I’m 27 and have been riding and showing non-stop since I was 7. I just hate seeing him sit in the stall after being cleared to ride by vets, and the vet even said it would be worse for him to sit and not move.
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Is there a particular reason he’s on stall rest but able to be ridden? Not trying to say he has to immediately jump to 24/7 turnout but daily turnout helps them stay loose and more comfortable.
Also, I would highly recommend hauling to a reputable university veterinary hospital, they have extensive equipment. X-rays are great but some things can’t be seen on it so ultrasound, MRI, and bone scan would be options at a veterinary hospital. My horse has had some of the most obscure medical issues and I had pretty much exhausted everyone around me in terms of vets, joint specialists, corrective shoeing, body work, injections, etc. before I gave up and brought her to a university. They’ve been my go to for anything that’s not routine since they are typically the ones that see most complicated, confusing, and difficult cases.
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Then find him a home with great turnout. You are seemingly doing more harm than good to both him AND yourself.
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Maybe the vet should ride him? 
OP: agree you’re putting yourself in danger insisting on jumping this horse.
He’s already given you some pretty nasty injuries - that headplant could have left you paralyzed.
You’re young, you have your own safe horse to ride.
Let this one sit, or do flatwork only.
If he dumps you on the flat, FFS, stay off him!
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Tried to write a post, but realized that Kenny Rogers said it better then I ever could:
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em
Know when to fold ‘em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done
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I’m almost fully committed to him if it doesn’t mean losing ground with my TB. I’m the only one who can ride her also, so everyone here is right when they say ‘well you have a perfectly good horse’. She is perfect… for me and only me…
Most of the time my seat is pretty sticky. Our stirrups got taken away from us every summer. Like I said, its just on that back side of the jump where he takes advantage of my release and being in two point. He is QUICK to stab the ground when landing with his fronts, so it is tough to correct when you feel it coming without coming back too early.
I do pride myself on flatwork because i enjoy it. and tbh he is one of the best to flat. He’s quick to the cues you ask of him at the flat and very willing to swap leads, transition down and up, halt, and part of our warm ups are leg yielding and large walk circles.
That is for the owner of the horse not you.
The next time you come off this horse you could be affected for. the rest. of. your. life. Even a brain injury if nothing else. You are getting into the phase of life where you ‘don’t bounce any more’.
As we get older our bones get more brittle. Our brain shrinks every day. The brain shrinks but the skull does not at the same rate so when you have a fall the brain rattles around more in the skull than when you were a child. This is not good.
Then you will not be able to ride the nice horse that you own.
Go and ride the nice horse that you own.
We can not save them all.
And above all do not jump this horse.
And do not jump any other horse that can not be lead without a chain and isn’t 100% foot perfect on the flat.
You are old enough now to learn dressage and good horsemanship and enjoy it. Jumping is not the thing that needs to be done by any horse or rider.
Having a good horse that a 3 year old can lead and ride is what you want to aspire to.
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That does sound like fantasy land when someone believes they are the only ones that can handle/ride a horse.
Sounds like that horse needs someone that can train well and teach him some manners.
To have only one person able to ride a horse means the horse is mishandled, never taught properly, is making that horse a dangerous horse for everyone else, if that was true.
Remember, the biggest kindness we can do to a horse is to educate it properly, so he will always find a home he is welcome and loved:
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I never said I’m the only one that can handle him. Just the only one with a heart for him. I truly think if half the people on this post met him and knew him they’d understand why I’m so desperate to see him live a good life. When he’s good he’s amazing. Truly a dream to ride. He has days when he’ll come out and perform above expectations. Again - all ok’d by our vet. He gets exceptional care - corrective shoeing, support supplements, regular teeth floating which is included in his wellness plan, you name it. If the vet says to treat it, we have treated it. I think you fantasy - land comment is a bit insensitive. I came here asking for tack suggestions, training exercises, or other thoughts on pain management that me, the trainer, or vets are missing.
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Also - I trained my once spirited OTTB completely on my own and would trust her on the ground with any child, so I do feel confident in my abilities… I normally know when to throw in the towel, just hurts to walk away from this one.
He’s good for flat work actually. I’d even venture to say he enjoys it despite sometimes being spooky after time off.
What is left is training. Learn dressage. Learn good horsemanship, as I said until a 3 year old is safe to ride and lead, not just one rider.
At the moment you say you are the only one that can ride your horse. That means that if something bad happens to you, your horse and the one you are wanting to ride, will be left in a bad place, as nobody wants a horse they can’t ride safely.
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Again, why does a good life for him require jumping?
He can do lower-level dressage, or he could be out on all-day turnout to keep him moving. Jumping is not something he’s likely yearning to do on his own.
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He’s not on stall rest and does get a regular turnout daily. I try to make sure this happens before I ride him too. Also - I did like 3 months of just flatwork before we tried jumping him again starting with just walking. The girl who leased him didn’t use aids such as bending so I basically started him back again from square one when she vacated her lease. She also never picked his feet so before I could even get on him there was like a months worth of thrush treatment I had to do before putting him under saddle again. We’re in Florida so thrust prevention is crucial. This i don’t think is related to this behavior because he’s done the stabbing the ground on the backside since before we acquired him. I’ve always felt like he had a jammed up left shoulder but nothing shows on X-rays. I do stretch both shoulders before working him.
I’m just wondering - if we forget about jumping him then what happens… I don’t mind just flatting him for the rest of his life but for my trainer he’s part of the business so not being able to use him in a lesson program would be reason enough for her to put him down
I agree with the other posters that you should stop jumping him.
There are LOTS of things you can do on the flat, even if you do not want to “do dressage”.
I have a data point of one (aka “anecdote”)
I have horse who started refusing unpredictably, then all the time. Later, she wasn’t refusing, but started doing what “your” horse was doing, bucking violently on landing, even over tiny fences.
My vet could not find anything wrong, but the “body worker” / chiropractor found that her spine was twisted, and her hips were not properly aligned. This made weight bearing, especially when landing from a jump, painful. After several months of adjustments, he declared that her spine was now properly aligned. When I started jumping her again, she no longer bucked on landing. Then I had some physical problems (brain surgery), and she had some unrelated physical problems (poll evil) so I have not jumped her recently. But the adjustment of her hips and SI joint definitely corrected the “bucking on landing” problem.
As I said, data point of one.
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Oh, that explains the situation better, I think.
Still, we always need to remember that a horse’s disposition and training is what will insure them a good life, that is what you are trying to do, I think, since you are asking for advice re-training him?
Seems that the general answer is, he seems a more difficult horse than most, which would require a professional.
Good luck with him.
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We have not examined his hips or back besides the view from an X-ray. I do have a great equine chiro who should be coming out soon and I’ll see if he can evaluate any touchy areas back there. He does have one sensitive spot when being groomed but no each time I’ve pointed it out I I kind of get laughed at because they think it’s unrelated and he’s been x-rayed up and down. That’s a good suggestion though! Will definitely mention it.
If your trainer isn’t willing to ride this horse now, I don’t imagine your trainer will ever want to use this horse in the lesson program again. Has your trainer said that this horse will be put down if you don’t jump him?
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I could give you some ideas on exercises to stop this behavior. But I’m really concerned you are going to get yourself killed. Pick up a few books on dressage, attend a few dressage clinics. Try it out with him and see where it goes. After he’s competent at training/first level, reassess the jumping. This horse sounds like it’s kind of had a train wreck of a past few years and needs a reset.
And work with him on the ground. Teach him to turn and look at you and back up when you enter his stall. Teach him to always be looking at you when leading. Teach him that your personal space is important.
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Here’s your chance to change that!
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