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Question:
I received a question at the last Horse Expo about how to fix
bucking and bolting out on the trail. Here, the horse does both. A
horse may also rear, depending on how much training the horse has
received.
Answer:
I’d like to start with a story about an incident that happened
several years ago. I did a radio interview on The Horse Show with
Rick Lamb. He asked me what is the best way to handle a horse that
bolts out on the trail? It appears that this happens frequently.
There are multiple reasons why horses do this but first, let’s break
it down.
A horse will
bolt when his emotional level is up because all horses have the
flight instinct. Some horses, in general have a higher emotional
level. Usually, we take our horses out on the trail when they are
fresh and without any warm up. They are feeling frisky and maybe
have not been ridden for a couple of weeks and they are anxious to
get out. In this situation, we are setting ourselves up to fail.
I’ve been working with horses called “problem horses” for over 15
years and I would say there are no problem horses, only uneducated
horses/owners. I have found that with most horses we just assume
that we can get on them and go out on the trail and they are going
to be fine. I have had horses here at the barn who are 10 to 15
years old and still emotional basket cases in their own environment
and when going out on the trail, they are even worse. When
something startles them, they bolt. To me, these are not problem
horses but just uneducated horses with riders who also need more
education.
Sometimes a
horse will react to fear not by bolting, but by bucking. Another
reason a horse may buck is that while we are out on the trail, we
separate from each other and one rider goes right and the other goes
left. The horse may be what we call “buddy sour” and the horse
becomes concerned about his buddy leaving. Horses are herd animals
and the more that we restrain a horse, the more we increase his
emotional level. A horse that is being held back may respond by
bucking or even rearing.
Getting back to
Rick Lamb’s question on what to do when we are out on the trail, I
explained that there are certain things we can do on the trail but
only if the horse knows the exercise. If the horse does not
understand what he is being asked to do, it doesn’t make any
difference how good the rider is, the horse is not going to
cooperate. What I recommend is that the action we may need to take
out on the trail must be started at home. In the interview, Rick
said, “No, Charles, you don’t understand my question. What do we do
out on the trail?” I replied that we must start at home. We must
educate our horse with certain exercises that we can use to control
the horse’s behavior. We must be able to control the hips, the
shoulders and most of all, we must have control of the emotions.
Exercises that allow us to control the hips, shoulders and feet are
described in detail in my book, Building Your Dream Horse.
An educated rider is equally important as an educated horse.
I always like
to measure the emotions of a horse on a scale of one to ten, one
being lethargic and ten being a horse that is out of control. When
a horse is a ten, the most we may be able to bring it down to is a
five. A horse that is a five or six, we may bring down to a three
or four. By sacking out a horse and working with the emotions we
can set ourselves up for success. When we have addressed emotional
issues at home in a safe environment, when we get out on the trail
the horse will not over react and bolt or buck.
How long it
takes to work with a horse on these issues depends on the emotional
level of the horse. I had a Tennessee Walker at the barn for three
months and that horse was an emotional wreck and was very bad about
bolting. After three months there was a huge difference in the
horse but I really needed another month to make the horse totally
sound out on the trail. Generally, when a horse has been in
training with me for three or four months, I have established body
control, brought the emotional level down and the horse will be
essentially sound.
Time is an
important aspect. Many of us can accomplish a lot with a horse in a
very short time. For example, the colt starting contests where in
the space of three to four hours we are able to get on and ride.
The fact that we can get on and ride them doesn’t mean those horses
are really broke or that their emotions are stable. You can’t
estimate the time it will take you to get the horse to the point
where you can go out on the trail and be fairly safe. We all know
that horses are dangerous and we need to do our basics at home.
Safety is always our first concern. Once we have accomplished the
basics at home and we can control the horse’s feet, the horse
understands the exercise. Then, when we are out on the trail and
the horse thinks about bolting, we can control the horse’s feet.
The horse is going to tell you if he is getting ready to bolt. When
you are going down the trail and the horse throws his head up in the
air like a giraffe, that action tells you that you need to control
the horse’s feet and not wait until the horse is trying to run away
or buck. I have several DVDs available that speak to the basics
that riders and horses need to know to be safe on the trail.
So, for a safe
and pleasant ride on the trail, we need to put some training time in
with the horse. Sometimes we don’t like to spend our time training
our horse. When we also complain about not having fun when riding
because the horse is trying to bolt or he jigs all the way home, we
find that training time is time well spent. If you wind up having
to walk the horse home for the sake of safety, time spent at home
training may seem much more pleasant.
God Bless
Charles Wilhelm
It’s Never Ever the Horse’s Fault |
