I’m sorry, you are going to have to clarify. A lot of horses with chronic behavior problems? My TB was a saint, my eventer is my baby but an immature brain. I have only had this guy a year and he came from a very busy show barn.So not sure if you have me mistaken for someone else.
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IME horses that bolt just run They dont really consider where they are going, they are just drunk on speed and freedom!
For the OP, I would consider some strong retraining, possibly with a good rope halter and long lead.
The long lead has been suggested and I think it is a good idea. It is something I am going to implement.
What about the one that was MORTIFIED of water? You described every which way you got him in, up to and including spurring and spanking, because you were at a show.
Maybe I have you mistaken for someone else.
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I know someone who got a steal of a deal of a lease on a nice 3’6 hunter. He was massive (17.2, probably) and he knew it, and super smart. Turns out every few weeks he’d just bolt off into the blue while being led - with the trainer, with the groom, once while the vet’s assistant was lunging him. He never left the property but he was tough to catch and seemed to be pretty proud of himself. It was a huge hassle and frankly pretty dangerous.
If your horse is randomly bolting off I’d lead him with a shank over the nose plus a longe line clipped under his chin, holding the shank firmly under his chin and the longe & end of the shank tightly in your other hand. Lead him with purpose, keep your attention ALWAYS on him, make sure his attention is always on you. Don’t assume he’s “being quiet,” assume he’s always an instant from bolting and conduct your interactions with him accordingly.
I’ve known plenty of horses who are difficult on the ground when they sense they can get away with it - ie with an inexperienced or distracted handler - but if you go into your interactions with every Pony Club safety measure in place, and lead them assertively and with confidence and focus, they realize you are not the person to try shenanigans with. I had a friend say to me once about her tricky horse: “If you expect him to be naughty and are prepared, he’ll be good. If you expect him to be good and let your guard down, he’ll be naughty.”
It also might be worth contacting whoever you got him from to ask about this. If they say “oh yeah, he does that, we always brought him in and out with a person on either side of him,” that’s useful info. And if he NEVER did this before… also useful info.
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Oh girl. That isn’t a bad owner or a problem horse. Seriously. This is why people have alters.
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This exactly him. His previous owner did say always use a chain meaning a chain over the nose when leading. I had been riding him a couple of months and loved him so didn’t give it a second thought and didn’t ask why. I just sent a message to the folks that were leasing him before me and asked if he had done this. They said once but had only leased him 3 months before they moved. We have been using a chain. He bolts with a chain. The little 90 pound girl that cleans and lets horses out is used to naughty and now uses a lip chain. We shall see if that is sufficient.
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Say (god forbid) he bolts and runs into traffic, gets struck by a car and kills the driver. You’re legally liable.
In my opinion - don’t wait for him to let you know if it’s sufficient or not. I’d be using a lip chain coupled with a longe until I were confident that his “outbursts” have ceased.
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We also are now closing the gate anytime he leaves or is taken to his pasture. It’s just the oddest thing. Running away from barn mates.
Yeah, it is, sorry you’re going through that.
While closing the gate will protect him and others (and you) from any sort of tragic ending, it won’t solve for the behavior issue.
If he were mine, and even if I were planning on keeping him forever - I’d reallly want to get that fixed. It’s certainly not easy and makes my bleeding heart sob, but I try to raise each of my animals (horses, dogs, kids… ha) in a way that if were to die tomorrow, they’d stand a chance at being tolerated. Tough love is tough, but I do believe your boy may need a bot of that diligence.
Take this with a grain of salt - just my opinion, but wishing you luck!
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I’ll leave it for others to decide. Horse goes training, and you can’t get him in the water.
https://forum.chronofhorse.com/t/horses-that-refused-water-that-you-had-to-quit-eventing/
You understand this is not the same horse, correct? I own 2 Holsteiners. 1 eventer and 1 jumper.
Yes. I’m saying that you have handling problems with multiple horses, when they were seemingly fine before they came to you. Sometimes the problem is not the horse, especially if it’s showing up in multiple animals.
I think we are done. I won’t be addressing you anymore. This is a forum to bounce things off other owners and you are not be helpful…at all. Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
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If you read, you will see that the horse had this problem before he came to the OP.
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Lots of horses move on from eventing because they don’t deal well with one type of obstacle or another. It’s actually good horse management to find a job that is more suitable to the animal when it doesn’t want to play. Especially in eventing, where things can go very wrong, very quickly.
That said, it does sound like this horse has a horse handling problem. He has learned that he can do this and have a fun field trip. It sounds like he probably did this before you got him. Now, you just have to figure out how to manage it.
I have one horse who is occasionally a cow to lead, chain over nose, lip chain, even if I take the reins over his head, he can get feral. For a while I led him with a line over his poll or only with his reins over his head. Now, he walks along normally with a chain over his nose. I’ve also cared for a horse (not mine) who could only be loaded on the trailer or put in a strange stall with two people leading him. He was perfect for everything else in life, old as dirt, and fine once he got where he was going, so we just did it the way he liked.
Lots of horses take off away from the other horses. I think they break down into two basic categories: #1 is terrified and just running, #2 knows what’s up and just wants to go on an adventure.
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He most definitely is number 2! Way way too smart! lol He goes to a show, he is all business. There was a tarp flapping right next to the warm up arena. Large tarp in gusty wind, zippo. Nadda. Could not care less. All business. You move a blue barrel 2’ to the left in his home indoor arena, the sky is falling!
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An experienced handler will not spank or spur a horse to get them into or over something. Especially not when the horse was going through it fine with a previous owner.
But when someone is a self-proclaimed unapologetic gadget lover (not my words), you can’t expect them to take the time to actually train a horse.
Riding =/= training. Each is it’s own specific skill set. You can be really great at the former and be piss poor at the latter.
This one? If he bolted with his previous owner, I will say I missed it.
Or the water one?
“He is a 17 hand 9 year old Holsteiner…oh did I mention I have video of this horse going training as a 6 year old. He only went back down to BN when I bought him because he had not been really worked in 2 years and I had not done above BN. He was brought along slowly and we gently worked in the Novice jumps until he was doing well. He is not over faced. All I want is just trotting willingly into water.”
