I also have a 4 yr like him, she want move when I try lunging her or even if I have a crop if she sees it she freezes until she can see me throw it and then she will move perfectly 
Have you had the original trainer ride him? Maybe they can give you more information about what has changed since they started him.
It’s possible, given his age and level of training, that there’s a behavioral component involved. Always check for health or physical issues first, of course, but it isn’t uncommon for horses to go through varying stages of cooperation as they learn and grow.
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I’m thinking possible saddle fit.
He has been in training and has been growing.
The saddle may have fit him a few months ago but it may not fit him now.
There may be other causes of course.
There can be more than one thing going on.
I haven’t seen you ride, and this not a judgment of you or your abilities:
If you are hitting the gas pedal and braking at the same time this will definitely evoke a lack of a merriment and a sharp desire to not move at all.
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Having worked/ridden a lot of young AQHA and Paint horses, especially lately, I’ll chime in with my 2 cents.
The stopping abruptly during work could be symptoms of PSSM, even if you feel it’s being managed. I’d start by re-evaluating that.
However, there is this part that you wrote:
If I understand correctly, he’s fine under saddle if he gets to play Follow the Leader, when you’re riding him in the arena with your trainer. If that’s the case, it may be more behavioral. Essentially, in his mind he’s being ponied off your trainer’s horse; he’s not listening to you much at all. Yet when you independently try to use your aids, he either does nothing or turns to bite at your foot or his side (where you’re applying your leg pressure).
In the last couple of years I have ridden several sour, unhappy greenies who do exactly this because they were pushed a little too fast in their training and really didn’t understand that leg pressure=go forward. Sometimes it’s the result of too much bit and rein contact combined with leg or spur. So the colt is communicating he’s annoyed with your leg, and doesn’t understand what you want, by biting at your foot/stirrup/his side. If this could be the case, I’d ask your trainer to get on and ride the colt forward with light contact. And reconnect with the trainer you paid to start him. Perhaps you can get some candid input and recommendations from him.
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I am NOT an expert in QH training, (or retraining) but I’ve ridden a couple that had a “spur stop” . Could this be it? I’d close my leg and Stop! It was confusing for the horses but we taught them leg meant forward.
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If you aren’t working the horse daily, you aren’t addressing the pssm 1 fully. Diet is only half of the management to prevent abnormal glycogen buildup.
If he moves out on the ground. Try lunging daily for a couple weeks and then try to go back to riding.
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Well shoot. If I had only been ridden 3 times since December I’d have gotten used to the cushy life too. He gets tired quick (bc he’s not fit) and then doesn’t want to do any more. Ride him more, get him fitter, then see if he can do more.
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That’s an interesting thought. When I was a teenager, I rode and showed QHs. I test rode one once that spur stopped and I couldn’t adjust!
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He’s only been ridden 3 times since Dec which means he might be having some soreness and getting used to the working life again.
Could you ride him out in a big open area? It sounds like you won’t have an issue with him running away.
Sounds like he just needs a good one over by the vet and then some consistency.
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My horse never palpated sore either, but x-rays showed he had KS.
Just reading the initial post made me immediately think PSSM. Reading further down it appears the horse does have in fact have PSSM. I’d seriously be revisiting that and getting full blood work done before going down a rabbit hole to find something that has similar symptoms when you already know the horse has condition that causes those symptoms. If you hear hoof beats think horse, not zebra.
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If he is PSSM positive then he needs a structured work schedule. Either 5 days on and 2 off, starting with light work on Monday.
It is a struggle to manage a PSSM horse. It means daily forced exercise.
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No he’s not trained for a spur stop.
He is lunged or long lined 5-6 days a week.
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Yes that is the type of program he’s on. 5-6 days per week of lunging or long lining if I’m not long lining and he lives out 24/7.
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No he has been having this issue since last September. I gave him that time off of riding to give him a mental/physical break.
I would still explore medical…my 4 yo (yes, the same one with the ulcers) had started stopping, refusing to turn left, and getting very balky (except he actually was threatening to buck and dump me)…but all refusing to move forward.
The first vet trip found the ulcers. His issues continues after those were treated. Long story short…he fractured the last two ribs on the left side close to the spine. He did not palpate sore at all…in fact, he wanted to be curried right over those spots.
We found it when we did a nuclear scan…the xrays were negative. The scan lit up on the last two ribs on the left. The ultrasound confirmed they were fractured. Again, never had a mark on him, not turned out with another horse, and not sensitive to palpation. I think he must have run into a tree, or slipped and rolled into a tree (he is a doofus!).
6 months later, we just did a reultrasound before he goes back to work. The 18th rub healed. the 17th still has a kink and lots of remodeling…but healed. No question he broke them.
Just worth exploring…and xrays almost never show rib fractures…his didn’t and his were definitely fractured!
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Don’t rule out saddle fit just because he’ll play follow the leader. My QH would only buck if cantered in a group. Turned out it was saddle fit.
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Horse with PSSM having classic symptoms of PSSM… I would think this could be PSSM. What makes you say it’s “well managed?” What is his diet and exercise regimen like?
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Can’t help but notice that, despite multiple people suggesting saddle fit, you have completely ignored responding to “saddle fit.” Before spending “gobs of money” on vets, hows about checking whether or not the saddle actually fits properly when you are up on him? he’s young and changing shape, maybe his saddle no longer fits well.
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