of ticks you should get before riding in an arena. It's easy to paper over a lot due to horses willingness but the holes will catch up. It would probably be worth your time finding an alternative trainer in the guise of Warwick Schiller/ joe Midgley/ Sean Coleman/ Jason Webb ilk.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I'm erring more towards the anxiety side. He is an anxious soul and is such a people pleaser. He is certainly more relaxed in hand and once he's had his "moment" under saddle, will settle and I'll get some okay schooling work out of him...
His attention is generally on me, though we haven't long moved to a new yard so he did have a look around the new arena (however he has been to competition venues and not been bothered)
He's solid to mount and doesn't move once you're mounted unless asked to.
I think I'll be looking at second opinions on the pain front and then look at a trainer. Interestingly he's never done this when having lessons, so it's been difficult to emulate for someone to offer advice from the ground!
 
Shoei said:
How old is the horse?

My youngster is away being started at the moment, not to go into details but he didn't have the best start to his ridden career and is very anxious about the rider. Horses are fight or flight creatures when stressed and he certainly has the flight! He's away with a very reputable trainer re-educating that it's okay to be scared, but you need to work out a different answer than running!
Click to expand...
Thank you, will be looking into a trainer once I've had second opinions on the pain front. He is 7 years old.
 
tristars said:
If you get on him again use a standing martingale for his own and your safety as it sounds so unpredictable

If he is out of control to that extent I would revert to lunging and long reining in the arena to see if he is the same and until you decide what line of investigations to undertake

Is he responsive to the bit, does he understand what is being asked, is he part trotter, do you lunge before riding is he turned out before riding, is the person riding him when he spins on the road competant
Click to expand...
Thank you, he will do similar on the lunge occasionally, but will soon settle. Is also much easier to hold on the lunge!
He's responsive to the bit generally speaking, but when he takes off I have nothing. Once he settles again, is back to listening.
I don't lunge before riding, but happy to. He has no trotter in him, is full traditional, and he is currently living out 24/7.
He has span on the road with me a total of 3 times, and I've always been able to stop after about 10 seconds (though it took some real doing) - I have since only hacked in company (apart from the short 30 minute ride that he knows well as he's only done it when he's been on rides he's less familiar with.)
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
^^^ This.

Something somewhere is causing him pain. I had a similar situation with my coblet; she's a total sweetie out hacking but on the few occasions I'd taken her in the school, she was beginning to buck when asked to go into canter. She was also hollowing out her back & poking her nose - all of which was very unlike her.

Turned out one of her stifles was inflamed.

Yes know you've done the bog-standard "checks", but please don't think he is "being naughty" because he isn't. He is telling you something.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much. I would never put it down to naughtiness as appreciate this is a reaction to something, whether it's anxiety or pain. As he'd been cleared by professionals, I'd put it down to anxiety, which is why I was wondering if anyone had any training advice. Given some of the responses on here, I think it's best I seek a second opinion on the saddle, teeth, back, vet front.
 
sbloom said:
Any chance it correlates with a certain saddle pad? It's not unknown to have tiny bits of thistles or similar, not visible, but digging into the horse. I recommend it all the time but the Slow Walk Work on FB is great, free, start with the featured posts, it's so gentle it may help reveal anything else that might be going on.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I have requested to join the page! And I only ever ride him in an equitex, he swaps between 2 pads and, to be honest, this hasn't happened frequently enough for me to decipher a trigger! He can be absolutely foot perfect for weeks, then randomly take off one day, and then be fine for weeks again! It seems very random.
 
With my cob anxiety IS pain. It took a long time for me and the vet to put that together, but once we got some subtle, niggly bilateral lameness under control I suddenly had a much less anxious and sensitive little horse. She had never been any different since I had her and I backed her myself so the anxiety wasn't thought of as a symptom, just how she was.

She was also mostly fine until she wasn't. It was her stifle slipping and causing intermittent pain that was the issue. She did a tiny spook one day, we think just stepped slightly wrong on a soft surface and took off with me, similar to your boy. Proper big big flight response. It was so extreme I couldn't put it down to just being anxious anymore but until then she just looked weak behind rather than unsound. We did cartrophen as an experiment and the change in her general anxiety levels was pretty profound.
 
smolmaus said:
With my cob anxiety IS pain. It took a long time for me and the vet to put that together, but once we got some subtle, niggly bilateral lameness under control I suddenly had a much less anxious and sensitive little horse. She had never been any different since I had her and I backed her myself so the anxiety wasn't thought of as a symptom, just how she was.

