Riding a Bolting Horse - Exercises to teach your horse so you can maintain control! 

Very interesting. This is under controled circumstances. I was on the edge of a busy highway my horse went into a much faster bolt and was totally wild. I slide my hand down one rein and firmly and slowly pulled to turn his head away from the traffic. It immediately started slowing. My horse had never done this. It was totally unexpected and dangerous. I never panicked. My horse was extremely panicked. The calmest gentlest horse can put you in a dangerous situation for apparently no reason.

Wow, I love how patient and kind you are with the horse! Positive reinforcement... Any horse is lucky to be trained by you.

This is great, I think your point is not to just pull back, or else they feel more trapped, so that’s why you have to let them calm down, and try to get control through the circles

Great advice, you stayed very calm. What people who've never been on a true bolting horse don't understand is, once they get going, their mouth is like a concrete wall, there is no feel there and their mind is gone. Its not a pleasant feeling. As you explained, you have to practise all the techniques to get their mind back on you (accepting movement from you, disengaging their hindlegs, soft in the turn), so that these become a habit for the horse and you can reduce the chances of future bolting episodes

My mare was spurred in the past and now bolts at everything! This video was so helpful. I hope to build my confidence back and hers

You are just brilliant. Explains a lot. You are teaching him other ways to calm himself and working through the anxiety. Not stopping it or forcing him into any position, which at this state causes panic. Ty for showing this.

Thank you for being honest about this horse! He’s just trying to stay alive. He’s a herd , loving animal! Thank you for recognizing this!

Used to ride on a horse during lessons, she would bolt whenever she got spoooked and woud stop once she was across the riding ring with the rest of class. Didn't know what to do (beginner/nervous rider) so i just remained calm. Ended up building my confidence after that and would always ask the instructor if i could do cantering during lessons.

Partly great advice but, after tons of mountain trail & road edge riding, I'd say they do often get spooked by other things than the rider. Firm neck patting with 'good girl', or 'good boy' when things go well will help you calm them when he/she is overly nervous. Also, letting them run off during bolting is often not great because they can habituate to jumping laterally and running off. Using a low curb can help you stop them because it wont slip inside their mouths like a snaffle can. A very firm pull (not a jerk) on one rein can put them off balance, pulling their heads to one side can often stop them from run freely. Outside the ring, you need to have maximum control. Also, using a western saddle is a very good idea on a spooky horse, gives the rider much more stability which could save your life outside the ring.

Thank you for this great video. Best video on bolting . Very helpful. The horse was actually bolting and you talked us through it and what to do.

Extremely helpful as I sit here with a broken ankle from a mounting accident, trying to mount a horse that I've been trying to figure out how to stop her from bolting at mounting for about 5 months with a 7 week break. As soon as I jumped up to mount, she took off in a trot then a bolt as I tried to get control in the same breath as trying to put my leg over is when she bolted and I fell off and broke my tibia. I've been trying to figure out how to teach her it's ok to be mounted with many different avenues over the months. I have to start from square one so this video and seeing your horse walking off when on the mounting block, you pulled him forward, my horse won't pull up and she ends up yielding her hind quarters...so i've tried to desensitize her with the mounting block...even the sound of my boot stepping on the block, she starts walking off so I would walk her in a circle and as we walked up to the block, I would step on it and off it and keep walking in a circle and doing that so she would know nothing bad is going to happen with she hears the boot on the block, I had to have my trainer hold her and keep her calm and standing still, while I put my foot in the stirrup and stand, and then get off and do that over again. she will yield her hind quarters so my trainer would have to put her finger on her hind quarters...nothing has stuck. Right now, the mare is at another barn, with no enclosed area to mount, so that is where I got in trouble, and I didn't have my trainer with me, and I didn't grab the mounting block...I made a lot of judgements in error and that's why I broke my ankle. I can only do ground work with her, as I have an iwalk, so I'm able to do some things. I'm working on "and walk" and most importantly " and woh" getting her to understand woh. So i'm starting on square one. I'd like to get her under saddle and try to figure out a way for her to stand still while stepping in the stirrup. and just do that over, and over, and over until she gets it. Just not sure if I can. Its going to take a loooooong time before I can get to ride her again. She's a great trail horse.

Thank you for this, it is incredibly helpful

I do have a horse that has bolted on me a few times. I learned so much from this video!! Thank you thank you! Just the mounting was so informative. My horses head is very high when I go to mount, I believe the bolting is because she is afraid of me, not her surroundings, not objects. I need to do more ground work and mounting exercises. Thank you again

Omg, when he bolted the second time, my heart was racing!

Brilliantly explained ty

This is excellent, gentle and makes complete sense. Thank you!

