Yearling has started bolting while being lead

[3.mares]

Hello.
I have a yearling that has recently started bolting away from me when I am leading her. She does it pretty much anytime she does not want to be with me, and I have no way of forcing her to stay with me. She lets me catch her easily but the minute she does not want to stay with me she is off, with very little warning. I believe she bolts so she can go eat grass as she never goes more than 30ft away from me. I know that her getting to eat grass is rewarding her bad behavior so I need to figure out how to stop her from getting away from me. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

To give you a little background info. she used rarely bolt and only when she was scared. The difference now is she does it all the time and just to go eat grass. I currently have a nylon halter that I am using on her, but plan on getting a rope one very soon. She is nearly 15hh.

[Highflyer]

Get someone who is experienced with young horses to handle her before it becomes an every day thing. An experienced person and a chain over the nose will probably cure it in a couple of days.

[merrygoround]

A properly fitted chain shank, held short, with your thumb on top on the lead rope will allow you to give a quick downward
snap of your wrist. This would entail holding the lead as if it were a rein.

Make her walk with her shoulder behind your shoulder. Wear, well fitted gloves, good shoes or boots. And stay alert at all times.

As suggested a professional may , in the beginning, be your best bet.

[enjoytheride]

You need someone experienced, while baby horses do forget their manners, it should be easily fixed by someone with experience.

[3.mares]

Thank you for responding. There is not really anyone experienced with young horses within an hour of me and am not in the situation to get anyone. I will definitely try the chain over the nose and have been considering doing that just wanted another person’s opinion.

[OneTwoMany]

@3.mares

Thank you for responding. There is not really anyone experienced with young horses within 2 hours of me and am not in the situation to get anyone. I will definitely try the chain over the nose and have been considering doing that just wanted another person’s opinion.

Young horses are very impressionable and it is important to nip unwanted behavior in the bud. If you cannot get a professional to come to you, see if you can haul her to a pro who will work with her for a week or two at his/her barn. If you don’t have experience breaking a bad habit like bolting, for safety reasons, it is a very good idea to learn the skill from a pro before you try DIY.

[Scribbler]

@3.mares

Thank you for responding. There is not really anyone experienced with young horses within an hour of me and am not in the situation to get anyone. I will definitely try the chain over the nose and have been considering doing that just wanted another person’s opinion. I have worked with horses 2 years and up but have never had a bolting problem before.

You need to up your game and make sure you are always leading correctly, horse’s head by your shoulder, both hands on lead, and relatively short rope. Use a rope halter, far more control than leather or nylon web. Keep alert and when horse so much as hints at a bolt, halt and back up or turn or take away her head. Wear gloves.

Things you cannot do with this horse: let her wander behind or in front of you; let her have a long rope; let your attention wander or daydream.

If you’ve only been working with horses 2 years and don’t have a mentor you are going to be a total beginner with young stock. You will probably find some of the ground work clinicians videos interesting and useful.

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[enjoytheride]

My concern is that you might not be experienced enough to correct this problem since you are asking about it, and you could make it worse and get injured. I don’t know you, but if you’ve had horses other people have put training on before, or don’t have a lot of experience, this might not be in your area of experience.

I dealt with a boarder who’s horse would rear and drag him or escape. He didn’t want to be mean, felt others were being mean when they helped, and got upset when people suggested he needed someone with more experience. He wasn’t skilled or quick enough to fix it on his own.

Since I handled the horse daily as part of my job I took care of it when he wasn’t around. He just assumed she had bonded with him and now loved him enough to behave.

[3.mares]

@Scribbler

You need to up your game and make sure you are always leading correctly, horse’s head by your shoulder, both hands on lead, and relatively short rope. Use a rope halter, far more control than leather or nylon web. Keep alert and when horse so much as hints at a bolt, halt and back up or turn or take away her head. Wear gloves.

Things you cannot do with this horse: let her wander behind or in front of you; let her have a long rope; let your attention wander or daydream.

If you’ve only been working with horses 2 years and don’t have a mentor you are going to be a total beginner with young stock. You will probably find some of the ground work clinicians videos interesting and useful.

”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

Thank you for the advice and will and I try to always be alert. I currently have a mare that is 5yrs now that I have had since she was 2yrs old, and she never had a problem bolting from the ground so I never learned to fix this type of problem. However this is my first time working with a horse under 2 yrs old so it is a new experience.

[Where_sMyWhite]

@OneTwoMany

Young horses are very impressionable and it is important to nip unwanted behavior in the bud.

FWIW, IMO, any horse can be impressionable, regardless of age. Every single interaction you have with either of your horses is a teaching/learning moment for them and for you. You need to be consistent in your interactions with your horses. Learning for them isn’t a on again, off again concept. They’re always learning. It’s up to you to make sure what they learn is what you want them to learn, not what they want to learn and get away with.

You’ve gotten into a bit of a pickle as your youngster has now learned she can be naughty and get away with it. She’s trained you As other have suggested, you need to learn how to correct and you need to consistently correct. At this point, you may need help breaking this bad habit that she’s learned.

Good luck with your girl. You can get this solved, you just might need some help

[3.mares]

@Where'sMyWhite

FWIW, IMO, any horse can be impressionable, regardless of age. Every single interaction you have with either of your horses is a teaching/learning moment for them and for you. You need to be consistent in your interactions with your horses. Learning for them isn’t a on again, off again concept. They’re always learning. It’s up to you to make sure what they learn is what you want them to learn, not what they want to learn and get away with.

