| The biggest mistake most people do when their | | | | hold on too tightly as your body will tense up and |
| horse bolts is to try to stop him; they tense up, tug | | | | you will be thrown around with every movement |
| at the reins and in doing so become more likely to fall | | | | your horse makes. Keep your horse's head straight |
| off. The more tense you are on a horse, the easier it | | | | so he can see where he's going and try to establish a |
| is to fall off. The first thing you should do when your | | | | rhythm with his movement. Try to remain calm and |
| horse bolts is to focus on staying on. | | | | concentrate on staying on the horse. Refrain from |
| Unfortunately many riders panic when their horse | | | | leaning forward as this can put you at risk of falling |
| bolts and they try various ways to stop the runaway | | | | should the horse stumble or change direction |
| horse. One of these methods is to force the horse | | | | suddenly. Establish a rhythm with your horse and |
| into a tight circle, but by doing this you compromise | | | | breathe deeply. |
| the horse's ability to see where it's going and you risk | | | | Start squeezing and releasing the reins in tune to |
| driving him into an obstacle. Pulling a horse's head to | | | | your horse's stride, this squeeze and release |
| one side when he's bolting will also unbalance the | | | | technique will bring your horse's attention back to |
| horse which could result in him falling. | | | | you and slow him down. Lean back slightly and |
| Many people try to hold onto the reins with one hand | | | | continue to squeeze and release the reins until your |
| and pull with the other to try and stop the horse by | | | | horse is more responsive to your aids. |
| using sheer force. This causes the horse a lot of pain | | | | Keep in mind that when a horse bolts he is only |
| and can result in the horse running even harder in an | | | | acting out of instinct. Because they are prey animals, |
| attempt to escape the intense discomfort you're | | | | horses have a strong fight or flight instinct and when |
| causing. Holding onto the reins for dear life in this way | | | | a horse bolts it is because he is afraid and panicking, |
| also causes your body to tense up, causing you to | | | | the last thing you want to do is to panic and |
| bounce around on your horse's back which makes | | | | reinforce his fear. The horse is not being malicious in |
| you susceptible to a fall. | | | | any way, he is simply scared out of his wits and it is |
| When your horse bolts, you should focus on riding | | | | your job to try to remain as calm as possible as you |
| him. If you feel safer holding onto a neck strap or | | | | try to regain control of the situation. |
| saddle you should do so but make sure you don't | | | | |