# Pony bolting while asking for canter.



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I'm not the most experienced rider either, by far, but have you tried using half halts rather than just pulling back the reins?


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Does he just have an energetic canter, or does he truly "bolt"? I mean, you probably went after him for not cantering earlier (as you said), so now that he does, you probably shouldn't yank on his mouth to punish him for doing what you asked him to do. As long as the steering works, he's not bolting.

So let him canter, but make speed a little less comfortable by putting him into a circle. Spiral in while he's being a knucklehead, straighten him out as he relaxes his pace. That teaches him: "If I canter like a gentleman, I get to go in a straight line, which I prefer."

Also, try to ask for the canter more softly. Reward him for responding quickly by letting him go for a while. Try to rate his speed with a few half-halts. If there's no response, see above. 

Losing weight and cool weather can easily have an energizing effect on horses. Believe me, you want a Go! horse much more than you want a Whoa! horse. Reward him for going as you ask, then negotiate the finer details after you told him he did the right thing.

Bad things can happen if he starts to anticipate pain from the bit whenever you ask him to canter. Don't go down that road.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Hello! Is there an enclosed area that you can ride him, such as a corral or an arena? That's a little safer if they take off with you, because there's only so far they can go in an enclosed area.

Have you ever had any issue stopping him at the trot? Or only problems at the canter?

I agree that it usually doesn't work well to actually PULL on the reins. Horses are bigger and stronger than us, and they will "win" a pulling match. 

If you can ride in an enclosed area, I would practice asking him to canter. Let him go a few strides, then RELAX YOUR BODY, and sit in your saddle with your seat, say "Whoa" and then slowly ask him to stop with rein contact on his mouth (but don't pull). Just stay steady until he correctly slows down and comes to a stop. Then make sure you let go of his mouth with the reins and tell him he's a good boy. 

Then do it again! Keep practicing in the enclosed area until you can be comfortable you can stop him and that he will listen to you. Sometimes, you can even guide them into a circle (with just one rein) and the small circle will naturally cause him to slow down. That's another thing you can do (if you have the room) to slow down a "runaway" horse -- put them into a small circle. 

Do you have an adult to help you?


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## α CMa (Dec 5, 2018)

Hey,

If you are only young, I suggest getting some in-person help, as over-the-internet help can be ambiguous and/or difficult to execute.

Please, do not simply pull as hard as you can on the reins to try and get him to slow/stop. Horses can easily out-pull/out-brace you, thus teaching them to ignore you and become "dull."

Horses that bolt at the canter usually do so because they are nervous, excited, have "holes" in their training, trying to scare you (evasion tactic), unbalanced, are unsure what you are asking, or they are testing.

Again, I highly recommend an in-person trainer to help you. However, there are some things you can do to help in the mean time.

- Make sure that he knows that when you ask to canter, it means canter. Some horses confuse the the "please canter" cues with "let's run" cues. Make sure your cues are crystal clear and he knows.

- Make sure he is responsive and relaxed at the walk and trot before asking to canter.

- Make sure you are setting him up correctly. Horses don't like to be ambushed. Give a pre-cue (such as a half-halt) before you canter to "warn" him.

- Try cantering him on the lunge line before asking in the saddle.

- Don't be scared, nervous, or hesitant, etc... (easier said then done...). Horses are feeders, and they'll feel that you are [x]. Some horses... aren't.... as kind as others and will try to take advantage of you.

- Go back to a point in his training and re-build.

- Start small. Quite before the horse quits. Once he takes a one good canter stride, bring him back down. Work your way up to two, then three... then around the ring... etc....

- Turn him out and/or give him less grain, both if possible/not already. Horses that are stalled and/or eat grain tend to have pent-up energy. That energy can show itself in a canter.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

He's probably doing it 'because he can' and now the cooler weather's arrived he's feeling livelier.
Does he do it to rush back home?


You can try a bit that's going to have more effect on him - the Beval bits give you some leverage, a kimblewick gives you more. A Waterford discourages pullers and leaners - none of those bits are 'harsh' if they've got regular smooth mouthpieces


You shouldn't just pull on the reins - the horse will only lean on your hands. I usually find that using a sharp 'sponging' action on alternate reins will stop a horse that's being too strong - you don't need to 'see saw' on the mouth to get attention but you do need to make the horse aware of you and what you want
You could also try the pulley rein - but I tend to reserve things like that for a horse that's truly bolting and I don't think your cob is doing that
Learn to use your own body strength to maximum advantage.
When you go into canter be sure you have the horse in a good contact, you can allow your arms to go forwards rather than have a longer rein. 
Never let him think that you've 'let him go', always keep a good hold of him
Don't lean forwards
Sit up - shoulders back, use your core muscles and arm and shoulder power.
Sink down into the saddle - don't tip forwards or hover above it or lean back.


If you're in a suitable area you can use your inside rein and a holding (not pushing) outside leg to bring the horse gradually around in a spiral but don't try to do it if there's too much speed involved - horses can slide and tip over if they lose their balance and haven't got their brain engaged


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Can someone take a video of this happening? I think with that we can give you some suggestions to fix this.


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## Willrider (Oct 25, 2018)

When I ride my horses in the arena this time of year they also bolt occasionally because the pasture is slippery and wet and they can’t really excercise properly. You could try lunging him first to get rid of some of his energy.


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## BobTheCeekyCob (Dec 21, 2018)

Thanks everyone theres some really good advise here. sadly i dont have acess to an arena only hacking round ciountry lanes and bridleways but after reading your advise i think that i am quite anxious myself asking him to canter in anticipation and im panicking and confusing him with my signals. As someone suggested im going to restart training and ask for a slow canter and do some half halts. and change the way i use the reins, i panicked and just pulled hard. thank you all for your advise.


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## humanartrebel1020 (Nov 12, 2018)

Hey!
I actually wrote i nice paragraph on this but before i could send it, it unfortunately got deleted because i hit cut instead of copy lol. Heres and article that can help you, this basically sums it up . Stop Struggling with Canter Departs


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

To me a true bolt is flat out speed, no control of the animal at all...no turn, no stop, just flat out full-tilt run where ever the animal wants to go...that to me is a bolt.
You are not "asking" for anything...the pony is just grabbing the bit and gone!!!
_Is that described above what you have going on?_
Or...
Do you have difficulty getting the pony to canter off...
Does he trot easily or are you chasing him for that too?
If you are trotting,_* ask for*_ a canter departure_ not chase_ him into it...
Take a soft feel of the mouth to guide, now ask for the step off into the canter and again control the speed, the cadence of it.
Be ahead of the pony in softly asking for him to do as asked and you might stop the bolt before it gets going...
I do wonder though if what you think of as a bolt is a pony who is not being asked for a canter departure but is being chased into the next faster gait by just going faster and faster and faster as the feet will move...hence feeling out of control because you are now out of balance as is the pony...
He runs to keep himself balanced, playing catch-up...

So which is it you have happening because there is a great difference in what you do to stop, correct and prevent this from happening again...
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

humanartrebel1020 said:


> Hey!
> I actually wrote i nice paragraph on this but before i could send it, it unfortunately got deleted because i hit cut instead of copy lol. Heres and article that can help you, this basically sums it up . Stop Struggling with Canter Departs


Btw, cut copies. It copies and deletes. You can still paste it.


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