Has Anyone Ever Successfully Retrained a Bolting Horse?

[princessfluffybritch]

I can only speak from my experience with my current horse. Mine went thru a phase of bolting and dumping me for a few months. I think it was an evasion to working or me just not being able to correct it. That’s when I knew I had to do something myself after being dumped 6-7 times. I got an “Oh $hit” strap. I rode with my hands on the reins and the strap by the pommel. She attempted bolting several or more times until she realized she couldn’t unseat me. Eventually the problem went away and never came back. It’s been 5 years since then.

I had that strap on my saddle for emergencies for a whole year, LOL. I didn’t want to get dumped again.

[enjoytheride]

Once a confirmed bolter always a confirmed bolter. I had a mare that bolted every single time I rode her for 3 months? Whenever something upset her in any way whatsoever no matter what it was. I also rode her in a halter because having a bit in her mouth made her panic and if you stopped her to hard she’d rear.

My short answer is, shut down the bolt, pretend it never happened, continue on your path.

The bolting got less and less over the years and she became a nice horse but it was always there lurking in the wings for when she felt like getting out of dodge. She was a great cross country horse though!

If he’s a confirmed bolter and nobody has been able to fix it then I’d disclose that and sell him at a loss to someone who is physical enough to stick the bolt and not have a devastating injury from a brittle bone fall. With an older rider who has mobility issues and for whom falling off results in greater injury than normal there isn’t another option.

[staceyk]

I guess I’m having trouble getting past what the seller did. I’m selling a horse now, and I’m no pollyanna, but i want the buyers to know EVERYTHING before they buy. It’s the horse’s best chance for having a good life. I hope you are able to work something out to save your investment, protect your client, and keep a horse that has some great attributes from falling into bad hands.

[Hunterkid]

I rode a very bad bolter for a year or so for the owner. I found that if I just let her have her head and go with no pressure from me she would stop. She bolted about ten times and then never again (with me anyways).

[FreshAir]

He knows how to get the reaction he wants: the riding lesson is over and he can go hang out. He has to learn that the lesson is not over when he does that.

[Foxtrot_s]

I seems to me that if a horse has been mastered by their rider they will not try these and other tricks. But they never forget them, and when a new rider comes along, they might just try it on them. The habit remains hidden there in the recesses of their brain and then suddenly - woosh - it tries it out again.

I had it with an angelic pony that rushed through gates - when it sensed the person was not totally focussed on them…never with us, though. A perfect loader that would not load…

[miss_machine]

I echo other’s sentiments.

What’s the saying? Life’s too short to ride the wrong horse. If safety is a concern then that must be taken deeply into account. I would also be concerned about his behavior at shows knowing a rider was dismounted and the seller is murky with details.

A bolter can be reformed if the rider knows how to shut the horse down with a one rein stop. It sounds as though the seller did not disclose this behavior which is extremely unfortunate. I assume that the horse has gotten away with bolting and it is now a habit. It does not matter what the reason for bolting is, the horse must understand that bolting will not get him what he wants.

Therefore, you must decide if you want to deal with the behavior. It is a risk to you (or anyone’s health). The one rein stop is a relatively safe way of shutting down a bolting horse, and bits, such as a waterford, help keep the horse from bracing against the bit and running (useful when hacking or in particular environments conducive to bolting).

[merrygoround]

As mentioned before, it is frequently an insecurity. If the rider is quick enough to sit up close their legs, they can end it. If the rider is even more perceptive and paying attention they can catch it before it starts. These are not horses to ridden on the buckle, ever.

Dealing with these horses in a lay-up situation can be a real challenge.

So to answer the original question. they can be coped with , they can be ridden but they are not for everybody.

[LilyandBaron]

On the one rein stop - if the horse is in a true panic, they could fall. If it’s more misbehavior, it’s a great tool. But true panic - there is no tool known to man to stop a horse safely in that case, IMO. You have to stay on through the terror, then work them through it.

[Lusoluv]

I love the absolute, definitive comments that “these kind of horses can never be ridden on the buckle” or “once a bolter - it’s always lurking under the surface”, etc.

