How to manage bolting?

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DJR
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How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Sat May 27, 2017 2:13 pm

I've been riding for about 35 yrs now, and I've never come across a true bolter before. Even when I rode race horses back in my 20s, they didn't bolt. Sure they'd get strong, but that was different and manageable. Sorry this is long to paint the picture accurately.

Fast forward to this Fjord-x large pony mare, Aggie, that I bought 3 yrs ago hoping that she'd be a "move up" mount for my petite/timid daughter. Aggie has always been spooky/snorty and I've been working on that since I got her with a large improvement in it. She always has - and likely always will - a bit of snortishness/spook in her. Not even really "spook" so much as hypervigilance. I do not know about her first 5 yrs as she came from an uncertain background, and I suspect she had little to no handling as a youngster.

At any rate, I'd been working with her myself and doing well. I showed her in 2015 in walk-trot divisions and even did some short-course eventing at the 18"-24" level, and she did very well. Then she was accidentally bred at a boarding facility I had her at early in 2015 so I had to stop riding her and let her be a broodmare through the majority of the 2016 riding season. I restarted her late in 2016 and added some canter, and brought her to a jumping clinic as a greenie late last fall. I didn't ride her much all winter because of the crappy footing we had this winter, then re-started her again in March/April with more focus on getting her canter improved.

Her canter has always been not-very-nice. Rushed, unbalanced, skittery. But even that was coming along. But if I back up a bit in this story, I remember very, very short instances where she'd throw up her head, invert, and skitter forward very fast, even sometimes at the trot. It was always associated with either snorty/spookiness or, more often, loss of balance (and I suspect some fear as a result).

Nevertheless, I kept working on the basics in walk-trot and asked for canter only when she either offered it, or was perfectly set up for it. That strategy was working really nicely and her canter was coming along to the point that I could consistently get her into canter quite easily and she'd pick up the correct lead almost all of the time. But once in awhile she'd do this invert/skitter thing which would be quite off-putting as the rider because I'd suddenly have NOTHING to sit on and very little control.

Anyway, you can see where this is going. I rode her two weeks ago and she was giving me some delightful trot work and leg-yield, and then I proceeded to work on canter. She was distracted by the bozo horses two paddocks over but was still soft and attentive with me, so after the nice trot work I asked for canter. It was its usual quality so I decided to do some canter-trot-canter transitions. On the 2nd one, she lost her balance and threw in her shoulder. I asked her to step out and lift back up (think slight LY out on the 20m circle) and she inverted and skittered out from underneath me VERY dramatically. I tried to supple her back to something I could manage and thought I had her, then she did it again, dove left, dove right, and BOLTED hard. I had NO control. I kept thinking I was almost regaining control then she'd throw a shoulder one way or the other (and a 5'7" person riding a 14.1h pony does not appreciate these sudden "where's the pony going" moves!). I simply could not get her back and she kept speeding up, so after she'd done this crazed bolting all the way across the long diagonal and down through the grass beyond the short side of the arena, I ditched into the grass at full hand gallop (because the next option was the fence or the gravel pile!).

Unfortunately, I landed extremely hard directly on a small hillock in the grass right on my left SI joint. I've been out of the saddle for 2 wks and my physio says MAYBE I can ride again next week. (Why does this always happen during show season?!!!) I'm hoping that the SI pain I have doesn't become the "gift that keeps on giving".

Meanwhile, I'm not sure how to approach this pony. For the first time in my life, I am fearful to ride her again. I've NEVER had that situation where I had no control before. How does one manage a bolter? I do realize now in hindsight that I need to have a running martingale on her so that I have some leverage when she inverts (which always precedes the skitter/bolt). Anything else? I'm also contemplating selling her (with full disclosure) because she is not going to be the right "move up" pony for my timid daughter since she always has this snorty/fearful vibe to her even if just a sliver of it in the background. It's a shame because she is otherwise a delightful mare and cute as a button.