She was also mostly fine until she wasn't. It was her stifle slipping and causing intermittent pain that was the issue. She did a tiny spook one day, we think just stepped slightly wrong on a soft surface and took off with me, similar to your boy. Proper big big flight response. It was so extreme I couldn't put it down to just being anxious anymore but until then she just looked weak behind rather than unsound. We did cartrophen as an experiment and the change in her general anxiety levels was pretty profound.
Click to expand...
Really interesting thank you! I will discuss this with the vet.
 
If it is down to anxiety it may get better with time. Mine did this quite a bit when I first got him, though always preceded by something that worried him. Out hacking it would be something that spooked him suddenly, and he'd spin and bolt off. In the school it was usually more 'trigger stacking' where he'd get progressively more worked up by what I was asking until something tipped him over the edge and he'd shoot off. I've had him for 2 years now and he very rarely does it, in fact he bolted with me last weekend and I realised it was the first time in a LONG time. The reason this time was because he refused a jump with a spooky filler and unseated me a bit, and me being unbalanced panicked him and set him off, so pretty excusable really. I think a big thing for mine in the early days was that he's an anxious soul anyway and he just didn't trust me, so when he was worried he took matters into his own hands and decided to get himself outta there! I also think he had been ridden by very strong riders in the past where he wasn't necessarily 'heard' so his tension would build to a point of panic. I don't have a magic cure sorry but I'm quite a quiet and calm person in general and I think we have just built our relationship to the point where he doesn't worry as much anymore, I can also identify the triggers where he is getting upset by something and take the pressure down a notch until he feels calm and responsive again. I'd be curious about your horses history? You may need to strip it all back a bit and keep everything very calm and within his comfort zone for a while until he realises he can trust you and builds more confidence about what is being asked of him. It can be one step forward and two back at times with my boy but generally he is now a pretty relaxed chap.
 
In my experience, a spooky horse will shoot off, but once past the initial fright will stop fairly soon. A bolshy trying their luck young one might run off with intent - but there is no panic in it and you can see a pattern - they are bored or the exercise was hard. If the running off gets them nowhere then they soon stop bothering and a stronger bit will work to help.

Horses in pain will shoot off and keep running, because the pain is still there, chasing them as it were, and the stimulus that caused the run never goes away. Eventually tiredness might overcome or the person on top might manage to get through to them.

I would start with your saddle. Look up the basics of fitting and check for tightness, basic checks on the tree and check it’s not bridging underneath.
 
We had one like this, eventually hind end lameness showed up in the form of PSD, once that was sorted front end lameness turned up and that had been the route cause of the behaviour. Had been compensating for a very long time and lameness had been disguised by this.
 
maya2008 said:
In my experience, a spooky horse will shoot off, but once past the initial fright will stop fairly soon. A bolshy trying their luck young one might run off with intent - but there is no panic in it and you can see a pattern - they are bored or the exercise was hard. If the running off gets them nowhere then they soon stop bothering and a stronger bit will work to help.

Horses in pain will shoot off and keep running, because the pain is still there, chasing them as it were, and the stimulus that caused the run never goes away. Eventually tiredness might overcome or the person on top might manage to get through to them.

I would start with your saddle. Look up the basics of fitting and check for tightness, basic checks on the tree and check it’s not bridging underneath.
Click to expand...

I agree but the only caveat I will add in the first example is that a spooky horse taking off can escalate into a full bolt depending how the rider reacts. If the horse takes off, the rider tenses up and panics it can spiral into a full bolt on an anxious horse as you are now compounding their fear because they see you panicking too. This is the case with mine anyway, if you drop the contact let him go forward for a bit and then calmly bring him back, the situation de-escalates fairly quickly, if you grab at him and start hauling on his mouth and tensing up yourself he doubles down and spirals into a full panic mode.
 
My chunky cob who was bought for me to pootle about on hacking and doing some low-level riding club stuff has run blind a few times. He’s done it with me out hacking and with my daughter (who rides for a living) in the arena. It’s totally out of character as he’s normally an energy conserver .. his normal spooks are half a step sideways or a couple of strides of canter before coming back to a slightly apologetic halt. When he’s listening he’s very polite and responsive - doesn’t need too much leg and has a usually very reliable stop ‘button’. He’s not generally spooky or stressy but when he’s gone it’s lightning quick and there’s been no obvious trigger. He’s completely panicked, running blind and you can’t get through to him - no steering or brakes until he finally runs out of steam. He passed a five stage vetting when I bought him and leg x-rays were all good. Our vet came to do a work up and couldn’t find anything amiss although agrees with us that it’s almost certainly pain which is causing such an out of character reaction. He’s had his back x-rayed (all clean) and we’re getting him scoped this week just in case it’s ulcers. But if we can’t find anything we’ll assume there is something and retire him. I’m too old and have had too many injuries to take the risk riding him unless I’m absolutely certain he’s not in pain.
 
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