Pick you an area at your barn and work the snot out of him then take him off and let him rest away from the barn, as you do that start gradually working him farther out to rest. If he is a sweet as a horse as you say and is only barn sour he’s only doing it because he knows he can. Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy. It will teach him that he has to work at the barn twice as hard as he does on the trail or arena.

 

What I would do is; don't go too far from the barn and see from where he starts bolting. Work every day in more and more distance (go in - go out many times during one ride). Make him know that getting to the barn is not equal to being dismount. Make him know that you are able to go in and out many many times and even though you do this, the training is not over!

My mare had a similar problem at the beginning, not because she didn't want to work, but because she was anxious and wasn't confident enough as to work far from her horse friends. I started riding her around the other horses, then close to them for some time, then took more distance until I saw she was relaxed, listening to me all over the training even though her friends were far away (she used to SCREAM for them and tried bolting back; even though I tried calling her attention back, making her make turns etc etc she would buck and stand on her rears... etc).

Now we can work 1 - 2 km far and she won't even call for them.

And yes, I thought about selling her a lot of times, sending her to training, etc until she started trusting me, I also started to listen to her needs and work in her confidence daily until today (this in around 3-4 months). She just needs little steps daily and it's amazing how much they progress.

Hope this helps! I'm not a professional but at least this helped with my horse!

 

What I would do is; don't go too far from the barn and see from where he starts bolting. Work every day in more and more distance (go in - go out many times during one ride). Make him know that getting to the barn is not equal to being dismount.

I second this - just keep working with him, don't give up. I personally wouldn't sell him based off of this, at all. It can be worked through, just may take you a lot of time, and patience. If you are willing.
Or get another trainer to help you with him, don't just send him off, maybe have them come and help you.
He may also be a bit buddy sour and want to get back to the herd - not unheard of. I think you just need a little more help. If you aren't confident enough like you said, get another trainer to help if the other one isn't willing.

Best of luck!

 

what happens when you ride out with another person on the trails?

Bolting back to the barn is not really a bolting problem so much as it is a riding out alone problem.
And that's usually either fear/anxiety as with seperation anxiety,, or the horse deciding when work is finished!

the above advice is good to teach him that leaving the barn is easier than hurrying back there. I think working WITH a trainer on the 'barn sour' issue will be good for you.

 

what happens when you ride out with another person on the trails?

Bolting back to the barn is not really a bolting problem so much as it is a riding out alone problem.
And that's usually either fear/anxiety as with seperation anxiety,, or the horse deciding when work is finished!

the above advice is good to teach him that leaving the barn is easier than hurrying back there. I think working WITH a trainer on the 'barn sour' issue will be good for you.

I have never ridden him with anybody else. I ride alone because my boarding barn is mainly a kids lesson barn and there are only two other boarders and their horses are retired.

The trainers assessment of the bolting problem was my horse had decided he was finished working. The first time the trainer rode him after doing only ground work for the first week, he said he was belligerent for him too. He said he grabbed ahold of the bit and put his head so high he could have kissed him between the ears. He said he was surprised by that side of him because for the ground work and working on the standing to mount he was a different horse, very calm and quiet.

 

I've let horses like this run back to the gate before and then just make them work right in front of the barn. Not meanly. Not roughly. Just "you wanna turn to the barn? That means more work"

If he's truly bolting and you can't stop him that can be dangerous and I'd get a very experienced person out there to fix it before someone gets hurt.

 

You sound like you have a overall good bond with this horse. I always do a ton of ground work with a new horse before ever riding, and some with old ones before each ride. This gets them focused on me. My horse knows liberty and I really think this helps us in everything we do! Until you figure out the problem my best advice is have some fun at liberty with your horse really learn to trust each other!

 

I also second the groundwork and liberty work - it can REALLY do wonders! I swear by it. Just have fun with him!

 

Thanks for the advice everyone! I agree my horse is definitely barn sour and wants no part of any real work and will play any game he can to avoid said work. I understand it is a fixable problem working with a trainer, time and patience. Just after riding that galloping bolt out twice now, I'm so scared I don't know if I am brave enough to ever ride him out of an enclosed area again. I was so frightened by these experiences I believe if he stays my horse he won't be a trail horse again. Riding him in enclosed areas, I do feel confident in riding him and he is the perfect horse other than this one issue. I also have two young sons who have grown very attached to him, they can pick his feet, lead him, groom him, give him treats, hug him and ride him bareback or saddled on a lead line in an enclosed area, and I do trust him in allowing my boys to interact with him in all of these ways. My sons really want him, not a new horse so I think he will be staying with us.

 

I was so frightened by these experiences I believe if he stays my horse he won't be a trail horse again. Riding him in enclosed areas, I do feel confident in riding him and he is the perfect horse other than this one issue.

