[SHONAGH2000]

Hi there, I have recently taken on a 10 year old Palamino on shared loan. If I take him out on a hack he only knows how to go from walk to flat out gallop and gets very agitated when I get him to walk in areas where he is used to going fast. I have been trying to do lots in the school with him to get him used to me but he is similar in the school in that he is fine in walk but as soon as you ask him to go any faster such as a trot or canter he just bombs round the school at 100 miles an hour. Does anyone have any advice as I am starting to worry about taking him out on hacks as he just tries to bomb off everywhere. Any tips on how to steady him up in the school also? It seems he has too much energy and needs to burn off steam everytime he gets ridden but not in a safe manner. Help!

 

[Marrissa]

I'd gear him up in a nice cavesson and a running martingale. These will help you if he bolts and only effect him if he's not doing what he's asked to. Work on transitions a TON. In those areas he's want to bolt make him walk and reward him with a faster gait for behaving.

Wherever he is housed if they have an arena, roundpen, paddock, whatever. Take him out there with a leadrope in hand and make him get moving. Have him change directions speeds etc so that he understand you're the alpha. After he's got some steam blown off then take him out.

 

[Jumperchick1]

It sounds like he has gotten away with waay too much in is life and he thinks he can do what ever he wants. My advise would be to just drop everything ya'll have been doing and start over. Start training him from the ground up and i highly suggest A LOT of lunge and round pin work. You must be consistant and very clear with your commands and correct his mistakes IMMIDIENTLY. I wish you all the luck.

 

[kiwigirl]

I used to ride a horse just like this, he was actually meant to be a trekking horse but he had been ridden for a few years by an idiot who had two speeds - fast and faster! Bob was tricky because he would start star gazing as soon as I tried to apply any brakes. What I ended up doing with him was I stopped hacking him altogether and concentrated on making him change his thinking in the schooling arena. I would walk in a circle giving him the opportunity to start his silliness as soon as it started I would do a one rein stop; from the one rein stop I would make Bob yield his hind quarters until we were facing in the opposite direction I would then make him back about five or six steps. Then I would walk forward again. When he walked forward in a nice controlled way I left him to it but as soon as the head started nodding and the jigging began we would do the excersize again, one rein stop, half spin, back up then walk on. Just to mix it up I would occasionaly throw a 360 degree spin in the mix - he learnt very quickly in the arena. Once out in the world we still had to do the exercise on occasion though often just making him back up was enough to remind him to walk. All of this is a moot point though if your horse doesn't back or yield his quarters when asked or bend his neck!