My horse was a bolter! He would get very panicky and run away; he was suspicious of everything and most humans, including me! I knew he had problems when I bought him, but thought that with patience and kindness we could overcome them.
After a nasty fall on a main road when he bolted with me for no apparent reason, I know I had to either sell him on to someone with more balls and/or knowledge, or take a totally different approach to training as I knew beyond all doubt that this went deeper than just using a bit with more leverage, tying his head down, lunging him or even traditional schooling. As I didn't want to give up on him or me, I chose the latter which is where my journey with Sue and more kind, natural methods of training started.
We started off with the ground work which really established me as his leader and gave him huge amounts of confidence, as well as setting us up for all the ridden stuff like lateral movements and balanced, self carriage. All the work done on the ground paid massive dividends when we started the ridden stuff. I still had the position of leader which meant he willingly responded to my aids. He soon found that in any potentially scary situation he would quickly work out that the best option was to stand still! A result of the ground training. I basically had been given the 'tools', i.e. in depth knowledge of horse behaviour and how to work with their language, so any potentially scary situation was quickly and calmly resolved.
I now have a horse which hacks out in a halter, is beautifully light and balanced under saddle, and performs rein backs, turns on the quarters, turns on the forehand, and lateral moves using seat and weight aids. We have been cross-country schooling and I am planning to compete in Trec this year! We also have a deep bond and a mutually respecting, loving partnership!
THANK YOU SUE!!
Sharon and Ruben, Ditchling, East Sussex