Bolting Problem

Also if your feed contains alot of barly this could contribute to the problem as barly is a hot feed and releases energy for hours

Yes I am suggesting a curb. I see nothing wrong with a curb and 50% of the horses ride in them all the time.
You do not have to let the horse bolt. Just be ready for that first jump and then hit hard. I assume as you leave the ring the horse suddenly jumps forward, bolting?? The first jump the horse makes shut him down hard, as the lung pull back harshly yell NO in a loud angry voice and then release all pressure.
The horse will catch on quickly that you will not tolerate this bolt and after a few sessions you can go back to whatever bit you were using in the first place.,
In this case do NOT let the horse just run, correct it immediatley.

Just to be absolutely clear. I would get a tom thumb, which is a jointed mouth piece with curb shanks. Use a curb chain and do it fairly tight. Then ride the horse as normal in the arena getting both of you use to the curb and when you feel confident in it and you will find it gives alot more control. When you feel confident get someone to open the arena gate/door and ride out as usual. At the first jump pull back hard while yelling NO and shut the horse down fast and then release all pressure, take a little walk around outside, ride back into the arena, a few rounds in the arena and then again ride outside being prepared. If the horse doesn't bolt this time ride a bit outside, praising the horse , keeping the hands gentle.
This will break the horse of the bolting habit quickly. Once the horse knows you are in command they give up the nonsense.

Do horse feeds contain barley?? It is not grown alot where I live. Corn is grown and used in horse feed. While corn is considered a hot feed it actually helps a horse run cooler then oats.

Just wondering, what would you suggest when the horse starts bolting through a leverage/curb bit? Longer shanks perhaps?

I have never had a horse run through a bit but I know it happens. That is why people ask me to ride a problem horse. But I find most of those people with the problems insist on using a snaffle?? They would even sell their beloved pet before they would put in a curb??
Why do they have this mentality??
I take your question as sarcasm??
Do you have that much experience that you see a problem??
A person use to riding a horse in a snaffle will suddenly find they have far more control in even a simple tom thumb.
If you have a problem with even trying a simple curb then don't. Keep your problem or sell the horse.
I may be old, I may be narrow minded but I am not afraid to try .

No, no sarcasm at all.
I was just wondering what you would do is all.

I have never had it happen. I ride all the time with soft hands, no contact. I ride with my legs, my voice and a suggestiion with HEAVY reins. I hate light weight reins. I feel heavy reins signal you intent before you actually take up the slack. For neck reining the horse feels a heavy rein easier. For direct reining the simple act of moving the directing hand signals the horse. So I will use nothing but 3/4 inch reins.
While I can ride bitless, snaffle or anything else I ride alot with a curb, a tom thumb at that.
I recently switched to a Billy allen pelham and switch back and forth from snaffle to curb depending on the conditions I am riding in and the horse energy level.
Too often I have seen people who insist on nothing but a snaffle end up selling the horse because they couldn't handle the horse, it ran all over them. My suggest is TRY a curb, a tom thumb and just see if it helps.
I do not see a problem with trying something new, something with more stop to it. Keep your hands gentle but have something that you can use if the horse acts up.
A cheap Tom thumb is only about $30. A cheap experiment.
Even run aways I have never had one run through a bit, a curb bit that is.
For the ultimate run away, use your back, your legs and a good pair of reins, Yell WHOA and then use everything you got to haul the horse down as violently as you can. Repeat the run, again WHOA and hit the horse with everything you have. You won't need to do it a 3rd time.
Again this is not for the poster but for the extreme run away.

RiosDad, I like your methods. Simple for my simple mind to comprehend. I've actually ridden him a couple times in a regular curb, but it didn't seem to make much difference, however i'm trying new things a lot. Hopefully this works better than some other stuff.

We don't have an arena/round pen, mostly just open. Where we live has about 8 acres to it with a couple ponds and about a half mile to the main road and 200 acres or so to work with (more, but I have to open gates to access it), as well as however many miles of road I wish.

I've been trying to ride him with a looser reign so there's not that constant, heavy pressure on his mouth and when he tries to pick up a trot/lope from a walk without a cue from me i've just slowed him back down to a walk. That's where you're idea will come in the best.

Another question on that. If we're riding faster than a walk, say trotting and he decides he wants to lope without additional cues from me, will the same concept work for that as well? Shut him down fast and then try again? I took him out for a nice jaunt yesterday (about 8 miles total), and he's not bad trotting along (i can actually trot this horse nicely, he's the one who taught me to post. Last week.), but he likes to speed up. I had him loping for a while and given much reign at all he wants to gallop his little heart out. I hauled his ass hard enough that his mouth was pretty sore when we got home.

You know, everybody has their own method of what should be done. I would never critisize someones method. If it works/worked for them, let them share that information with us without feeling they are wrong. It is up to the person with the question to make the decision if they want to take the help or not. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Make sure the horse is used to the bit he/she was using. Any tack can be a factor. The other thing I agree with is to do the one rein stop. Even when getting on your horse, pull the face toward you until he/she stops moving and then get on. Maybe when you take your horse out of the ring, as soon as you feel her want to bolt, pull her head to one side and make her feet move both ways then start out again. Each time she wants to bolt pull her head in and make her move. Being a racehorse, used to go,go,go, this may take her sometime to want to slow down. If you stay consistent she will eventually learn not to bolt. But it will take time. Be patient. Good Luck. And those of you that want to critisize how someone finds a way to help, please don't shut them down. What works for you is great, and what works for them is fine too.

I would never suggest a harsh bit, I would stay with the snaffle until he gets what you're asking. All you will do by riding him in a harsh bit/curb bit is frustrate him.

I would invest in a trainer if you want to commit to this horse, it doesn't seem like you know how to handle the situation which could turn into something more dangerous.

"tries to pick up a trot/lope from a walk without a cue from me"
Are you sure you're being confident and clear when you're asking?

"i hauled his ass hard enough that his mouth was pretty sore when we got home."
I REALLY hope I read this wrong.