We have a lovely TB cross Connemara (Splodge) at work. He is the sweetest horse to handle and be around so would be such a shame to see him go to waste. He used to be a very enjoyable and knowledgeable ride, however about a year ago he suffered from a tendon injury, he is now sound and ready to bring back into work.

We have been working with him since his injury for about 2 months now, but everything seems to be leading us to a dead end. He is good to work on the lunge, (his downward transitions could do with some work but we are dealing with this well). However when it comes to ride him things become a bit more difficult.... he used to twist his jaw to try and evade the bit in his downwards transitions, but we have solved this and things seem to be going well in this area now he has a grackle on. He is now incredibly light in the mouth, he always was before, but then he used to work on a loose rein in a relaxed outline. However now if you hold your reins any shorter than on the buckle he runs back and a few time has reared, i am fully aware that i should not be asking for a outline whilst he doesn't have the muscle there, which is why i am not, but i cant see any reason why i cant hold my reins any shorter?

when he is asked to trot and canter he runs on the forehand all the time, making it very uncomfortable to ride, he never leans on the bit though.

any ideas to help with him would be greatly appreciated, his owner is currently too scared to ride him, and i have the summer to sort him out before i go back to college. please help hes such a sweet horse i don't want to see him go to waste.

Emily

If you look hard enough, most [not all] training issues are pain related.

I personally, would go all the way back and start @ the very beginning, as if he wasn't broke to ride.
The training that has been done correctly will go extremely fast. Where you have a hard time-will be the basics that either aren't there or were done too fast or incorrectly. That is your starting point.

To easily rule out the mouth issue, have a qualified Dentist/Vet check his teeth and make adjustments where needed.
Also since he is in a grackle/figure 8 noseband, have his jaw checked-it may be out of alignment which can lead to TMJ issues-Tibular Mandibular Joint.

I've dealt w/ a few cases of soft tissue injuries & always double what the Vet says usually taking 18 months to 2 yrs to bring back into full work.
And never lunge, always straight, very huge sweeping turns.

Good Luck

we have had the vet come in to give him a all over check, but she found nothing so dont think its pain related.
he is only in very basic work at the moment... a bit of long reining, and walk and trot under saddle?