Training Tip: Colt Bolts Backwards With a Rider

Question: I sent my colt off to get started by a local trainer. While they did ride my horse, they didn’t trot or lope him. He was just ridden in the roundpen and eventually in a large arena at the walk. Now, when I attempt to get in the saddle, as soon as I lift my leg to the stirrup, he bolts backwards. It’s impossible to ride him. Have you ever seen this before, and what do I do? – ceedeecee

Answer: What you’re describing is common behavior for colts that aren’t started under saddle properly and asked to move out at the walk, trot and lope. They either sull up and get cranky and pinny-eared and switchy-tailed with an “I hate you, and I hope you die in your sleep” attitude. Or, the opposite happens. The horses get really jumpy and spooky because they’ve got all this pent up energy and nowhere to put it.

The first rule when starting a colt under saddle is to get the horse moving out at all three gaits—walk, trot and lope—during the first ride. By the third ride, you should be riding him at all three gaits in an arena. At the ranch, that means we’re loping them out in the big arena. You want to get the colt moved out and give him a job to do.

When you do ride the colt out in the arena the first few times, you don’t walk him for more than 30 to 60 seconds before moving into the trot and then the lope. When you’re on a colt, the longer you let them walk when you first get on them, the more trouble you’re asking for. You know the old saying, “Idle time is the devil’s playground?” That applies here. If you don’t give your horse something to do with his energy, believe me, he’ll find something to do with it. Usually, for colts in this situation, it means they’ll start looking back at you and getting worried and wondering why there is a human on their back.

The answer to your question about how to fix your problem is to go back to the very beginning of the Colt Starting Series and act as if your horse has never been ridden before. You’ve obviously got holes in your foundation. Your colt is either fearful or disrespectful or a combination of the two. So you’ve got to go back and find the holes and fix them.

It also sounds like the horse is fresh. Before trying to ride him, practice groundwork to get him to use the thinking side of his brain. Get him sweaty and a little tired before you get on him. In other words, give him a reason to stand still. Before you get on him, spend a few minutes desensitizing him to you lifting your leg up to the stirrup and down to the ground. If he backs up, move his feet and give him a job to do. Then go right back to desensitizing him until he remains standing still.

You also need to be honest with yourself. It sounds like this has turned into a pretty big issue that’s going to take some real time and experience to correct. You have to decide if you have the ability, confidence and time to correctly handle it on your own, or if you’d be better off sending the horse to a qualified trainer.

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