Ideas?

P.S. Here is a video of her doing a training level test at a very fun/informal schooling show we went to in April. You can see that she is still very green, and in the canter work you can see how she occasionally flips her head up. In the warm-up for this show, she did a mini-skittter/bolt but (as usual) I was able to supple her back to something manageable within 2-3 strides. When she bolted at home 2 weeks ago, she did this but kept her head flipped up the whole time, so I had nothing to work with in my hands and no pony under my seat. She was more distracted & disconnected at this show because her pony friend was out of her sight and she was upset about it. At home, her contact/connection was much better but still a work in progress.
https://youtu.be/OGjDs9Q4uMs
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Srhorselady » Sat May 27, 2017 4:48 pm

No expert on bolting horses, but I watched your video. I'm assuming her teeth are good so I'm wondering about the bit. She has that fjord neck so she's able to get a lot of leverage going too. Most of the flipping seems to come when there's a little contact. Have you experimented with bits? Not a harsher bit, but maybe a steadier one or more tongue room? Sometimes it looks like the bit may hit a tooth? Then she uses that as the trigger...

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Srhorselady » Sat May 27, 2017 7:08 pm

Addendum to above. I finally remembered where I'd seen a horse flipping his head like she is. I was given a nice quarter horse who started life as a roping horse then became a trail/all around horse several years ago. He'd been in a curb for years. His first English bridle had a French snaffle. That movement with the head is exactly what he was doing. We tried a single and no better. The mullin was much better and he was steadier in the bridle. (This was all over several weeks and several rides with different riders.). So we went with the mullin. Then one day when I wasn't there to groom my trainer grabbed the wrong bridle with another bit and Cowboy loved it! He is now in a in a Sprenger B bauchet. He's not showing so that isn't an issue. But the point is he wasn't happy with those other bits and would flip his head and get pissy just like your mare. I think he likes the steadiness of the bauchet.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Kyra's Mom » Sat May 27, 2017 7:45 pm

I know nothing of (real) bolting. And like you, would be very hesitant to try and deal with it. My mare will tuck her butt and scoot but she comes right back to me and that is extremely rare these days.

It looks to me like the saddle is right on her shoulders and the girth very close to her elbows. Could she be getting pinched? You look like you are riding a bit of a forward, lighter seat (especially in canter) which doesn't help her balance issue. I am sure saddle fit for an adult saddle on a short backed pony is difficult. Do you have an offset girth your could try on her?

The other thing is you have a tall torso. You said as she took off she would drop a shoulder and you were unbalanced and then this repeated itself several times before you bailed. I think the loss of her balance repeatedly probably scared the crap out of her? As to how to deal with it? I will leave that to someone that actually has dealt with bolting. I can just see some reasons why it might have happened.

I don't think you will ever trust her, especially with your daughter so my inclination would be to sell her with disclosure. She is cute as a button. It is probably where ponies are a disadvantage is getting a shorter rider that can effectively deal with the stuff they throw out.

Good luck and jingles for further healing.

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Last edited by Kyra's Mom on Sun May 28, 2017 5:31 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Kyra's Mom » Sun May 28, 2017 5:28 am

Duplicate.
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DJR
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Sun May 28, 2017 2:15 pm

Thanks for the comments to date.

Yes, her teeth are fine. Her current bit is a semi-fat double-jointed D-ring snaffle. To be honest, I'd never considered the bit as a potential cause, but now feel "DUH" for that oversight! It sure makes sense.

Saddle-wise, it does fit her fairly well but it's an 18" Amerigo and takes up a lot of her back. Girth-wise, it was hard for me to find a short enough girth so it's just a straight, non-anatomic dressage girth. I think it would be worth it to find an anatomic girth as she is built much like my Friesian/Perch who also needs an anatomic-style girth to clear the shoulder.

