ANATOMY OF A BOLT

These pics open myself up for ridicule, but I feel it is important to realize that there are bumps in the road, and those bumps can be overcome. Bolting is a bump!

And we continue on with our trotting. The important thing is to continue like nothing has happened. Did I smack him in the mouth with the bit? Of course, he caught me by surprise, but he will learn that bolting is uncomfortable, and being a calm, relaxed horse is easier.

Progress with Andi

Andi is my Icelandic gelding. He is almost 6, and I've had him since he was 11 months old. He started his saddle training one year ago with a trainer that I trust. Andi has always been a horse prone to panic and bolting. I know there are those that disagree with me, but I firmly believe this panic/bolting behavior is bred into the Icelandic for the "showiness" in the competition ring. Not all Icelandics are like this, but there are enough in a breed that has low numbers to have it be a concern to breeders. Some bolting in the Icelandic are due to poor saddle fit and training. But there are still enough horses out there like Andi who have had good, kind, training, and proper fitting tack that it is time for the breeders to get their head out of the sand.

Andi's panic and bolting came out to the extreme this past summer as I was attempting to train Andi to a harness and a cart. He got the nickname "little yellow freight train" after bolting thru a 16' pipe corral gate in a panic. After more training, Andi proved he did not have the correct temperment for a driving horse, and I saw that I really had to get a handle on his panic behavior and re-train his mind. Some horse trainers say to control the mind you have to control the
feet. I disagree. I think that to control the feet, you have to control the mind. I use clicker training to control the mind. This type of training is based on 100% positive training and no punishment. Wrong behaviors are ignored, and correct behavior is rewarded. This gives you a horse who wants to work for you, work with you, and wants to please you. After all, a horse is a prey animal, and to a prey animal, punishment means he is going to get eaten.

In the past, I have refrained from lunging Andi because he lunges in panic mode, and goes faster and faster until he is in a blind panic. Well, this then was the perfect place to start. I started just walking and whoaing. Andi got clicked and treated for nice, calm walks, and smooth transitions from whoa to walk. From there we progressed to calm trots. It took a lot of time, patience, and carrots to get a calm trot on the lunge. Today was the first day I asked for a canter on the lunge. I set my camera on the fence and filmed part of our session:

Andi and I are progressing quite well. Andi is learning that speed does not mean he has to run for his life, and I am learning to trust him more. Andi is the type of horse who can read your mind. Since he is so overly sensitive, I owe it to Andi to become a better rider, so I've also been taking equitation lessons on Andi, and we are improving as a team. We have come a long way, and we still have a long way to go. Here are a couple of pics from my last lesson:

Andi gets his winter haircut

Andi has gotten the thickest winter coat already, and it's only the first week in November. Since a horse grows it's winter coat based on the amount of daylight, and not the cold, he is WAAAAY overdressed for our 60 and 70 degree weather. I had done a lousy clip job on him last year. I say lousy because while I own clippers, they are not heavy duty clippers. So I asked my friend and neighbor, Sharon, to clip him for me and she agreed. Here is the outcome:




Sharon did a beautiful job! Lucky for me, she used to clip for competition horses, so her being a clip perfectionist just makes Andi look all the more sexy in his new haircut! And now, he doesn't get so overheated and soaking wet when he gets ridden. By the time the bitter cold nights of January and February get here, the clipped areas will have grown in enough to keep him warm.