sdmini said:
There were three kinds of runaways.
1. Just needed to be exposed to more "things" (the first time they saw the camels was always good for a bolt or a buck.
: )
2. However it originally started they had figured out that running away would get the rider scared and riding would be over for the day. Here once they run away were not allowed to stop. We made their little prank turn into lots of work.
3. A
very few select horses had such a "flight" response that overpowered everything else in certain situations. I had a mini gelding like that. He would have made such a dynamic roadster horse but he was simply unsafe to take in the ring.
Good explanation! I agree, there's mostly A) the inexperienced horse who bolts because he is nervous, B) the horse who bolts because he's learned it will get him something he wants, and C) the horse whose first response to anything is to mindlessly panic and bolt. The last category should never be driven, the first can be resolved with more training and a handler they trust, and the remaining category needs to learn that it is more work to bolt than to behave.
Most horses will bolt at least once in their lifetime, it's just something they try in the normal course of things when something scares them. Don't panic and choke up on the horse, it usually won't stop them and all it does is reinforce their feeling that they need to escape. Let them go for a stride or two if possible with an elastic giving rein (firm pressure, but not trying to wrench their heads down) before you start seriously asking them to slow. Think of following a startled riding horse through that first leap with your seat. Heels down, bend forward at the waist to stay with them, soft hands...You'd be surprised how often just those few strides of
going with them helps to defuse the situation.
: Say "easy, so-and-so, easy" in a low, relaxed tone of voice-- somehow it's not soothing if you are screaming it!
: -- and start trying to gently guide them as they run.
If you can get control of the steering that is the first and most important step. Use soft give and take on alternating sides to get them to swerve a little in each direction, then try and broaden it into a serpentine or a large turn if you've run out of space. Eventually you want them coming down into a circle, which you can then turn into a figure 8 and more complicated figures until the horse's mind clicks back in and they start listening. Usually they will break to a trot at that point and you have regained control. If this is the second or third time the horse has done it I will be firmer with them and keep them trotting in figures until they are tired enough to want to stop on their own, at which point I will let them stand and think about it. If it is the first time I'm more concerned with letting the horse trot out the last of the panic then stopping to soothe him and check him for injury. A determined bolter (third or fourth time) who is beginning to figure out this might be a way to get something will find that I don't
let them stop. At all. I will make a horse like that keep running long past when he wants to and past when it is fun any longer, then we will do some discipline drills until he is about ready to listen contritely. The point is not to exhaust the horse but to make it clear that you aren't going to put up with that and the lesson will only end when the horse has done things your way.
Always take into consideration why the horse is running. If he has been stung by a bee or something he isn't going to stop until he calms down. Steer him away from obstacles and people and let him run it out. Don't punish him in any way and put him away once he has stopped with much reassurance. Ground-drive him the next day for a short period to see how he does. If the horse runs because he is truly willful (he regularly gets the bit in his teeth and wants to gallop from excitement) or is young and full of high spirits, decide if this is something you can honestly handle. If it is, be ready to put on a brave face and learn to drive through it as described above. If it isn't, put him in the hands of a trainer you trust or sell him to someone with more experience who can work with the horse. If the horse is running because his buddies have started to run in the next pasture, get control back and work him until he's paying full attention to you again. Pause to let him think about it, do a little more relaxed work with praise then quit for the day. ALWAYS consider both the cause of the bolt and the personality and history of the horse in figuring out what tricks to use to stop them. It's good to have more than one tool in your toolbox! Give and take, steady elastic pressure, left-rein-right-rein-left-rein, "easy boy," give and take, steer smoothly left right left, big corner, left right left, big corner, big circle, big circle the other way, smaller circle, figure 8, trotting now...ask for head to come in and down, get the horse bending, change direction, back to normal work. You get the picture! :bgrin
I have been there, done this. Believe me. I have also had one of those Category 3 horses, an Arab who had had a previous driving accident we didn't know about that sent him into panicked flashbacks, and let me tell you the wise man or woman does not mess with that. Love them, find them another career, but do not try to drive them. It took me a long time to find the courage to drive through a runaway after that experience but Kody and I worked through it together and it has made me a much better driver.
Mini Luver--hart wee man said:
I have also had all too many of these expreiences. Hang in there. I have a question to put out there though. What would you do if a horse was perfect but the minute you stopped him or her they would get restless and litterally rear up and flip in the cart. the weekend before that I was untacking him and he freaked I mean freaked he bucked etleast 8 times and was doing a horse type of scream. Which a horse doesnt usually do in a nomral cart freak out I mean he would not stop bucking it was terrifying.. he also broke the harness
: I want him to drive so badly both of these were after his classes where he had been perfect. He is awesome at home. I want him to drive nicely so badly its actually heart breaking that he pulls these after such a great round. :no:
That is a heartbreaking situation indeed, Devon. I've been there and I'm sorry you're going through this. Let me tell you what I've learned and what others here have said:
Wee Man is not doing this to be naughty, to hurt you, or because he's stupid. Horses
always have reasons for what they do. Sometimes it's pain or something wrong with their harness, sometimes it's a horsy reason like their buddy is out of sight or they don't want to work because they're in season or hungry (perfectly legitimate reasons if you're a horse!), and sometimes it's something much more complex that it is almost impossible to tell us without words. Think of charades and how difficult it is to express what you're thinking of when you can't talk. Then imagine that one third of your audience doesn't even realize they're playing a game, another third claims they're participating but aren't paying attention, and the final third says you're just being stupid and if your partner would only be firm with you you'd stop those antics. :no: Oh, and your life, health, and happiness depend on you expressing the fact that ________.
:
Difficult when you've only got two swivelling ears, four hooves, and a tail! :new_shocked: The horse is always trying to tell us something. Our job is to figure out what, not to arbitrarily silence him or punish him for speaking. (Of course sometimes he's just plain back-talking, but hey.)
Without hearing more about what was going on and exactly what Wee Man did I can't tell you why he's doing it, only that there IS a reason and we need to figure out what it is so we can address it. Stay safe until we do! I know it's upsetting but we'll all help you figure it out. ::hug::
Leia
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