BTDT! Alex started out in an older Kieffer, then migrated to a MW County - his last saddle was an XW Frank Baines. I flipped so many saddles over the years as he outgrew them . . . the good news is that you can find very nice used dressage saddles at good prices, and even if you do need to flip saddles every 4-6 months over the next few years, they will hold their value fairly well. Most saddle fitters also have a variety of used saddles; if you can get together with one, you might find that a worthwhile option.
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I would not let the terrible fives scare you.
Not all go thru it and not all that do last for very long.
Several that grew up here were fine all along without needing a few repeat lessons in manners, a few that did got over it in a few months, not years.
One laughable one, as a coming five, one day decided the farrier that had trimmed him all his life now was glowing hot and had grown horns and a tail, oh my!
He got all fluffed up big and high headed and blowing his nose in warning and would not let him come close.
We were laughing so hard, colt decided we were not falling for it and quietly gave it up and quit acting up on his own.
Is good to be aware of this possible phase and nip it in the bud, or work at it if it hits hard, but remember it is not a given that it will happen or that it will be bad or for very long.
With youngsters, you can take them a day at the time, they are learning all along and us with them, which is the great fun of teaching youngsters you will be part of now. 
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You are making a very broad generalization here that is not true of all Friesians. There are a number of Friesians who have been successful at the upper levels of dressage, and many more that are wonderful horses for lower and middle level amateurs. And, to be fair, there are some generalizations that could be made about common Andalusian shortcomings too (a choppy little canter, a tendency to wing/paddle at the trot, etc.). Again, not true of every horse so a bit unfair. There are common pros and cons for every breed.
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If your saddle is 30 years old you may need to have it evaluated and Is it called re- flocking??stuffing?? depending on what it is. I re- gifted an older Stubbed this past year and it was in great shape but the new " gifter" was definitely planning on getting it done.
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Ooo, good food for thought. I did have my saddle restuffed about 5 years ago, and it’s in good shape (other than the girth flaps looking kinda wrinkly-ugly).
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Thank you for the perspective! I’ll cross fingers he stays pretty level-headed. Saturday when I was finishing up our (short, somewhat out-of-sync) ride, I met a long-time dressage person who was there for her daughters’ lesson (on adorable Quarter ponies in western tack). She was very complimentary of my guy, couldn’t believe he was just 4.5 – said he acted more mature than that (despite the silliness he was committing, like pawing and fidgeting a bit). She’s had loads of experience on youngsters, so I was happy with her reaction.
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I appreciate the kind support here, from you and Arlomine. I tried an Andi mare after trying this boy; the Andi mare paddled at the trot and struggled to pick up a canter, and both her trot and canter were quick and flat. I would acknowledge sigrid.sijtsma’s concerns by saying that I did the hock x-rays (thanks to the advice from this group!), and the examining vet was very complimentary of my horse - said “I sure don’t have any concerns about his soundness!”, his rads were clean, and “his range of motion, if anything, is excessive compared to most.”
Who knows what we’ll end up doing together? It’s hard to say, but I couldn’t afford a horse that was already proven at First or Second level (and was within 3 hours’ drive, NOT fairly old / with soundness issues / etc.)…and hopefully, based on this guy’s temperament, we’ll enjoy the journey however far we go. Working over his back is my main goal for the foreseeable future; even in our choppy short ride on Saturday, he had a moment of lovely stretch forward/down at the walk and I was thrilled (and told him so!).
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Yes, a full strip and reflock could be needed if it’s never been done. Of course the tree needs to be the right shape. A good saddler can also widen the channel while doing the reflocking.
OP, as your boy matures, there is a good chance you’ll want to look into getting a saddle with a hoop tree as he will probably get quite wide. There are lots of good used saddles on the market, and I wouldn’t bother looking into new for a young and growing horse anyway.
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Have had the strip and reflock 5 years ago. As far as tree – need to have that evaluated. Am SO hoping current saddle can last us for a bit! I haven’t heard of a “hoop tree” before, I’ll go research that. (Everything has changed since I was last riding regularly!)
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As far as the testing behavior goes - always try to think about what you want him to do in that moment, and when he does something else tell him “do this now” instead of falling into the trap of “stop that!” You’re going to say stop at some point, but train yourself to say do this immediately afterwards. If you’re having trouble redirecting him, get help sooner than later and you’ll both be fine.
Remember what you want him to do (standing still is doing something!), expect him to do it, and remind him to do it when he starts doing something else. You’ve got this!
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As someone who trains dogs for agility, I totally agree! Yelling “no” at a dog is meaningless - they need an alternative behavior. My challenge is knowing how to show Horsey to stand still - how to train it. (-- I could go straight to operant conditioning, that’s my dog training go-to method.)
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You might try to teach him to shift his weight forward, back, left and right without moving a hoof. If you watch him (specifically where the base of his neck ties in to his chest), you’re going to see him shift his weight to the diagonal hind quarter before lifting a front hoof to paw. He might even move a hind foot. When you spot the weight shift you can shift it back. If a hoof moves, move it back. It’s all part of training to stand quietly.
I’ve never seen the ignore method be successful in stopping pawing horses, but that may be because people simply can’t ignore the horse until they stop pawing, but they also fail to stop the pawing with whatever their chosen action is.
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I had success stopping my mare pawing by turning around and walking away from her when she did, if I was bringing her hay or something else tasty. She ended up being one who would paw the air, which is somewhat less annoying. Unfortunately I was not able to get barn workers to follow this – it’s just one more thing to think about, and they’re just too busy.
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Yes! And I feel like there’s a Great Wall of CoTH Aunties (and other rellies) ready to start swinging our handbags!
I have a mental image of this group of posters, heads hung, at the Enabler’s Anonymous meetings 
OP the picture of you at the try out is beautiful!
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I LOVE EVERY PART OF THIS!! It made me smile!!! 
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Heh. Ain’t goin to no meetings.
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Congratulations OP! Have you settled on a name yet?
I was able to ride my boy as a youngster in my old Passier, then we moved on to a Thornhill (very inexpensive hoop treed saddle) and he outgrew that one last year. Currently his back is the approximate shape of a school bus. He’s in a Duett Fidelio now, I went all out with extras but I believe the stock models run around 2k new.
I really like Warwick Schiller’s work and think you will too. I would just ignore the pawing, like your BO suggested. Really ignore. Don’t let it impact your energy. Everything will be fine. The haltering, the mouthyness, the pawing, the saddle. Everything will be fine 
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This has been my experience as well. But we got through it and to the other side. Again, this is where the good professional help comes in!
I would also definitely get the saddle checked by a good fitter as soon as possible. It’s pretty high on my list of things to do with a new horse because you really don’t want them to have any discomfort and start associating that with work. And on a youngster I personally would definitely prefer the security of some blocks, but that’s just me.
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