You’ve gotten into a bit of a pickle as your youngster has now learned she can be naughty and get away with it. She’s trained you As other have suggested, you need to learn how to correct and you need to consistently correct. At this point, you may need help breaking this bad habit that she’s learned.

Good luck with your girl. You can get this solved, you just might need some help

I understand and completely agree with that. Thank you so much for the support and I know I can’t do it all on my own. So will definitely try to find someone to help me

[Hilary]

When my mare was 2 she thought she would test me and started rearing and bolting away when I was leading her. Realized she only did it when I was not actively leading, when I got a little distracted. So I set her up one day and pretended to not pay attention. I let the lead get long, I looked away from her and up she went. I went after her like a hell hound for 3 seconds and she stopped and looked at me. We continued walking with me being fake distracted and three steps she goes up again. This time I was 2 hell hounds. She came down and never did it again.

It’s very common that they begin to test you out as they get more independent so use a shank, wear gloves and a helmet and maybe carry a whip but most of all be 1000% aware of what she is thinking because she will likely give you a clue before she bolts off. Make it very unpleasant for 3 seconds then carry on like nothing happened.

[phoebetrainer]

All of the above - and get yourself a really decent length of rope and some good sticky gloves. I’ve started getting gardening or other work gloves with sticky palms. They are waaaay more grippy than most riding gloves.

[stb]

I agree with everyone else - chain over her nose and extra attention to good manners at all times.

Every time this horse gets away from you she is rewarded for her bad behavior - and not just by getting to eat grass. The bolt is the reward - she got what she wanted. So, chain over her nose, gloves on your hands, probably a longer lead rope, and the determination that you will not let her get away again. Ever. If you can’t make this happen you need to find someone who can. This will only get worse the more she gets away with it and the bigger she gets.

[dog_amp_horsemom]

I have bought quite a few unhandled yearlings and I start from day one - I use a rope halter and I make sure that I put it up snug ( as opposed to letting the nose band slide down too far as it is very sensitive there and can harm them) I prefer rope halter to the chain over the nose. ** there are quite a few videos on you tube that you can learn from, just search for handling yearlings ( or weanlings ). I teach the foal to back up first. she needs to learn that she cant run on top of you. I stand and imagine a circle around me that she needs to stay Out of. everytime she comes into that circle I back, back back her. I also walk them on the driveway ( where there isn’t any grass!) and walk three steps then stop and back her. stop for a minute and resume. I practice this in short sessions several times a day. I work babies frequently because I’m creating a foundation of good behavior that will last forever. It takes many repetitions to create habits so practice frequently. * when you walk, and then back up maybe 3 steps, then stop and let her relax, that is her reward. Don’t scare her but be patient and assertive but reward often by stopping when she does the right thing. You can also do this in a ring or round pen if you are afraid of her getting away.

[merrygoround]

RE: Scribbler’s response. I prefer a 12.5 foot lead. I have several made of flat Aerborn longe lines cut in half. They aren’t always easy to find.

Absolutely though keep the free end of line neatly in your other hand.

Neuman gloves have a sticky palm, are durable and great for riding,

[3.mares]

@Hilary

When my mare was 2 she thought she would test me and started rearing and bolting away when I was leading her. Realized she only did it when I was not actively leading, when I got a little distracted. So I set her up one day and pretended to not pay attention. I let the lead get long, I looked away from her and up she went. I went after her like a hell hound for 3 seconds and she stopped and looked at me. We continued walking with me being fake distracted and three steps she goes up again. This time I was 2 hell hounds. She came down and never did it again.

It’s very common that they begin to test you out as they get more independent so use a shank, wear gloves and a helmet and maybe carry a whip but most of all be 1000% aware of what she is thinking because she will likely give you a clue before she bolts off. Make it very unpleasant for 3 seconds then carry on like nothing happened.

Thank you so much for this. I will start using a shank and find some better gloves as the ones I have are not very good for gripping.

[3.mares]

@merrygoround

RE: Scribbler’s response. I prefer a 12.5 foot lead. I have several made of flat Aerborn longe lines cut in half. They aren’t always easy to find.

Absolutely though keep the free end of line neatly in your other hand.

Neuman gloves have a sticky palm, are durable and great for riding,

I have a lead that is about 12 foot that I use on her. And I will look into those gloves.

[Hilary]

Because my mare was rearing and kind of coming at me before she took off I had to be perhaps a bit more aggressive than you. You may be able to simply give her a sharp snap with the chain shank when she starts her move - it will likely surprise her because you’ve never done that - she just thinks she’s super clever getting away from you. So she doesn’t get away with it, and you continue like nothing happened (except you are on high alert to catch any naughty moments.)

[findeight]

Welcome to the brat stage. I feel most comfortable recommending you seek help from somebody who can really show you what to do and when. There are specific places to be when leading that keep you safe and allow you to control the horses body. Also different types of halters and ways to rig the lead to allow control without turning it into a tug o war or unpleasant experience for you and lifelong bad memory for the horse.

It really shouldn’t be more then a few hours worth of working with horse then teaching you how to do the same with some homework. Maybe twice a week for a few weeks. Try to work that out, it’s impossible to teach the horse and then you over the Internet, it’s a hands on situation.

Its also something you need to deal with NOW. She’s only going to get bigger and more independent and nature adds hormones that will be kicking in shortly this spring if she is coming two years old, next year if not this next spring, that often make them moody and more contrary. You need to get a handle on the manners promptly and better tools along with hands on instruction.

Its a journey with young horses, not everybody enjoys it or has the patience. I don’t. I got help, as you should. From my farrier so it’s not impossible to find that help and doesn’t have to cost much.