To move suddenly and nervously; to flee
"gallop uncontrollably"
Bolting, like bucking and rearing, is seen as a potential sign of back pain or extreme stress (1). Acting as a survival mechanism to escape predators, a bolting horse has been pushed past its stress or pain tolerance (1, 4). Bolting can be incredibly scary, especially if you are riding the horse!
Activity: Watch the video below and see if you can spot one reason the horse either bolted or continued to bolt.
Pain/Discomfort
Bolting is commonly seen among horses with back pain, and it may be paired with bucking or rearing (1).
Bolting has also been linked as a sign of neurological conditions (6).
Ill-fitting tack is a common culprit to bolting under saddle (1, 4).
Physical limitations can also play a role (4)!
Stress/Fear
In moments of extreme stress or fear, a horse may bolt to get away from the stressor and back to comfort (1, 5).
In this mindset, they are past a point of learning and are in panic mode.
Training
If a horse has not placed enough value in spending time and training with you, then it may be itching to get back to the barn where its friends and food is (1)!
Sometimes, a horse may bolt when it is confused, has too much pressure on it, and gets overwhelmed (1,4).
Bolting can be a sign of some kind of pain or neurological condition, so a vet visit may be necessary if this behavior is new for the horse, or if you do not know its history.
It is always best to rule out pain before moving on to training!
Bolting is a flight response that can be triggered if the horse gets becomes extremely stressed or panicked.
If a horse's general stress levels are high due to pain or needs not being met, it might not take much to trigger a bolting event.
Click the link to learn more!
Misunderstandings and miscommunications can often lead to a horse bolting.
This is commonly seen with negative reinforcement training when pressure is not released or if there is too much pressure in too many places, causing fear.
Start with positive reinforcement and minimal pressure to avoid accidentally causing fear.
Romness, N., Fenner, K., McKenzie, J., Anzulewicz, A., Burattini, B., Wilson, B., & McGreevy, P. (2020, December 18). Associations between owners’ reports of unwanted ridden behaviour and in-hand behaviour in horses. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7766975/
Berger J 1986. Wild Horses of the Great Basin; Social Competition and Population Size. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Tyler SJ 1972. Behavior and social organization of the semi-feral ponies. Animal Behaviour Monograph 5.
McGreevy, P., & McLean, A. (2005). Behavioural problems with the ridden horse. In The Domestic Horse: The Origins, Development and Management of its Behavior (pp. 196–210). essay, Cambridge University Press.
Cook, W. R., & Kibler, M. (2018, March 31). Behavioural assessment of pain in 66 horses, with and without a bit. BEVA. https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eve.12916
Bedenice, D., & Johnson, A. L. (2022, June 14). Neurologic conditions in the sport horse. OUP Academic. https://academic.oup.com/af/article/12/3/37/6608427