I've had my OTTB gelding for a couple months now. He just finished his full training with my instructor about a week ago, so I'm taking over the rest of his training now. She didn't put any groundwork on him, and I really prefer to do that myself anyway. Under saddle, he's an absolute gem! He's very patient and easy to get along with. He's a fun ride and really tries to take care of me. I have severe Panic Disorder and though he picks up on that, his attitude towards it is "Don't worry, mom. I'm brave enough for the both of us!" He's practically perfect to ride.
But.
He can be a pushy when he's in the cross ties and doesn't totally respect the halter (without a chain, that is). When I put him in turn out, all he does is pace the same area of the fence line over and over (he can get buddy/barn sour and has separation anxiety). He obviously needs to exert some energy, so sometimes I go in there and just free lunge him a little bit. He gets kind of panicky without a lunge line. He constantly turns away from me when I ask him to change directions. And without a lunge line, he flat out refuses to turn into me going to the left. I point in the direction I want him to go and swing the lead rope/whip between the fence and his neck/shoulder area. To the left, this freaks him out. He will turn his butt to me or just completely ignore me. Today, he was trotting to the left and I stepped out to have him change directions (I use a lot of Clinton Anderson methods) but he just kept coming and when he was about 10 ft away he started cantering and I just knew he wouldn't stop; he would have run me over. So at the last second, I stepped to the side and smacked the lead rope at his butt. I made him canter around for a few minutes without stopping . He didn't do that again, but I honestly don't trust him on the ground. I will not be free lunging him again until I know I can trust him to listen to me, but I just really wanted to get through to him that I'm the leader here. It sucks because he learned he has to turn into me and he is an incredibly intelligent horse, so I know he can do this. I feel like he has left over anxiety from the track, which is understandable. He raced for about 6 years (he's 8 now) and was going to go to the Breeder's Cup in 2012. He's 16.3hh of pure power- and he knows it. I'm a 16 year old girl.
I'm obviously not a professional trainer, but I did finish my other horse who was even more green than him. I'm determined to give him good ground manners. I just need a little help from some of you lovely people!
Any and all advice is appreciated.
But.
He can be a pushy when he's in the cross ties and doesn't totally respect the halter (without a chain, that is). When I put him in turn out, all he does is pace the same area of the fence line over and over (he can get buddy/barn sour and has separation anxiety). He obviously needs to exert some energy, so sometimes I go in there and just free lunge him a little bit. He gets kind of panicky without a lunge line. He constantly turns away from me when I ask him to change directions. And without a lunge line, he flat out refuses to turn into me going to the left. I point in the direction I want him to go and swing the lead rope/whip between the fence and his neck/shoulder area. To the left, this freaks him out. He will turn his butt to me or just completely ignore me. Today, he was trotting to the left and I stepped out to have him change directions (I use a lot of Clinton Anderson methods) but he just kept coming and when he was about 10 ft away he started cantering and I just knew he wouldn't stop; he would have run me over. So at the last second, I stepped to the side and smacked the lead rope at his butt. I made him canter around for a few minutes without stopping . He didn't do that again, but I honestly don't trust him on the ground. I will not be free lunging him again until I know I can trust him to listen to me, but I just really wanted to get through to him that I'm the leader here. It sucks because he learned he has to turn into me and he is an incredibly intelligent horse, so I know he can do this. I feel like he has left over anxiety from the track, which is understandable. He raced for about 6 years (he's 8 now) and was going to go to the Breeder's Cup in 2012. He's 16.3hh of pure power- and he knows it. I'm a 16 year old girl.
I'm obviously not a professional trainer, but I did finish my other horse who was even more green than him. I'm determined to give him good ground manners. I just need a little help from some of you lovely people!
Any and all advice is appreciated.