That’s the thing about horses…there are no absolutes. The bolter I had trained out of it, with no drama. I rode him on the buckle, took him to state parks to trail ride, got him to PSG in a snaffle, rode him around showgrounds and took him XC. Had him for 9 years and recently he is carting around a preteen girl. Mine is one of the many success stories voiced along with others. Not saying OP should be blinded by rose colored glasses, but the facts she presented sound like a very trainable situation. JMHO.

[Crockpot]

[QUOTE=Lusoluv;8562372]
I love the absolute, definitive comments that “these kind of horses can never be ridden on the buckle” or “once a bolter - it’s always lurking under the surface”, etc.

That’s the thing about horses…there are no absolutes. The bolter I had trained out of it, with no drama. I rode him on the buckle, took him to state parks to trail ride, got him to PSG in a snaffle, rode him around showgrounds and took him XC. Had him for 9 years and recently he is carting around a preteen girl. Mine is one of the many success stories voiced along with others. Not saying OP should be blinded by rose colored glasses, but the facts she presented sound like a very trainable situation. JMHO.[/QUOTE]

yes.It is a bit of a recurring theme here sometimes

such as when a horse bucks or bites then the Op is advised to put the horse down:eek:

[Kolsch]

I’ve ridden many an insecure dressage horse that relies on the rider and being on the aids for confidence. Unless the horse can be taught to have confidence when off the aids I would also recommend that great care be taken about where their comfort level lies. IOW, don’t ride them off the aids. Developing confidence when off the aids is something I think dressage riders neglect a little bit, because it’s easier to just keep them on the aids.

I have a horse that started out as a super quick to panic bolter. I rode it out, and overall he was a pretty easy fix. Although he’s now a super confident on the buckle hack horse for me, and has been so for years, I still feel that in the wrong situation with a rider that doesn’t know how to think ahead or use the aids properly, he’d be dangerous.

[LilyandBaron]

Horse sounds very rideable, but perhaps not for this rider. Most people who “reform” a bolter actually learn how to circumvent it. But if this rider is older, and at risk of injury in retraining, this may not be the best match for her.

[Satirical]

Both of my horses were bolters. I’m a glutton for punishment.

The only way they stopped was by me praying to the dirt gods and having a good seat from naughty ponies. As soon as I felt them tense, I would turn their nose into my knee. If I was too late on this and they already began to take off, I would use the emergency stop. I would turn their nose in or often put my palm into their crest and turn their head into the fence. These techniques work, but you have to be prepared that they may lose their balance.

Lucky for me, one was a 14.2 pony and the other a 16 hand well balanced guy. The pony mare would begin to slow down herself once she realized you survived the initial “blast off.” The gelding though…not so much.

Both of these horses had learned in the past that they could get out of work by doing this. The rider would either fall or…or get off the moment the bolting stopped. Bolting=going back to the pasture. They had to learn that this was not the case anymore, and instead, bolting meant more work.

They are both rehabilitated and have never tried bolting before. It took a few months to make it concrete.

[artisticgold]

I am SO happy to have all of these stories and opinions. I spoke again with our mutual trainer, and asked his honest opinion of whether he thinks I can work with this horse and this behavior and gave him my ideas of how I am going to start from scratch, as if this horse has never been ridden, do a lot of bomb proofing, clicker training, trust and confidence building, going on lots of hand walks, working in a round pen at first, then an enclosed arena. I also want to teach him to give to the bit, and learn to disengage the hindquarters, and follow the feel, so to speak. I won’t overface him, or put him in situation where he is made insecure to revert back to old habits, I don’t need a trail horse. I don’t think he has ever been ridden much outside of a ring, that is where he seems comfortable. If I can eventually ride him around my farm, and feel safe, then we will, as an end goal, but not for a long time…we will stick to what he is comfortable with. 24/7 turnout weather permitting, little to no starches/hard feed/vitamins, Canadians are air ferns so I don’t think they do well with what some other horses can eat and get away with.