How about having the trainer pony him with you on him out on trails? I hate for you to miss out on trail riding when it wouldn't be all that hard to get him out of bolting. I fully understand why you would be so nervous to try to get him to stop bolting on the trail. I think you would start to build confidence if you could take him on the trail with someone else ponying him.

 

I can understand that it probably put a damper on your confidence, him bolting. It is scary!
I think taking a step back with him, doing groundwork, maybe just only taking him out a little (or even on the ground, not riding him) bit by bit, will help. Remember, he can feel you too, your emotions & vibes which can make things worse.

 

Tbh this sounds like he is just taking advantage of you. I think you need a friend or trainer to help you get over it. I would see if your trainer makes barn visits to work on specific issues. I honestly don’t think this will take more than a few hours of intense training to get over in the right hands. Also, you may want to see if there is a Facebook group of riders around your area so that you can invite someone to ride with you until you are a little more confident.

 

So you keep saying he wants no part of working but is a dream in the arena. Those two things don't add up. Can you do everything you want with him in the ring? Then do that! Start taking him out for just a walk around the yard at the end of a ride where you made him work hard in the ring. He'll begin to associate going out with the end of the ride and will look forward to it. Don't go out on the trail yet, just go around the barn. Eventually, start going for very short strolls further and further away. He may never be truly relaxed on a trail. But go slow so you can build his confidence and yours.

I don't think your trainer is a very good trainer for yanking his head up so high he could have kissed him between the ears. Yikes. I also don't think it's true that your horse "wants no part of working". I think he feels anxious about being away from the barn or away from other horses. This is a deeply ingrained instinct to stay with the herd. You can't punish them for that.

And by the way, I had a bolter. Only on trails, not in the ring. Now, he's fine. We can even enjoy a relaxed canter on the trail and I'm not scared he is going to gallop home! I did two things: 1- I put him on Succeed for hind gut ulcers. Crazy expensive, but he's a totally different horse on it. I tried a hundred other things for hind gut issues, but only this made a difference. 2 - I worked hard on conquering those trails. I hand-walked him many times on the trail, stopping to let him eat or giving him treats as rewards. If he got ahead of me, I'd make him circle. At first, I'd have to use a chain over his nose just to control him, but eventually, he started to relax. Then when we rode out, I constantly had a conversation going with him. I cannot just ride him on the buckle on trails. He needs to remember that I'm there at all times. That means full contact, and me checking him gently anytime I notice that his mind is drifting (it's easy to do because his head drifts along with it, lol). Also, I made him halt a lot. Transitions are your friend because your horse realizes that you might ask him to stop, move forward, trot, walk at any time so they start paying more attention. Make a plan and stick to it! Don't let the horse think they decide where you're going and at what speed. My horse and I have a deal now: if he is feeling a little fired up and wants to go faster, he can as long as he stays in one gait. He can speed walk all he wants, but he's not allowed to trot unless I ask him. If he breaks into a trot unasked, I make him walk, and a couple of minutes later, I might ask him to trot just so he knows it's my idea, but I've heard his request to trot.

You need to get control of this horse the MINUTE he acts like he might bolt. Turn him into a very tight circle. Even if he is holding the bit, you should be able to turn his head into your knee. I once turned my horse right into a tree, lol. I think that's the point he realized that I'm crazier than him and he'd better just listen. In the end, you just need to do lots of riding in and outside the ring to get over this. It IS possible to overcome it, and it will feel amazing when you do. I wouldn't give up on this horse just yet, because from what you say, in every other way, he is perfect.

 

I have had several bolters. On each one, I decided that the bit I was using was too harsh. I changed them over to an eggbutt snaffle. Once their mouth quit hurting, they stopped bolting. Riding with another horse along always helps a horse that is new to trails.

I have been riding since second grade and I am old as dirt. I say this so that you will know that I do have experience with this kind of stuff.

My Tennessee Walking Horse was bucking with people out on the trail. Usually, it was because they hurt his mouth. He did a big time bucking fit with me after being out in the pasture for a year while I was recovering from surgery. I rode him out and he has not tried any bad behavior since.

You say that you are not a good enough rider to ride a gallop. But you did. You stayed on him. Give yourself credit. He needs a lot of miles put on him.

 

i reallly have no experience with barn sour horses but I do recommend making him work a bit more after your trail so he knows the barn doesn’t mean no more work. then you can start taking away making him work when you get back. Idk. Also, you managed to stay on! That’s good.try to push through!!

 

You have a lot of really good advice here. There's a lot you can do with him until you get the confidence to ride him on trails again. When you're ready to ride trails, can you haul him somewhere and ride with a group? Barn sour horses are a lot easier to ride when they can't bolt back to the barn.

I feel like just about any horse is going to have one issue or another - you have to pick your issue! He's been doing great at everything else and you were able to stay in the saddle when he bolted. Maybe that's an issue you can deal with - especially if you can be proactive and prevent it from happening again!