Bolting, rearing etc makes a naughty horse?

Kc..

Kc..

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Nov 7, 2007
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Ok i couldn't really think of a title for this thread lol and that was the best i could come up with.

But iwas just reading a thread about someones horse bolting in the school with them, and many people were saying bolting is really bad nad pretty muchin-cureable etc etc.

Then this got me to thinking... The lovely gentle beaufiful schoolmaster i've had for 8years has bolted with me on so many occasions i couldn't even begin to count. And i mean bolt as in 'i am so flippin excited and a thoroughbred and i can't stop running' sort of thing. As well as that he has reared on numerous occasions!

Now who hear would say Nimby is a horrible un-controllable un-safe maniac horse who should be sent for dog food? Cus i'm sure if i was selling Nimby and i put has a tendancy to get excited when out, has been known to rear, bolt and generally mis-behave i wouldn't get a whole lot of interest lol. But i wouldn't of kept him for 8years and done everything i've done with him if he was such a horrible horse.

So do you all think if a horse does this you should steer well clear or do you make room for a bit of an excitable chap who sometimes takes matters upon himself?

(i forgot to mention he has a bloody good knack of getting hold of the bit, th only one he doesn't do it with is a pelham!)
 
I would never consider a horse who was over excited and running away with a rider a true bolter.

I've only ever ridden one true bolter, who for no visable reason bolted with her neck set into heavy traffic on an A road and didn't stop until she had winded herself. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour 6 months later.

Rearing is another one. I've been on a horse who's gone straight up and flipped over backwards. I've also been on horses who get a bit excited and pick their front legs up a foot or two off the ground. I know which I'd classify as a problem.

I wouldn't say your horse was an "un-controllable un-safe maniac horse", however I would choose his next home very carefully and be very explicit about his issues from the start.
 
Well certainly someone who has little or no experience would say send him to knakcers, what a badly behaved horse, etc.... but....

taken from another perspective... he is a TB (was he bred to race?? did he ever race, or have the training??) if any of that, then perhaps he feels frustrated, and needs more re-schooling....

If none of those questions, then has his tack been checked for fitting problems?? Back/teeth checked..... these are the things that would be checked out first to rule out pain and discomfort... once that had been checked then I would look at his schooling, and your riding....

usually when horses display these things you have to look at the circumstances too... is it a proper "bolt" can he be stopped after?? do you at any time lose complete control?? if not then he's probably doing so out of high spiritedness, which kinda goes with his breeding. Rearing.. why? in what situation??

In My Opinion horses dont generally buck/rear/bolt out of badness, they are trying to tell us something, it could be fear, pain or whatever else..it's up to us to find out what.... course there's also the clever ones who do it because they know they can! still doent make them bad.

And it is cureable.
 
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Theres running off with you and theres bolting

Bolting is the most scary thing in the world, the horse gallops in a blind panic without any care of where he is going or what he may do to himself

A horse running off with you is usually excited and doesn't want to stop, but will if he came to a dead end, etc etc.

I doubt very much that a true bolter can be cured
 
I think it is down to what you want to do with the horse.

If you want a safe sensible hack for the family.... then yes steer clear!

If, like me:o, you want to do a bit more then hack.... then maybe there's room at the inn!

My horse has bolted and bucked (not really reared much!) and has some serious trust issues in the past, but working with all that, I now have a brave, quick thinking (and moving) girly who is brilliant at showjumping.

Yes vices can be a problem but without those issues I don't think she would have that edge she has in jumping. I don't if that makes sense??
 
Praecelsus said:
I would never consider a horse who was over excited and running away with a rider a true bolter.

I've only ever ridden one true bolter, who for no visable reason bolted with her neck set into heavy traffic on an A road and didn't stop until she had winded herself. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour 6 months later.
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interestingly the only true bolter i've ridden also ran blind and would only stop when he was knocked over by something he'd run into that didn't budge.... he was also daignosed with a brain tumour....
riding him bolting was prob the most scary experience of my life. not like a horse who just does not want to stop because they are having fun....
 