But what rings the most true is my tall torso relative to her size, and the balance issue. She normally takes a steadier contact at home when she's more relaxed so I tend to think that the head flipping is more multifactorial with balance & fear being at the root of it.

It was terrifying being on her when she was out of control, though. And there's no way my timid daughter could cope with that. I've advertised her and had a couple of nibbles so will see if either turn out. I may look at a long-term lease so that I can keep tabs on her because the one thing that worries me about selling a horse with a problem is that they can, far too easily, end up being turned over multiple times to their detriment.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Gwen » Sun May 28, 2017 2:47 pm

I don't think I have anything helpful, just sympathizing. I know that drop and go feel, it's Callie's go to and it's so disconcerting to have a horse who was under you and in your hand to just be gone in a blink. She's never gone quite that out of control but I have had moments of "hm, can I stop this?" and it's no fun at all.

Jingles for finding the right place for her, and for finding your daughter the perfect move up horse!

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Cookie » Sun May 28, 2017 6:25 pm

Ugh, that feeling of "drop and go" is very disconcerting. Years ago when I was having some issues with my horse, that's what he would do. Pop his shoulder out, drop his back and bolt. Nothing to sit on and no control and I couldn't stop it. I've also been riding as long as you have, so was quite a humbling experience and I felt like a failure as a rider. I also had never encountered a horse that could just get a way from me like that. Not a good feeling... :( I don't blame you for not wanting to ride her. There was a while when I wasn't sure I would get through it with my horse.

I don't know much else about your riding or your pony, so not sure if this is helpful. My horse can get hot and tense and I realized though much work and training that one of my problems was that, despite my experience with riding many horses, I was being much too passive with him. As a consequence he would get tense and then he took over largely just because I wasn't there to be the boss. Once I began to really take over the ride, I learned that he actually is comforted by that. Turns out left to his own devices he makes bad decisions. :lol: But when I take over and ride him firmly and assertively he just lets me take over and make the decisions. And we are both happier for it. He's actually a very good boy now but I think he could also have ended somewhere bad. (To clarify, I'm not being mean at all when I ride him, but I do have to get strong sometimes and be very clear about what I am asking and I don't really give him much choice in the matter.)

Again, not knowing you or the pony this may not apply to you, but thought I would share and say I can commiserate.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby LTison » Sun May 28, 2017 6:36 pm

What a beautiful pony! Although I have not contended with a bolting horse before, I do know a saddle that is beyond their last rib can cause lots of problems. Is if possible the saddle is too long? I believe the Amerigo has the upswept panels in the back, giving you a little more room, but I also ride in an 18 in, and had to buy a 17.5 saddle for my short backed 16.2 mare to avoid saddling over the last rib. Something to at least consider. Best of luck to you.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Dreamer » Sun May 28, 2017 10:07 pm

This sounds exactly like my horse when he has ulcers. Mostly left lead. Scrambles at canter depart, no control but I was in an indoor so had walls. Treating for ulcers and th e symptom went away within a week.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby silk » Sun May 28, 2017 10:22 pm

FWIW I don't think 5'7" on 14.2 is overkill (I'm 5'7", though not long torso). The bolt reaction sounds fear-based from your description.
I do think an 18 inch saddle may be too large, even if she is long in the back, so that would be something I'd check was truly right for the pony.
I would look at her bit, assuming teeth are not in play (you note they are OK).
Ulcers is a good suggestion, too. I would check feet, and ensure there is no bar/heel pain.

What does she do after a bolt where you come off? Does she settle quickly or remain hyper vigilant? Does she appear at all concerned about 'you' or just her own self? Does she go so far as to check out about herself, ie no sense of self-preservation?

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby demi » Mon May 29, 2017 12:24 am

I wish I had a good answer for you. I can only commiserate. i hope you're healing well. I remember you from UDBB as well as here and have the impression that you are a good horsewoman. I think whatever you do with the pony "it's gonna be ok". Be very careful. You have other nice horses to work with and more importantly, a little girl that needs you.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Chisamba » Mon May 29, 2017 12:49 am

I have dealt with an horrific bolter in the past, and my only successful cure was to put the horse and a circle and let it calm itself. Now it depends on how brave you are, you can do a hairpin one rein stop type circle, which i usually teach from the ground first, because it does exactly what we do not want in dressage, it disengages the front end from the back.

