[JumpingBean]

A couple of points --

1. Your trainer is the best person to help you deal with this. He's there, he can actually see what's happening (or not happening) to trigger the incident, and what it is you are doing or not doing correctly. When I read "he runs through the bit," there are a thousand different scenarios that pop into my head. I don't know which, if any, is you.

2. I think in some cases it can be good for a rider to have a problem that they don't know how to fix immediately. For example, the best way to learn to ride a buck is to ride enough horses that buck. I fell off until I learned how to keep from falling off. At various times during my short riding career I have been paired with a horses that could certainly be described as "too much" for me. I ended up learning the most from those horses, and as a result it takes a lot to unseat me.

There is only so much preparation that can be given to a rider before setting a problem in front of him, and for some things there are no substitutes. There isn't really a good way to simulate bucking, rearing, or bolting. Learning to ride isn't like rolling up a ramp -- it's more like walking up a set of stairs, and not every step is the same size. Sometimes you have to take a deep breath and take a big step up. Some people may benefit from the rolling-ramp learning style that protects their ego and/or confidence, but there are quite a few of us who are willing to take a jump, and can fall, pick back up and keep going... and in fact benefit from falling on our butts, literally and figuratively.

I rode with a trainer for a long time who liked to move me up in gradual baby steps to make sure I never was surprised and to minimize how many mistakes I made. It was inordinately frustrating. Yesterday my current trainer set up a course and informed me that he did not walk any of the lines, bending or straight, and that it was up to me to figure out how to ride the questions. He said that he intended for me to make mistakes; it wasn't setting me up to fail, it was setting up a number of learning opportunities.

This is not to say that a rider should be put too far over his head in a dangerous situation. But how dangerous this particular case is is a judgment call that the rider and trainer have to make. I can absolutely understand where the OP is coming from in wanting to learn how to deal with this problem.

[runningfast]

well my trianer was surprised. the horse was in another lesson that day and perfect. I do admit the horse has my number. Trainer got back on horse to school and horse was perfect. Then horse is always perfect with others and if he starts to get rushy everyone cna stop him but me. I can ride the other horses at the barn but I want to be able to ride this horse. I have stopped horses that ran around with me but not to this extent. I was pulling first and shortened my reins and tried to do a one rein stop, and slow

[BriLeigh]

I agree that riding a horse that gets your number is a great learning experience. My trainer made me ride a horse that always made me cry, for a year straight until I figured out that it wasn't even anything to be afraid of.

But, I also think that your trainer should do more than get on the horse and say "he is fine for me" and then send you off. Ask your trainer some ways you could try to stop or avoid it the next time. Ask your trainer to walk you through it when it does happen. Even dead broke old lesson horses can get a hair up their rear ends and do something that isn't normal. Especially if it is a rider they think they can take advantage of.

We can't really tell you what to do because there could be a number of things going on, but the best thing for you to do would be to get some more assistance from your trainer. That is what trainers are there for.

[Haas Horse Farm]

Then you need to figure out how to control the horse. The horse definitely has your number. Have someone take a video so you can see what you are doing and not doing.

[MaggieSue]

I was pulling first

There's your problem...you don't pull to stop-you push them-into the bit. If you're not using your seat to push them, you aren't using everything you can. Just pulling/jerking on the reins will do nothing, except in the long run teach the horse to rear.

[Berlunz]

Originally Posted by BriLeigh

I agree that riding a horse that gets your number is a great learning experience. My trainer made me ride a horse that always made me cry, for a year straight until I figured out that it wasn't even anything to be afraid of.

But, I also think that your trainer should do more than get on the horse and say "he is fine for me" and then send you off. Ask your trainer some ways you could try to stop or avoid it the next time. Ask your trainer to walk you through it when it does happen. Even dead broke old lesson horses can get a hair up their rear ends and do something that isn't normal. Especially if it is a rider they think they can take advantage of.

We can't really tell you what to do because there could be a number of things going on, but the best thing for you to do would be to get some more assistance from your trainer. That is what trainers are there for.

Its different for everyone, some people would prefer little steps and others want the challenge. Its the trainers job to keep the student safe though. They will eventually come to the point of where they stumble on an obstacle but ignoring a potentially dangerous situation and saying "They will get over it" or "They will learn to ride" is NOT my idea (and probably many others) of a good trainer. I think any trainer ignoring a person who is so scared of a horse that they are crying because they dont want to ride it, needs to take a second look. Horses can tell when we are afraid and will take advantage, so if you were so scared you were crying that should have been a big red flag. A trainer like this could also basically scare many people out of riding/owning horses altogether, because people want to ride for the fun, not to be terrified.

However in this particular situation, seeing as this horse does it only with you. I would say you need to learn to ride/control better and then face the challenge. Half the battle is knowing what to do when a situation occurs, not jumping in the deep end, flailing around and hoping you will float. This does not mean you have to go in with floaties, it just means you need to learn how to swim so you dont sink to the bottom.

[rose1081]

My horse does the same thing with me, she takes the mickey because i let her get away with it a couple of times! you have to have the confidence to take control and make her stop when you ask. it just involves getting a bit firmer and having the confidence in yourself to do it. if you really were not able to ride the horse your trainer wouldn't risk injuring either of you by letting you ride it! noone wants to get sued!

Pm me if you want to chat in more detail. i know how kind of helpless it can feel when a horse stops listening to you.