Thank you for this greatly helpful video!!

Bloody well done 👏 your great 👍 x

What a beautiful horse!

Great video very impressive!

Great video!

Fantastic!!

Great work-a real horseman😊👍

His tail is up too. Like an Arabian. My horse did this in an open field. I was seeing a lot of air between me and her. I kept trying the one rein turn toward the woods. She would not turn. We were barreling toward woods and wire fence. As soon as I asked her to turn toward the barn I got the one rein stop. It gave me quite a fright and undermined my confidence.

im admiring your calmnes and your balance in the saddle. I have a horse like you have in the video but i dont have a strong nerves to keep loping the horse in english saddle

That was AMAZING.

Fantastic video.

This is a great video and fabulous horsemanship/riding. I love how you stress the importance of professional help and time. Too many gurus out there making bank by selling people on the idea of their quick fix techniques "anyone can do". At the low monthly rate of XXX.XX $$$.

New subscriber. Fantastic video , very informative and interesting. Thank you

Great video

Wish I had seen this before. My horse (an otherwise totally chill dude, if not a little hard headed) bolted once in the middle of the show grounds. I was just going to ride it out until I looked up and suddenly there was a tree in the way. My horse dodged left and I was dislodged from the saddle. Two seconds later he dodged left again to avoid a truck (parked) and I flew straight for it. Brand spanking new gold truck had a nice big dent on it's hood lol. Nothing can compare to my mortification as the show announcer called out "Run away horse!" while I lay on the ground concussed 😅

These and some other videos similar are very helpful to me right now because the ottb I’m training has a pretty serious/fanboys bolting problem. He’ll run people over, throw people off, and refuse to stop. He was at a full gallop yesterday while I was on him but I managed to keep him away from people and get him to stop. We’re definitely going to need to work on it!

I am a retired professional rider. Most of the time I was dealing with 'problem' horses. I many years I have been 'hooked off with ' when the horse is going faster, with little control, but only ever bolted with twice. On both occasions the horses just went in a straight line more or less blindly. Big difference.

The horse in my profile pick bolts, and is a rather anxious horse in general. I fell off and now my instructor won’t let me ride him, so I’m trying to get to the point where I could ride him safely again

I typically only ride indoors since I have several medical issues,and he has spooked and bolted a few times inside (he's very sensitive to sound, if I forget to put his soundproof ears on. He's probably going to spook) he's bolted 2 times due to noises outside, once with someone else as a horse kicked a metal feeder, and today with me when someone was making noise outside the doors at A end (he did get a nasty spook there when I first got him.. twat of an adult man started using our hayledge bales as drums) since then he's always been a bit spooky at A end. When we're out on a hack, it's usually with another horse as he doesn't hack alone just yet, he bolted 1 time on long reins out (saw the back of a road sign, he didn't go far so I was able to get him again) but never when I've ridden him out, a few leap spooks but he usually looks after me when we're out. He is quite immature for his age (he'll be 8 in March) and he's part-bred Arab so extremely highly strung and sensitive anyway.

How do you manage to keep yourself so CALM when the horse runs?

Maybe include … when riding east side of Yellowstone park … when your horse bolts SIDEWAYS 100mph upon smelling downwind a herd of buffalo! That happened to me in 1974 and somehow I managed to stay on … but my nearly left the planet.

I’ve had a horse flip over when I used a one rein stop. It seems to me that it’s better to let them run till they stop and then do the same exercise over and over till they figure out that running isn’t the best handling of the situation.

When my horse bolted she didn't react to the reins and any leg at all. Instead she ran kinda sideways and that only made it worse because then I couldn't keep my ballance

So petting the horse while holding on for dear life calms them? I imagine heing petted on its bsck end & rubbing your feet across his wind cage woukd further ilriitate a different horse.

I am interested as to how this horse became so nervous. Was it due to rough handling by humans in the past? Aversive at the start? I have been on a bolting horse just the once, and it was very scary. A riding school horse, out on a hack, kids on motor bikes appeared from the woods, and scared him. He was big at about 16.2 hands and I was about 14 and not very strong. I remembered being told years back if I was on a bolting horse to turn in a circle but we were on a long narrow pathway with trees either side and I could not turn him. I had to lay low on his neck because of tree branches one of which very nearly knocked me off. He was galloping towards a road. Fortunately before the road, there was a clearing and I managed to turn him into it so we went in decreasing circles. He was normally a very sweet and placid horse which was why I was not afraid to ride him though he was so large. Thank goodness I managed to stop him. But it knocked my confidence big time for a long while after that and I became a nervous rider for a while.

