He is ridden in a snaffle. I did start him in a side pull but switched to the sniffle, as clearly he's been ridden with a bit before. He was started before I got him, but significantly mishandled.
It's not pain related- he was probably beaten to try and force him to gait. Hence the nervousness and distrust in people.
His groundwork is really good. He knows walk, trot, canter, whoa on the lunge and on long lines. That's what we started with. We've done several lessons on desensitization, both to the whip and to the rope. I throw the rope around him now and he stands calmly. Like I said, he's made a ton of progress as far as groundwork. He was literally a shaking mess when I started him. We are following the Clinton Anderson groundwork series on YouTube.
His trot is not bouncy, as he has no suspension. So I can't exactly slow my post to slow him down. Can't even post to his extended trot.
I think letting him go is probably going to make the problem worse. Come to think of it, when on the lunge, he would take off and you could not get him to calm down unless you forced him to stop. (He no longer does this). I think he works himself up and doesn't know how to calm back down.
It's not a total panic, but lots of nervous energy. I did some clicker training to reinforce the whoa on the lunge. He may need a refresher on that.
He is much calmer in the round pen, then the arena. If I ride in the round pen, he listens better.
He doesn't like being near the barn which is next to the arena. I try to leave him tied at the barn after every session, as he is still suspicious of the barn.
It's not pain related- he was probably beaten to try and force him to gait. Hence the nervousness and distrust in people.
His groundwork is really good. He knows walk, trot, canter, whoa on the lunge and on long lines. That's what we started with. We've done several lessons on desensitization, both to the whip and to the rope. I throw the rope around him now and he stands calmly. Like I said, he's made a ton of progress as far as groundwork. He was literally a shaking mess when I started him. We are following the Clinton Anderson groundwork series on YouTube.
His trot is not bouncy, as he has no suspension. So I can't exactly slow my post to slow him down. Can't even post to his extended trot.
I think letting him go is probably going to make the problem worse. Come to think of it, when on the lunge, he would take off and you could not get him to calm down unless you forced him to stop. (He no longer does this). I think he works himself up and doesn't know how to calm back down.
It's not a total panic, but lots of nervous energy. I did some clicker training to reinforce the whoa on the lunge. He may need a refresher on that.
He is much calmer in the round pen, then the arena. If I ride in the round pen, he listens better.
He doesn't like being near the barn which is next to the arena. I try to leave him tied at the barn after every session, as he is still suspicious of the barn.