Question, do you trust the pony not to hurt itself? If your pony is not going to hurt herself, then staying on board is your safest option. So trust that the pony will not hurt itself, so you will be safe if you stay with it, then you just stay on til it stops bolting. If the pony runs for home, then the fear is usually of being alone and you spend more time working on it being okay away from others, if it stops in the arena, then the fear could be a balance issue, or sense of escape from the rider, the cure for that too is to work on rider acceptance and human bonding, in other words, you can separate the pony from the herd, work with her regularly until she is more about the human interaction, and less about the herd.

So the best bet is to try and work out why the pony or horse is bolting, what causes the extreme flight reaction, and then take the steps to break that into small steps and teach the horse to control it in a safe manner.

Now, it is not a dressage move, but there is a one rein stop thing that western people teach most barrel horses or horses that have to run and then stop. You start on the ground and you ask the horse to flex til its nose touches its rib, and as soon as it relaxes and releases you release. you do it in both directions and you do it several times every time you handle the horse, until it associates the bend with stopping and relaxing. it is hard to describe and i am pretty sure it is a move commonly used by NH people. i know there are lots of video on you tube and other things listed and one rein stop, if you want to look into it.

if you have a horse that fidgets, will not stand in hand, jigs anxiously when it is in hand away from its friends, this is useful on the ground. I am sure there are a lot of dressage reasons not to do this, but from a simple control and manner a horse, i have found it works.

So you do it in hand until the horse associates the over bend with stop and calm. once you have that, you can teach it under saddle. while simply mounted and the horse is in a relaxed state, take a full bend, the horse will move a bit to find its balance, but as soon as it halts completely, you release. do this in both directions until the horse begins to associate the bend with standing and calm.

the if you are riding and the horse begins to act nervous or skitter, you take a bend and let it stand, as soon as it stands with bend,, you release the bend and let it just stand relaxed on a loose rein as reward. then to make sure that you can safely do it, you try it at a trot in each direction too. So as soon as the horse begins to bolt, before it hits full speed you just take the extreme bend, until the horse stops and relaxes.

if you do not want to teach the one rein stop, then you have to rely on circling holding the outside shoulder until the forward calms the horse but you have not gone anywhere dangerous. I actually like to teach kids ponies the one rein stop because it is fairly easy for a kid rider to just take one rein and circle the horse if the pony is being rude snatching for grass, etc. it is better to have a full cheek bit on if you are going to attempt this because bits can slide through the mouth.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Chisamba » Mon May 29, 2017 12:54 am

By the way, I also teach this to a bucker. I do not like sitting a horse that bucks, so if i have one that unleashes and bucks, i put in the time to do one rein stop training, and it tends to diffuse the bucking situation.

here is one that seems to address the basics. http://www.thinkinghorse.org/sample-exe ... -rein-stop

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Mon May 29, 2017 1:05 am

silk wrote:FWIW I don't think 5'7" on 14.2 is overkill (I'm 5'7", though not long torso). The bolt reaction sounds fear-based from your description.
I do think an 18 inch saddle may be too large, even if she is long in the back, so that would be something I'd check was truly right for the pony.
I would look at her bit, assuming teeth are not in play (you note they are OK).
Ulcers is a good suggestion, too. I would check feet, and ensure there is no bar/heel pain.

What does she do after a bolt where you come off? Does she settle quickly or remain hyper vigilant? Does she appear at all concerned about 'you' or just her own self? Does she go so far as to check out about herself, ie no sense of self-preservation?


