run a way horse

[Anonymous]

Recently purchased a couple of horses, perhaps too much of a horse as my wife, inexperience rider and not very strong physically, is now in the hospital with a concussion, nerve damage to her eye and a fractured pelvis - 3 places. Horse got spooke by some jerk flying low in his private airplane. Anyway, need to know of different techniques of how to stop a horse who panics and takes flight, expecially for someone who is not strong enough to grab a rein and turn the head. Thanks

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[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your wife...

What kind of horses do you have and their ages?

From what I've been told, have read, and my own limited experience, it seems that if you can "double" your horse back into circle(s)when the horse starts to go too fast, that helps. To get spooked by a low flying plane (rare event) ... who knows? Depends a lot on temperament of horse and its previous exposure to environmental events, etc. Horses can move in 6 different directions, but only one direction at a time....

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[Anonymous]

I'm sorry to hear of your wife's accident. Dang!

I think the best preventative is good training for the horse and the same for the rider. Any horse can spook, as you know. The same plastic bag the horse learns to ignore in the round pen can become a lethal predator when viewed on the trail or out in the pasture.

Stopping a runaway horse isn't all about muscle, although having some muscle can really help.

We have a big, strong horse that spent the first several years of her life being ridden, but most often being used as a pack horse. We were up on the mountain herding cattle a few weeks ago and when another rider took off with her horse to chase cattle through the forest, this horse tried to take off and keep up with the other horse. She just wanted to keep up with the "pack string." The only way I could stop her was to circle her, using hard tugs (not a steady pull) on the rein, as well as leg cues. In this case the cue was a good strong spur thunking her just behind her front leg as I brought her around in a circle. No way could I have just pulled her around using muscle. The combination of cues and muscle did the trick, as well as a good verbal scolding during the rest of the process. If I had just pulled strongly on the rein, she probably would have pushed on through the bit and continued to run. It's the tugging that gets their attention. Normally the tug should be very, very gentle, but in an emergency do what works.

I knew this horse could be a problem when it came to following other horses, and I was prepared for it. I also had been working with her intensely on cues in the round pen and in the arena.

So, again, training is the key. As well as matching the horse and the rider's skills.

By the way, the pelvis always breaks in an odd number of places - usually 3, sometimes 5. This happens because the pelvis is a circular bone.

I hope your wife has a speedy recovery and is able to continue to ride.

> Recently purchased a couple of
> horses, perhaps too much of a
> horse as my wife, inexperience
> rider and not very strong
> physically, is now in the hospital
> with a concussion, nerve damage to
> her eye and a fractured pelvis - 3
> places. Horse got spooke by some
> jerk flying low in his private
> airplane. Anyway, need to know of
> different techniques of how to
> stop a horse who panics and takes
> flight, expecially for someone who
> is not strong enough to grab a
> rein and turn the head. Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

> Recently purchased a couple of
> horses, perhaps too much of a
> horse as my wife, inexperience
> rider and not very strong
> physically, is now in the hospital
> with a concussion, nerve damage to
> her eye and a fractured pelvis - 3
> places. Horse got spooke by some
> jerk flying low in his private
> airplane. Anyway, need to know of
> different techniques of how to
> stop a horse who panics and takes
> flight, expecially for someone who
> is not strong enough to grab a
> rein and turn the head. Thanks

JJ your horse really needs some training actually alot of it. If you are not prepared to train it then, please take it to a trainer who will fix the problems.Don't wate and do tell the trainer what happened.As a pro trainer The worst wrecks I had were owners not leveling with me about what happened, to them.The best success stories were the ones who would tell the truth,I was able to fix the problem. The horses were scussesful in life and stayed out of the glue factory.

There are many factors going on here. A lack of respect for the human on board.the lack of an emergency brake, one the horse respects,through training.also your wife needs riding lessons if you can get her on another horse.Please try as soon as possable. She will be scared to try.I am truly sorry for her accident. That takes the joy of riding out for anyone. I wish you the very best,please keep us informed of her progress. Cindy

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[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

> Anyway, need to know of
> different techniques of how to
> stop a horse who panics and takes
> flight, expecially for someone who
> is not strong enough to grab a
> rein and turn the head. Thanks

The best way to stop this horse is to sell it to someone who can ride it. We can all give you ideas of what might work for your wife, but until the next spook when she gets to try out the new method, she won't know if it is going to work for her. What if it doesn't?

I can stop any galloping horse quickly by pulling on both reins at the part of the stride where both front feet are on the ground and the neck is starting to stretch forward. For a horse that responds well, it is a squeeze with both reins, but for one that isn't listening at all, it may take as much as a hard jerk on both reins for three or four strides until I reach a stop. What I am doing is preventing him from reaching forward for the next stride. This also brings his weight backward when his hind legs are coming up to propel the next stride. If the horse can't stretch forward into the next stride the hind feet plant and start the brakeing process. You need to lean back when you do this to transfer as much weight as possible to the hind end. This is not a move for a novice, because you can lock the horse up into a slide stop and go over his nose if you aren't ready.

Get your wife a quiet horse, over age 10 or 12 and perhaps one that is retiring from a long show career because it isn't sound enough for the show schedule any more. Also have someone teach you both an emergancy dismount.

I hope your wife gets well and can get over this fall.