Running with excitement is not bolting, thats just a spirited, happy horsey :) A bolter is not a happy horse.
 
And i mean bolt as in 'i am so flippin excited and a thoroughbred and i can't stop running' sort of thing.

Now to me this isn't bolting, it's being over-excited & rather rude. A bolter is more than a horse that doesn't stop when you want, most of them you're reasonably safe as long as you can stay on. On Nicola's post I described a bolter as "a horse that is so panicked that he's switched off completely & is running blind - no regard for his or your safety, liable to run into anything in his path, all his schooling gone, any reaction from the rider likely to make matters worse as it just adds to his panic" & I think that pretty much sums it up. It's a mind set, a total reversion to a wild prey animal that thinks it's being hunted.
My lad has bolted more than once & I do believe it's incurable behaviour. In a panic he's literally run us into a quarry wall that was in his path, I swear he didn't see it :eek: & there was nothing I could do except bail at the last minute when I'd given up any hope of stopping him. This is a horse who's normally a polite & responsive ride, lack of schooling isn't the issue because when he's in this state he isn't even aware of me. As soon as he comes round enough to hear me he stops straight away but until then any attempt to pull up or turn him will just get me bucked off as all he seems to register through the panic is that the monster is now on his back. Luckily for me this behaviour is very rare & I can usually control it by avoiding situations - we don't go on open fields for instance - & not riding if he has a certain look about him. I wouldn't let anyone else ride him out because if they misread him the price is potentially to high, I'm very careful about hacking him myself & if in doubt I don't.

Rearing also varies between the slight lift of an excited horse who just wants to get on with a job, the full rears of a horse who is intent on getting his message across & those few headcases who'll go straight up & over. I would never knowingly get on the second or third.


Now who hear would say Nimby is a horrible un-controllable un-safe maniac horse who should be sent for dog food?
Did I miss someone saying these horses belong in a can :confused:. I do think there's a very limited market for them though & I must admit I wouldn't buy one. Likewise I wouldn't sell Jim on - partly because it would break my heart but also because I know he could be dangerous if someone dealt with him in the wrong way. What I lack in expertise I make up for in knowing my horse & a willingness to compromise & in his case that's enough. If I really had absolutely no way of keeping him I'd either try to rehome with a couple of people I know, place him with a good charity & make them fully aware of what he is or if all else failed PTS. Then possibly slit my wrists.
 
Kc.. said:
So do you all think if a horse does this you should steer well clear or do you make room for a bit of an excitable chap who sometimes takes matters upon himself?
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My gut feel is, steer well clear - but let me qualify that by saying, only if i was buying it ! Brooklyn can be an utter cow sometimes, but she doesn't rear and she doesn't buck, and although she gets VERY strong and VERY fast cantering on grass, she doesn't run away. I probably wouldn't buy her if I was looking, but i love riding her (mostly).

I think if you are competent and confident enough to cope with a bit of teddy-throwing, go for it. Particularly if you want something thats got enough spark to succeed at a high level, you need to accept that sometimes, that spark needs to be expressed!! Have you ever seen Toytown throwing his teddy out of the pram?
 
simple - your horse doesn't bolt, and does not rear as a serious evasion, and is therefore not a nutcase.

most horses, if they end up in the hands of a novice, will be classed as dangerous - it takes a while to be able to distinguish between dangerous behaviour and excitable behaviour.
 
I think it depends on your ability.

Plain and simple. If your not confident enough/knowledgable enough then these things could be classed as un fixable.

Some horses through human behaviour are unfixable. I wouldnt say a horse being naughty or too excited was for the knackers.

All depends on your take on things doesnt it.

I would put up with a few crotchets in order to find a horse i love. Done it already with Kia.