I have always taken in horses that other people have let down, either starved, misunderstood, unbroke, badly behaving, lame, etc, and rehabbed them to the best of my abilities, and poured my heart and soul into them. Then I either kept them or if they needed a different rider, situation or whatever, I found them the perfect homes by carefully matching horse and owner, and keep following up on them. I’m going into this with my eyes wide open, and will keep reevaluating my approach and methods as we go on, and adjust.

I also am thinking about getting a comfortable aussie saddle to ride him in, totally different for him, and very secure for me, and changing the bit, too, so that there are no connections to previous training and bad episodes, at least at first. I do think he has always been ridden in a lot of contact, and maybe is insecure if he is on a long rein or not in constant connection to the rider. My upper level horse that I bought was like that, I could not at first ride him on a loose rein to warm up or cool down, he would just get scared and start scooting, now I can usually trust him to relax and not have to be collected and up all the time. I’d like to get this horse softer and lighter on the bit, not that he is pulling at all, just a bit heavier than I like and I’m not able to just flex my finger and have him give to it. The seller was a bit heavy with her hands and had him behind the vertical and head cranked up high with a whip and spurs. I want to be able to get him to stretch and bring his back up and under more and get more muscled there.

I somehow have a feeling that this gelding was meant to come to me. From the moment I spotted his ad when I was looking for a horse for my friend, and the moment I sat on his back, I felt a connection, and had an almost giddy type of school girl crush, just that we ‘fit’, and I could feel him under my seat questioning me as to who I was and what did I want, and adjusting himself to me without hesitation. I’ve never felt that way when going to try a horse. Very sensitive, intuitive and kind of an old soul, I think he may have been pushed and just treated like a machine, not an individual. I also think they are raised in huge herds and not handled much as babies, so a lot of early opportunities missed to teach him trust and not to fear.

When I went to see him down south a few weeks after he had gotten to the new owners barn, I stepped out of the car, said “Oh, There is the handsome boy” quietly. His head went up like a periscope, he locked eyes on me, and stepped half a step forward and stood there alert, watchful, concentrating on me, until I got to him and went up and petted him and started talking to him, whereupon he immediately started kissing me. It was very intense and focused, more than a normal reaction to a person coming up, I just KNEW he remembered me from our first and only meeting and couldn’t wait to see me. Maybe it’s fate, I lost my heart horse a few years ago, that I had that kind of intense soul to soul partnership with, maybe the one I lost has sent this one to me…Crazy, I know…lol

[Dee-Vee]

Yes, Canadians are traditionally raised “in families” au natural". And you are right, they are air ferns…so definitely no strarches.

I love the breed for their intelligence and athleticism…but they can be very stubborn and very determined. I have also experienced a Canadian whose brain was fried in training, and it was not pretty. Knowing the breed, he might have had just too many fights with the wrong trainer and has found an “escape hatch” that has worked for him in the past in bolting.

All said, give it your best try and hopefully your bond will carry you through. They are extremely loyal as a breed. Go slow and best of luck.

[LilyandBaron]

So happy to hear you will keep him! Sounds a bit like my boy - I just don’t expect to get him to be a super brave trail horse, but as you said, I don’t need that. In 9 years, while I still know it’s his fear reaction, it doesn’t bother me. And he’s actually being a lesson horse for a few months at an eventing barn! He’s for the intermediate and up riders, but he loves to jump and loves all the attention. I have no regrets keeping him, I just know my, and his, limits. Maybe someone else could train him to be a trail horse deluxe, but he’s happy, I’m happy. I hope your story is just as happy!

[Lusoluv]

CONGRATULATIONS Artisticgold. So happy for you and your new soulmate!!

[artisticgold]

Thank you, Dee Vee. It is my first experience with a Cheval Canadian, but I feel like he’s a very good boy under it all. I will definitely take it slow, and read all the signs, and try to set him up for success. I also will be drawing on the knowledge and experience of the people familiar with the breed, but all in all, it comes down to the individual animal. It’s good timing to get him now with spring and summer coming, I will have lots of time to work with him intensively. Cross your fingers that it works out! We need all the luck we can get!

[exploding_pony]

This sounds like a wonderful solution for the owner, you and the horse. A new beginning for everyone.