Yearling has started bolting while being lead

[WildLittleWren]

I agree with findeight above. I strongly suggest finding help, even if you have to haul her to someone. Reading their body language, staying 100% aware and tuned in at all times, and knowing exactly when she’s thinking of or starting to bolt is all about timing and is easiest and most effectively taught in person. I know you say there is no one within an hour of you, but unless you live literally in the middle of the mountains or somewhere where there are no horse owners at all, I guarantee you can find someone experienced with youngsters that would be willing to help you.

Every time she gets away from you, you will have to do quite a few successful repetitions of her NOT getting away from you, to undo it. It sounds like it has now become a bad habit. And she is only going to get larger, and harder to control. Trying to correct this on your own can be dangerous if you don’t know how to handle it, and there is NOTHING wrong with asking for help. It’s those that refuse to ask for help that end up in a pickle, or injured. Or with a horse that no one can handle.

Ask around at your local feed store or tack shops, and ask for referrals. Usually, the good trainers will come up in more than one conversation with one person, and you can get some contacts that way. Good luck OP.

[findeight]

Doesn’t even need to be a trainer with a big operation. An experienced horse professional like a farrier as in my case, or a breeder or neighboring barn owner or manager might be able to get you going in the right direction. A free lance trainer/ instructor ( one who travels to the client) is a possibility and it can be somebody from a completely different discipline, type or breed of horses then whatever you and most or all in your barn do. Even somebody with racetrack experience.

Its basic to everything so there’s got to be somebody.

[_Zara]

This is super interesting! I own a red mare who is magic on the ground but once in a blue moon forgets everything and goes feral.

Thanks to the pros for weighing in on how you’d correct this!

I’m in no way a pro, but intuition thinks of a few ways of correcting:

• negative reaction to bolting with chain/shank
• use a lunge so you can kinda let them spool out without losing control of them
• negative reaction to them wanting to leave met with "sending them off" and making them move so that they lose that strong desire to keep leaving
• using a rope halter or something with a little more "bite" in the nose after you no longer need chain

[Edre]

I’m going to echo the suggestion of getting an experienced handler in on this ASAP. There are absolutely ways to fix this (and there are suggestions - some of which have been made - that can set you on the road to correcting it) but you need to be very careful. This behavior can have dangerous consequences, not just for the horse but the handler as well.

Be very careful and be very mindful of your own safety. Any time you lead her make very sure that the line is held in such a way that it will not wrap around any part of you and tighten. A very experienced professional recently lost several fingers due to a leading accident - her hand got caught in a coil of line that tightened around it. This is not an unheard of type of accident.

Likewise, chains over the nose (if the horse manages to get loose) can actually make a loose horse situation worse (in terms of injury and reaction to pressure). You need to be very careful that you are on top of everything, especially if you are deciding to try to undertake working on this on your own. This is why I sincerely believe that a professional or experienced horse handler (regardless of how inconvenient it is to get to them or get them to you) is the wisest course of action for you.

[wildlifer]

Also, please wear a helmet when working with a horse who has learned to use their weight & speed to get what they want. Young horses especially can kick out lightning fast & you end up with a head injury. I definitely put on a helmet for groundwork if I think there is any risk of airborne feet - even if it doesn’t kill me, my income pays my mortgage so I can’t afford to lose that.

Horses need to “earn” the right to be treated normally, that goes double for opinionated babies!

I agree with others that it’s important to seek some help for yours & horse’s safety, but that help is probably more available than you think. Do you have a vet? A farrier? They should have recommendations or may be able to help you themselves.

Which is all to say that it’s an important skill set, which you can certainly learn, we all start somewhere & it’s hardly brain surgery, but there is nuance, so having some experience to help is important. Then you will be take what you learned from that & apply it in the future.

[Where_sMyWhite]

@_Zara

negative reaction to them wanting to leave met with "sending them off" and making them move so that they lose that strong desire to keep leaving [/LIST]

More how I viewed this is when they are doing something you don’t want, they need to keep their feet moving… you let them stop and see if they’ve figured out that whatever behavior it was they did meant they kept moving. At some point, the lightbulb will go on and they’ll figure out that bolting or snatching grass or crowding or whatever, means they have to keep their feet moving… not even necessarily an assertive trot… just not allowed to stop. When you let them stop, the choice is theirs to ‘behave’ or continue with the undesired behavior which then means feet keep moving again.

Make sure you plan your training ‘sessions’ such that if it takes 30 or 45 or 60 minutes or more for the message to sink in, it won’t make you late for work or that hot date

Gloves (always) and NEVER wrap the lead around your hand. Fold the lead so you are holding it in your hand. If the horse takes off, you won’t loose a finger or a hand.
Helmet.

[_Zara]

@Where'sMyWhite

More how I viewed this is when they are doing something you don’t want, they need to keep their feet moving… you let them stop and see if they’ve figured out that whatever behavior it was they did meant they kept moving. At some point, the lightbulb will go on and they’ll figure out that bolting or snatching grass or crowding or whatever, means they have to keep their feet moving… not even necessarily an assertive trot… just not allowed to stop. When you let them stop, the choice is theirs to ‘behave’ or continue with the undesired behavior which then means feet keep moving again.

Exactly!