Nikki xxxx :)
 
As RachelEvent said, the distinguishing feature is the riders ability or what the rider can cope with.
Your horses "naughty habits" don't put you off, you understand his reasons for behaving the way he does and you can sit through it and ride on.
Where as a total novice or a nervous rider would not be able to cope and would either sell the horse or just not ride in situations which caused the behaviour.
 
RachelEvent said:
simple - your horse doesn't bolt, and does not rear as a serious evasion, and is therefore not a nutcase.
QUOTE] totally agree!! bolting is running in blind panic,he sounds like hes just messing with you by taking off...as for the rearing to be honest if he was a real rearer i dont think you,d be so flippant about it...

he might just be bunny hopping, my horse reared properly with me once as in full height up twice nearly back on me...scared the life of of me and im a confident rider..i cant imagine him really rearing and you not being hurt/bothered/scared at this stage...


obviously you know him but im just making an observation.:o:)
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Firstly everyone my horse is now 23 lol so he isn't being re-sold. I've had him 8years and would never have changed him, he is actually a tbxid but is mainly tb. He has evented in the past and does get VERY excited.

Nope when he's in company it's not just bunny hops (or atleast it wasn't when he was 16/17 but now he can't be bothered with the effort) that's what i'm saying though. Is i know my horse but people who obviously don't have commented he may need more schooling etc whereas i know he's extremely well schooled etc...

Rachel i think you make a good point he doesn't just randomly bolt for no reason nor does he rear for no reason, just in company/when jumping in an open space. Although he never really bolts when we are jumping.

But anyway i didn't do the thread because i don't know how to control my horse just wanted to know what your opinion would be if you were looking to buy a horse that can get exciteable and do that?
 
"he doesn't randomly bolt"

he is NOT bolting - if he really did bolt, you would not be deciding to get on him on a regular basis. tanking off and having bad manners when riding in company and open spaces is very different to actual bolting.
 
I know, we need another word for horses that tank off! Like I would say Pete used to 'bolt' with me, but not a 'true' bolt in the sense. He wasn't in a blind panic just decided screw you I do what I want kinda thing. So, the horse society needs a new word that defines the difference! :eek: :) Its come up enough lately.
 
There is a huge difference between a horse wanting to go because it’s excited and the sheer blind panic of a bolt. When Sam gets excited and he goes he will (99.9% of the time) stay at a steady canter/gentle gallop and no I couldn’t stop when I wanted to but he’ll slow down before the end of the bridlepath.

My old cob on the other hand, totally different ball game and it was the most terrifying thing ever, I am utterly paranoid about bolting now, sometimes if Sam gets tense on the road out hacking he’ll jog and bunny hop (very rarely I might add) and even though he has NEVER shown any sign of taking me home faster than a trot, all I can think about is the absolute terror of a bolt.

Rearing, well I was thinking just this on Sunday night, one of the horses at the yard reared with his rider, YO was on hand and she used to work at a yard that had a lot of rearers in for re-schooling, basically she said you can ‘manage’ a rearer, you have to spend a hell of a long time in the school refining your reactions as soon as you feel them hesitate (which takes practice) you have to get them moving. These are mainly competition horses ridden by people with no problem jumping 1m20 so I think as someone else said different things are acceptable on different horses/situations if a horse is going to go out and win £10k show jumping you forgive it for doing stupid things.

But on the other hand if I was looking for something as a pleasure (as opposed to competition) horse than I would avoid a horse that was known for these things.

Finally, I have had two horses now that bite. That’s a dangerous vice that I deal with, many people I know wouldn’t have horses that bite but I manage it fine, so I think as far as dangerous habits go it’s horses for courses!!
 
RachelEvent said:
i'm sorry - it's a real pet hate of mine incorrect use of the word bolting

tanking off is a bad habit, but ultimately can be worked on. Bolting can't.
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You really cant tell people or correct people in how they use words you know.

One you dont have the authority to do so and two it looks rude and arrogant.

Call running away very fast ;) what you want to. we all have different ways of saying things, fair enough it might irritate you but it is a sign of maturity not to bite peoples heads off.

Nikki xxxx
 
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