I've only come off of her this last time, and she was not concerned about me at all. By the time I got back on my feet, which took me a few minutes because of the screaming pain I had in my left SI joint, she was snorting blowing over by the fence between the sand ring and the pasture. It was a bit hard to catch her because she was still upset & hyper-vigilant. I'm quite certain this behavior stems from fear for her. I just hadn't appreciated how deep-seated it is until this bad bolt.

Chisamba, your idea about the one-rein stop is a good one. As I read what you wrote, I realized that there is more room for a version of that re: ground work. To be clear, when she was bolting I had no sense of whether she had self-preservation in mind as it was not a "get back to the barn" kind of bolt. It started from imbalance, and the ongoing imbalance from her back & forth shoulder maneuvers as she galloped across the diagonal kept the imbalance going especially because of my long torso relative to her size. I ditched because she was going fast enough that the next five seconds would have seen me either in the fence, or in a gravel pile, or both of us slipping on the turf as she made a sharp turn, or her turning hard to go out the out-gate (which is in a large hedge) and me ending up in the hedge or under her feet. I didn't want to wait to see what would happen so I ditched. And the act of me ditching off of her side I'm sure just scared her more.

I definitely wouldn't have felt safe doing a hard one-rein stop at speed as it would have further imbalanced her and could have even sent her (and me) careening into the turf. What I didn't do that could have worked was to focus less on "whoa" and more on an indirect rein to bring her into an ever-tightening circle. I wish I'd thought of that ... adrenalin had my brain short-circuiting at the time, too!

I think the idea about the bit and/or the saddle might be a good one to pursue. I used to ride her more in my 17.5" Wintec AP and perhaps that was a better fit for her. I'll have to see. But the fact is that my SI is being very slow to improve and so getting back on her is not something I'm confident about. There is someone very interested in purchasing her, but that hurts my heart because I always imagined her being here for a long time (and I'm rather attached to her). That someone would be a good home, though, I think. I may see about a 1-yr lease to start with.

Anyway, I appreciate all of the input. Thank you. At the very least, it reminds me to make sure the ground-work basics are always there especially with the flighty/nervous types. I had done considerable ground work with her 1 and 2 yrs ago, but sort of just got back on her this year. In hindsight, which is always 50-50, that wasn't such a smart choice.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby mld02004 » Mon May 29, 2017 1:14 am

Regarding an anatomical girth, I highly recommend a shoulder relief girth, and they have them in small sizes. It has worked really well on my very wide Arab.

My arab does the head flip thing I saw in the video but isn't a bolter. It's especially bad with thick bits. It has taken literally years to find the right bit, but I'd suggest:
Mullen
Baucher
Full cheek
Right now I use a turtle top nueue Schule bit.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby silk » Mon May 29, 2017 2:04 am

Funny, I started to write about groundwork, and giving her 'tools' to feel safe within herself... I couldn't articulate it and so I deleted it. I think she will benefit hugely from more in-hand and groundwork.

The other thing I think would help would be the type of thing all horses, but especially ponies who are ridden by children, should learn, which is humans do funny things ie slide off the side or the back or the front and it is OK. It is about getting them OK about humans making sudden moves, being in odd places, etc. You are "fall proofing" them to some degree (and, no process is perfect, but you want them to understand what they should do when you are not doing what you should ideally be doing).
I am already working on handling my filly from above - ie on my other horse, when the filly is being ponied, or from a mounting block - she needs to understand having me above her, not just beside her. It is a very gradual process because I only ever do a few minutes at a time, and I am hopeful that by the time I introduce a saddle and rider, she will be perfectly OK about it.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby StraightForward » Mon May 29, 2017 3:53 am

silk wrote:Funny, I started to write about groundwork, and giving her 'tools' to feel safe within herself... I couldn't articulate it and so I deleted it. I think she will benefit hugely from more in-hand and groundwork.

