Horse Bolted in Harness

[Ira]

@near horse 4555 wrote:

I have some questions for the more experienced horse people out there.

1) Does it work to hitch a herd bound horse to an older very broke horse (and in this case – bigger as well. Think big Belgian or something w/ more size and mass than the Haflinger) and use it as sort of an anchor? In other words, besides being another horse buddy that won’t take off, the bigger horse creates a larger load to get moving back towards home. OR even tack on a plow or something that you can “drop anchor” on to help get the horses mind right:)

Usually the “herd instinct” kicks in.(something scared him,I’m gonna run too!!!!!!)

2) What are your thoughts on taking the “herd” elsewhere for awhile? If it’s only one or two horses, can you leave them with someone for a week or month so there’s nobody for the Haflinger to want to return to?

He would still go back to the barn looking for them.

I’m a rookie when it comes to horse training but I’d like to hear more from the experienced crowd.

The best way to correct this type of runaway is to let him run to the barn, then immediately take him out and make him run for a couple of miles and then put him back to work until the teamster decides it is time to quit.
I would also put a double wire bit on him so that you could get his attention more effectively when he starts to go.

Thanks.

Your welcome:)

[Gulo]

I have one mare who is herd-bound. She is strongly bonded to the dominant horse in the herd, so much so that she can’t be worked solo, for instance (she is unmanageable without the dominant horse with her.) But she does fine in a hitch with this dominant horse, or with other dominant horses, so she’s still a workable horse, and works well. If i want a single hitch, i use one of the other girls, so there’s an example of how a herd-bound horse can be workable, if the horse(s) she is bonded to are also broke.

I could likely sever this bond, but as it is, it’s not currently a problem. A wise trainer once said, when asked how to cure a herd-bound horse: “Easy – separate it from the herd!” Once it’s alone, you spend plenty of time with it and get it to bond to you, instead.

My big dominant mare came with a partner who was a runaway. She did indeed act as an anchor for this other horse, and saved us from serious mishap. We soon enough sold the other horse cheap to someone who insisted they could work with her. She was not worth the risk to us.

[Crabapple Farm]

@highway 4550 wrote:

He really is a nice horse and NEVER hurt my daughter when she was riding him. The two times in the past 4 years or so he did bolt with her on his back, she held on and rode it out. She is very experianced in english saddle and he really has a connection with her. He just may be a better riding horse with someone that knows what they are doing and not a true work horse. I know all horses are not both.

An option to consider (this is not a recommendation, just a thought) is riding while working. If he is more comfortable with someone riding than driving from behind, you or your daughter could ride while he pulls the sap scoot or firewood. There’s a picture or two on the photos page of folks cultivating this way with a single horse.
But if he has run away with your daughter on his back, adding a load of firewood bouncing along behind is not going to be safe at all.

[Ed Thayer]

I have been spending time with the pony doing some basic ground work. Trying to establish my dominance and hopefully gaining his trust.

It appears I am making progress. I have not harnessed him since the bolting episode over a week ago. I have been lunging him in the paddock and walking him on the halter with the chain over the nose. He seems to respond quicker with that setup. He is obeying commands and seems interested in what I am doing.

Are there other basic drills I can do with him to help this process along?

Do horses process and remember bad or unpleasant situations forever or can they be worked to overcome them?

Thanks,
Ed

[sanhestar]

Don’t progress too fast. Keep working on the basic obedience and responding to your commands.

Change places and situations, make it a little bit more difficult every time.

You can retrain a horse but depending on the impact of the experience it can surface later again when the same trigger occurs again.

In your case: it’s likely that he will try to bolt in the same situation/at the same location again until the behaviour has been erased by training. It’s also likely that the response will become more severe shortly before it will vanish.

This is a kind of defiance: before an old behaviour will be replaced by a new behaviour the old behaviour will try to keep established (I think that has to do with brain chemistry). Karen Prior – I think – described a similar phenomenon in people: if you try to light a match and the match won’t catch fire the first time, most people will try again and again until the match brakes instead of just taking a new match.

So before your pony’s brain is able to form new neural connections (that costs energy), it (the brain) will try to keep the old connections in place with all might.

[simon lenihan]

ED,i would get rid straight away, you will not be able to relax and enjoy the experience of working the animal like you should.
simon lenihan

[Carl Russell]

You have been getting a lot of good and accurate advice. The only point I will add, is that although the horse ran away, and that makes him potentially dangerous, the solution lies with you, not the horse. It is a continuous process learning how to read a horse, and perfecting the skills to lead (lead=drive/work/guide) the animal competently. In other words, it won’t be as simple as getting some expected response to particular exercises, without you also increasing your own competency. I’ll echo a few other posts, try to find a mentor.

Carl

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