I have to ride in a 5 acre grass field, we don’t have an arena and my family doesn’t let me ride the horses very much anyways so when I get the chance I always try to make progress with the horse. She’s very hard in the mouth, little kids are constantly riding her and we don’t really allow canter because she gets overwhelmed at corners and overall canter with a rider on. Whenever I canter she’s normally a dream with me, after she’s tired fed up and finding things scary. She tends to bolt to the fence, do a sharp turn then bolt up a hill and throw me into the gate, which I never get hurt from because the ground is always soft at the paddock gates from the horses hovering. She hates your leg swinging back so I have to lunge her with the stirrups down so she gets used to it, if I loose a stirrup when she stops her gallop a the fence I loose the other one so I can quickly dismount in the soft mud and catch her again, then I quickly lunge her just to keep her confidence up. That’s just what I’ve had to start doing recently because nobody else is riding her correctly, the little kids who go riding at the fancy riding schools go straight to trying to jump her and canter the field but I’ve put a stop to that and hopefully their mothers don’t scream at me aha, I’m gonna take advice from this video

My mare is very hot and sensitive. She is well schooled so relaxed mostly under saddle however to lunge her, she bolts on the lunge it utter panic galloping round and round really upset. Yesterday she bolted so hard when I tried to lunge her she pulled me straight off my feet and ran off up the garden. I'm not really sure how to help her or to just give up lunging entirely, it's just it is a helpful thing to be able to do as although she is good under saddle, we have started eventing recently and she is so cold backed/anxious when we get there i would love to just be able to lunge a bit of energy out of her beforehand so that she is hopefully a little calmer..Do you have any advice? Thanks

My guy will not stop at all. The moment we go forward he takes off. Goes straight to both gates and paces back and forth. Won’t disengage hind, barrels through his bit, anytime I do ground, he’s fine.

This "bolting" was what put a fear into me..I had a young paint gelding..feisty..we were on our way out to the trail ride and had to go through an open field...he did the bolt...I had no idea what to do..his head was up in the air..I had no control over him whatsoever...scared out of my wits...and HE knew it! I got off..walked him back to the barn..he won...I traded him in for a much gentler horse...

What about a horse that will throw their head up and just go at full speed? This is a great video!

The slower we go, the faster We get there! Right? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍🏻😎

Watching this after the unbalanced lesson horse I was on bolted 🤣🤣

How can i control a horse who canters on a trail and i cant stop?

I can’t even get this far with my boy. He’s a full bolter. Zero to full speed in two strides. Leaves me for no reason. I’ve tried everything. He’s been checked by the vet. I’ve gotten on him while he was eating. I don’t even get on him any more. He’s had probably 50 good rides at only a walk, up to 20 minute lessons. I can’t risk my health anymore with him, even with my Point Two vest he’s very damaging. Also will not sell him. And can’t afford training that isn’t going to break his spirit. He’s a Lipizzaner, completely green, rides by seat, and is capable of the Capriole. And is also like 16 years old.

I’m thinking he is a scollard professional jockey! Think I mi be correct, on my assumption! 🤔

What about an 18yo that Ive had for years and can ride tackless/backwards/sideways in the field in the arena at home and is ridden daily competes xc bitless but decides to fart off in the hacking field? 😅 bolting off and definitely not scared of the rider. Senile with age? 😂😂 love him really but dont think all horses bolt because of rider scare :) some just like to piss about

I don't agree it is the rider per se. Seen horses bolt with godd experienced riders. First thing is a rider needs to understand what a horse is saying. You can never go to sleep. When horses start to stiffen under you, you must immediately be prepared to one rein turn in circles. If their head/body become straight, they tense up and take the bit and NO amount of pulling back on the reins will stop them. You MUST recognize the first signs and immediately get them turning. The video has some good points, but it is not always the rider. Now, a horse can tell a rider who is fearful and a rider who does not know what their doing. Worked as a wrangler at a dude ranch,. Never lie about how much horse experience riding you have. When buying a horse never lie about your experience as a rider. We owned a horse that spooked at rocks, plastic bags, bird flying up from the grass. He was so athletic, he could jump to the side 20 feet. We never had anyone ride him except my husband.

Have you checked saddle fit? It looks like the saddle tree could be pinching the horse.

Is that a thoroughbred? Man - he really wants to run - I think running is something this horse wants to do... just a thought.

Omfg that first trot, change your diagonal, it's hurting me. 😆

Bolting horses could be reacting to their previous treatment , not enjoying the breaking and subsequent training uhuh uhuh 😬🙄

I totally disagree with his statement that a bolting horse is because it fears the rider!! How irresponsible for him to state that! Race horses bolt all the time because that's how they're trained most of the time!!

all bullshit. the horse is totally broke