The other thing I think would help would be the type of thing all horses, but especially ponies who are ridden by children, should learn, which is humans do funny things ie slide off the side or the back or the front and it is OK. It is about getting them OK about humans making sudden moves, being in odd places, etc. You are "fall proofing" them to some degree (and, no process is perfect, but you want them to understand what they should do when you are not doing what you should ideally be doing).
I am already working on handling my filly from above - ie on my other horse, when the filly is being ponied, or from a mounting block - she needs to understand having me above her, not just beside her. It is a very gradual process because I only ever do a few minutes at a time, and I am hopeful that by the time I introduce a saddle and rider, she will be perfectly OK about it.


This is a lot of what the trainer is doing with my mare right now. They have had a rider up, but are doing a lot of flag work, where a bolting reaction just increases the pressure, a relaxation reaction results in pressure being taken off. The trainer does a lot of this from horseback with her sainted gelding. My mare is learning to pause and think her way out of situations instead of "grabbing herself" (trainer's words) and bolting or going into a bucking fit.

I will say, before I sent her to training, I purchased the TRT/Tristan Tucker training series, which is basically the same idea, and working on it with her daily, but not getting as good of results. Having the pro with the right timing (and the sainted gelding to work from) has made a huge difference. If you can afford it, it might be worth sending her to a western horseman who's experienced with this type of thing and can unpack some of her baggage for you.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Kathy Johnson » Tue May 30, 2017 11:03 am

I take a top down approach to any serious behavior issue, starting with management, and down to plans on how to ride the bolt. Eradicate all high energy feeds. Feed free choice hay. Give her a little beet pulp mash with ulcer guard in it (ranitidine)every day, just before riding. The mash will help with sloshing which can trigger ulcer pain. A lot of horses with ulcers have problems with upward transitions. I found the mash a cheap, easy way to treat ulcers if I am not sure the horse has them. Add any other supplements at this time, if she needs them. Do not over feed. Increase turn out, up to leaving her out 24/7.

She looks like a pretty hot pony. She is, like a lot of the breed, tight in the back. Is long and low difficult for her? If so, do more. It sounds an adrenaline surge, triggered by whatever it is that triggers her. More than pain, because obviously she is hot and snorty and spooky for awhile. What sets it off, sounds, sights, physical movement of cantering, transition? etc. You will find the trigger falls into the same category each time. Once you isolate the triggers, your desensitization methods will be more effective.

Check your saddle and her teeth and bit. However, that kind of reaction is a little extreme for a seemingly well broke pony who carries herself so well the rest of the time. It may be a learned behavior wrapped around fear/fear of pain.

Time her adrenaline surges. Then you know how long you have to ride it out.

For awhile, riding in a safe arena where you have room to maneuver. Practice the one rein stop and pulley rein in non-emergency situations. However, sometimes you can train the bolt out of the horse by riding them forward when they bolt. Keep it going, make it your idea. Then shape it into a canter with a purpose. Go a little longer than she wants to go. She does not look like she wants to run and run and run but i could be wrong. This method can give the horse a little more trust in the system, that you will help her find her balance at speed so loss of balance isn't so scary for her.

Don't be afraid to find another rider or owner for her if you want to. There is no sense in riding a horse if it's not fun. Please be careful.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby orono » Tue May 30, 2017 5:11 pm

She does appear quite tense and rushed in the video, how many times has she actually bolted?

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Tuddy » Tue May 30, 2017 6:35 pm

Sorry to hear that this has happened to you..

Full chiro was done? I'm thinking pelvis/hip, especially now that she has had a baby.

Good luck, and I hope that you find a solution!

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Tue May 30, 2017 9:52 pm

Kathy Johnson wrote:I take a top down approach to any serious behavior issue, starting with management, and down to plans on how to ride the bolt. Eradicate all high energy feeds. Feed free choice hay. Give her a little beet pulp mash with ulcer guard in it (ranitidine)every day, just before riding. The mash will help with sloshing which can trigger ulcer pain. A lot of horses with ulcers have problems with upward transitions. I found the mash a cheap, easy way to treat ulcers if I am not sure the horse has them. Add any other supplements at this time, if she needs them. Do not over feed. Increase turn out, up to leaving her out 24/7.


