How do you stop a runaway in cart

[shandoaharabmini]

Hi. A couple of days ago I had a runaway by my experienced driving mini. She is normally a quiet mare but after working for 10 minutes, she spooked. While walking she suddenly fixated on something and a half second later was like a Thoroughbred race horse! I could not stop her. Tried to make her circle but she only would go straight eventhough I had her muzzle inches away from her shoulder. I eventually lost my balance and was thrown from the cart, seriously injurying my back. My bruised ribs will take a coulpe months to heal and will not be able to drive again for some time. Thankfully my mini mare was not hurt. The harness saddle broke (not repairable) but the cart is okay. What could I have done differently to stop her? Should I have run her into the fence? I didn't want her hurt but I also don't want to be hurt either. Thank you.

P.S.-I think she spooked at a wild animal nearby cause we have problems with coyotes and fischers in the area.

 

[MiniNHF]

I have had instances where my stallion as he was first learning spooked multiple times at shows. If I couldn't circle, due to other horses, jumps etc in the ring, I would turn him straight into the fence and trust me he stopped. I remember also and instance where I had not left turning power with him (no idea why) and I couldn't stop him so I ran him right into the fence. He got a little caught and started to freak but I had already started to jump out of the cart If something scared him he would take off like the devil was chasing him.

You did the right thing to try and turn her, but I would have instead and cranking her head all the way to her shoulder I would have just kept her on a circle (or kept trying) and just made it smaller and smaller.

I had my stallion spook when we were taking him up and luckily I had him on a long line and I yanked him into a circle and just held on until he started to settle which took a while but I just kept a firm hand and waited telling him easy and whoa.

Im sure you were freaked but some other things to remember is stay calm and cool and just keep telling the horse whoa and/or easy. Also a jerk reaction for people is to put their hands up and pull. Keep your hands in the neutral position. But you might have already done that during the episode.

My stallion will always be freaky because he hates blinders so I have to be on guard with him and as soon as I feel him start to scoot that rear under Im right there telling him whoa and putting pressure on the bit.

I hope you feel better soon I know all to well what it feels like to be battered and bruised up like that from a horse.

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

Eek sounds scary. I have to mirror what mininhf says by trying to drive them into the fence and just keeping calm saying woah woah.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I posted on your injury post. I have a bolter so I did some research. When the horse goes into the bolt, he loses all flexion in the hind end. It is part of the flight response. If the rider/driver catches the bolt in the first seconds and pulls the head around all the way to the shoulder he might avert the full bolt. Once the hind end fully engages in the bolt it is almost impossible to stop. That is why they usually run in a straight line. I can't remember all the technical stuff, but that is the gist.

Since my horse does this, I am super alert and have averted several bolts. My recent one, when he ran into the tree, I think could have been controlled if there had been more room. But the tree was right there. I was already hauling on the right rein before he hit the tree. It was actually a good thing, as I can no longer deceive myself that I can fix this. I was in denial, thinking we could work through it without professional help.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I've always heard that if you can't stop it fast enough, just to let them to until they lose momentum, and once they begin to do that begin circling tighter and tighter until they stop, starting with a pretty big circle.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I agree with FurstPlaceMiniatures, once they start running give them some slack and wait for the initial panic to subside. Then use a one rein stop or direct them to turn into a circle depending on whether there is room for circling or not. Pulling hard on both reins, allows a panicked horse to brace against you (which they can do against a single rein as well if they are already set) so it is important to stay calm and avoid the instinct to take a hold on them and pull.

 

[Roxane Martin]

I think it will also depend upon the environment you are in.

My mare bucked and bolted while in an arena, so I had someplace to control her. I was concerned about circling as I had an easy entry cart and did not want to be thrown from it. She was so ADHD and sensitive to harness due to allergies that I no longer drive her--she just isn't safe and that was my wakeup call.

What about when you are on a road or there is no fence/wall etc.? Just do the best you can?

 

[Max's Mom]

I'm sorry about your accident. A very similar thing happened to us earlier in the summer. My daughter was driving and I was setting up some cones for her when Max spooked (we don't know why, but we did realize that he had a magnesium deficiency, which had caused him to become very sensitive and anxious.) They blew by me faster than I thought a mini could ever run and it was as if my daughter wasn't even there. He was in a blind panic and would not stop. Unfortunately, they were out in an open area with lots of obstacles and farm equipment, so hard to know where to safely turn, and he galloped right through the open gate out onto a dirt road. He took a sharp turn and flipped the cart and didn't stop until he was wedged between a fence and a truck. It was truly terrifying to watch and not be able to do anything. Luckily, daughter was just badly banged up and Max had a few scrapes.

We gave him two months off of driving, and have just started ground driving. He seems to be settling in, but we will take it very slow before reintroducing the cart. If we see anything to suggest that he cannot handle it safely, we'll back off or give up driving entirely.

I had wondered about running into a fence. What if the horse just turned sharply at the last second and caught the cart onto the fence?

These responses are helpful, as we've been contemplating if there could have been a way to stop him. She said that she was holding onto him with all her might, so maybe that just fed into it. And she didn't have a chance to think about where to turn as it happened so fast, but no maybe she would try and run him into a fence. Thanks everyone!

 

[Minimor]

Do not crank the nose around to the shoulder--too easy for the horse to trip or lose balance and fall. The others have given good advise. If you are going to try and steer into a fence there are two dangers 1--that the horse will turn at the last second and get the cart hung up or throw you out of the cart with the sudden turn. Aiming for a corner is best. 2--the horse may try to jump if he is inclined to jump and if the fence is a height he feels capable of jumping. I have a pony I would not want to steer into the fence --because I know he would jump, no care for a cart being behind.