Maybe this is a bit of a hot take but I don’t think there’s enough in the OP (or replies) to fairly say that the trainers was out of line, doesn’t understand TBs, is rushing you etc. What are you currently doing? What are your goals? We don’t even know what the horse’s topline looks like. Maybe it’s beautiful, maybe there are some glaring issues - most likely it’s somewhere in the middle but we don’t know.
I will say, speaking generally and not about OP directly (because, again, not enough info), I think there’s has been a big trend in slowing things down WRT bringing horses along. Like to the point I saw a post from an OTTB influencer person that they didn’t ride for 3 years because that was the only way they could make progress with their horse (with the after clips showing them just trotting around). I think taking things slow is great but know, as I’m living it now with a 5yr old OTTB of my own, that it is easy to fall into a comfort zone and not push the horse to be just a little better. I see people all the time on both green and well broke horses, who have aspirations of moving up or showing more, who fall into the trap of not pushing themselves. They go around and around instead of saying can I get pony to stop right at C? What about exactly 1 stride after? Or whatever marginal improvement they could work on (which is why regular lessons are helpful for many as there is an external voice to help push the comfort zone and work on the continual improvement). There is so much that can be done at W/ T to get softer, straighter, more supple that will translate over to more advanced things later that nearly every horse and rider can work on.
I do think if a horse has been off the track for a year and half, barring any substantial injuries or mistreatment (mental baggage), you should be past the “unpacking the track life” stage.
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