She is only on hay, no supplements. I used to have her on a balancer but she is an air fern and got fat on it. My hay is quite good, grass hay/Timothy mix (hardly any alfalfa). She lives outside 24/7 with access to large, good quality shelters and water.

She looks like a pretty hot pony. She is, like a lot of the breed, tight in the back. Is long and low difficult for her? If so, do more. It sounds an adrenaline surge, triggered by whatever it is that triggers her. More than pain, because obviously she is hot and snorty and spooky for awhile. What sets it off, sounds, sights, physical movement of cantering, transition? etc. You will find the trigger falls into the same category each time. Once you isolate the triggers, your desensitization methods will be more effective.


She has always been snorty/hot since I got her. I did a lot of ground work the first year and worked at desensitizing her, which was very successful. She used to avoid handling and now actively comes to me in the field and asks for skritches and attention. She can still, though, be quick to get snorty/concerned/hypervigilant. It seems to be her thing. But I've done a lot with her, taken her off-site to schooling shows & clinics, and she handled it all well.

I don't know her triggers as this has made itself known this year, although the flipping/skittering was there in very short bursts (1-2 strides) before once in awhile. I just have the feeling that it stems from imbalance and then fear once she gets herself going.

Check your saddle and her teeth and bit. However, that kind of reaction is a little extreme for a seemingly well broke pony who carries herself so well the rest of the time. It may be a learned behavior wrapped around fear/fear of pain.


As others have pointed out, the saddle may be a bit long for her, but it otherwise fits her nicely. Teeth are fine. I thought the bit was fine as she has always had a soft mouth with nice licking & chewing while under saddle.

Time her adrenaline surges. Then you know how long you have to ride it out.

For awhile, riding in a safe arena where you have room to maneuver. Practice the one rein stop and pulley rein in non-emergency situations. However, sometimes you can train the bolt out of the horse by riding them forward when they bolt. Keep it going, make it your idea. Then shape it into a canter with a purpose. Go a little longer than she wants to go. She does not look like she wants to run and run and run but i could be wrong. This method can give the horse a little more trust in the system, that you will help her find her balance at speed so loss of balance isn't so scary for her.

Don't be afraid to find another rider or owner for her if you want to. There is no sense in riding a horse if it's not fun. Please be careful.


That's the crux of it ... what I'm willing to do next with her. This fall has put me out of commission for 3 wks because of how directly I hit my SI joint. So my Third Level horse and my rising 6-yr-old are sitting around getting fat & unfit because of this. In retrospect, I should have taken her in a big circle, but my own adrenalin had me just trying to do damage control and find at least a semblance of "whoa". Plus, she can be squirrely with her shoulders (at canter) and I didn't want her over-reacting and sending me flying. It just wasn't a good situation.

Thanks for the suggestion and support, Kathy!
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Tue May 30, 2017 9:53 pm

orono wrote:She does appear quite tense and rushed in the video, how many times has she actually bolted?


This one was the only one that went on more than 2-3 strides. That's never happened to me before. I've *always* been able to manage freaked-out horses in the past! Even the racehorses I used to ride.

This video was taken at a schooling show in April, and she was upset because her friend was back at the barn (and the two were calling to each other). Plus, the warm-up had been tense due to two other ramped-up warmbloods in the ring that were causing trouble. I kept going elsewhere to warm-up, then they'd follow me! So, this video was not a fair representation of how she is at home (not that tense usually).
Last edited by DJR on Wed May 31, 2017 2:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Tue May 30, 2017 9:55 pm

Tuddy wrote:Sorry to hear that this has happened to you..

Full chiro was done? I'm thinking pelvis/hip, especially now that she has had a baby.

Good luck, and I hope that you find a solution!


No, she hasn't had chiro.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby piedmontfields » Tue May 30, 2017 11:39 pm

I will add another vote for don't feel bad if another rider works better for working through her challenges. She is already clearly not the next mount for your daughter, so not so much loss. Dealing with pony proportions/movement can work better with a body that matches them (plus out smarts them, as you could but maybe don't "need" to!).

Keep healing so you can get back to your nice horses.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby orono » Wed May 31, 2017 10:15 pm

I would also move her along. She won't be suitable for DD, and iirc you have lots of lovely mounts of your own. She is a really cute mare, I'm sure she'll make someone very happy. :)

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:17 pm

Just to follow-up on this, I just started riding again last week, one month after the fall. My left SI is still painful and I have a feeling that it will be a permanent "ouch" for me, but it is manageable now and I can ride.

I had my jumping coach, who is slim & tall (& young!), get on Aggie for me last weekend. Aggie was initially very snorty & fearful. I think having me fall off of her really spooked her badly. But within a few minutes of lunging she was doing better, and under saddle she was good & got better as the session went along.

I advertised her for sale or lease, then decided that I'd prefer a lease. Another dressage rider who is not far from me (1 hr away) came to look at her a few evenings ago and loved her (she is fully aware of Aggie's bolt). She has agreed to lease her for a year. She rides under the same (fabulous) dressage coach that I use (my coach loves this pony, too, and sees ++ potential in her), and I think this is a super arrangement. It'll give Aggie a more consistent program, but I still retain ownership for the future. Aggie *could* still be a nice move-up pony for my daughter after a year or a few.

And this allows me to focus on my Third Level gelding (Jet) and my First Level youngster (Panache) without constantly feeling like I can't keep up! I have a 3-yr-old Shire/Hano who I'm now working with (ground work for now, but he's worn full tack and is starting to learn to lunge), and I'm happy to have more time to devote to him now, too.

Anyway, it's all worked out well, and I'm happy about that.
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Ryeissa » Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:46 pm

that is super news!

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby demi » Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:23 pm

yes! great news! thanks for posting

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Srhorselady » Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:24 pm

Great solution! Glad you are back in the saddle. Hope time helps the "ouch".

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby orono » Sat Jun 17, 2017 1:02 am

That's a terrific solution, looking forward to updates! :)

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Moutaineer » Sat Jun 17, 2017 1:10 am

DJR, teaching my grandma to suck eggs, I know, but I get occasional injections in my SI and it is magical.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Sat Jun 17, 2017 1:30 am

Moutaineer wrote:DJR, teaching my grandma to suck eggs, I know, but I get occasional injections in my SI and it is magical.


I'm going to give it another month or so, but if I'm still feeling these needle-sharp pains I'm going to ask my doc for a referral for exactly that. It's really not a nice feeling!
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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Rosie B » Sat Jun 17, 2017 9:43 am

That sounds like a wonderful situation for Aggie! It's a win win!

Sorry you are still having pain. I hope you recover fully.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Imperini » Sat Jun 17, 2017 3:28 pm

Sounds like you found a really great solution, glad to hear it and hope you do get to feeling completely better.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby ARC » Fri Aug 11, 2017 10:37 pm

I realize I am a little late to the game but I have heard a few stories of owners of bolting horses later finding out the horse has uveitis. Maybe worth an exam. Hope you continue to heal.

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby Kyra's Mom » Sat Aug 12, 2017 9:30 pm

Since this got bumped, how is everyone doing?

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Re: How to manage bolting?

Postby DJR » Sat Aug 12, 2017 10:51 pm

Kyra's Mom wrote:Since this got bumped, how is everyone doing?

Susan


Thanks for asking! I'm still healing, and will likely be stiff/sore in that left SI joint for some time. It doesn't stop me from riding and doing anything, it's just stiff and always "there".

Aggie is doing well in her full lease situation, and her rider enjoys her, so that's super for both of them.
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