I have injected my comments within this email I received. Bear in mind that I have not seen the horse and only have this email to go on...
Hey Marv,
Okay, here is a brief description of the mare I have: 6 years old, half Andalusian and half APHA,
I was called to a huge 350 stall barn smack dab in the middle of Chicago to do some private work. The problem child was a Tennessee Walking Horse who was having problems in dressage work. In a phone consultation with the owner I told her TWHs are gaited horses and they don't trot or canter. She told me the horse didn't gait either. So she brought me up there to look at the horse.
I arrived at the barn before the owner and I struck up a conversation with some folks in the lounge. When they found out why I was there they said, "Oh, yea, her horse is in aisle 35, you can't miss it, it's the black and white TWH mare."
I replied, "It's not a TWH, they only come in two colors, black and chestnut."
They were starting to look around for rope and a stout limb as they scoffed, "It's a registered TWH, it has papers, she paid a lot of money for it."
The owner arrives in the nick of time to save me and we head to her horse's stall.
For the most part, breed associations breed horses, or any other animal, for a particular purpose or characteristic while hopefully refining the bloodlines ever closer to the goal. In the early years a lot of individuals are culled out until there is a uniformity of the breed. All recognized breeds have gone through this process and have stood the test of time.
There are always those who think they single-handedly can develop their own breed by willy-nilly crossing breeds. Just as there are "Designer Dogs" there are designer horses. One of the designer horse breeds are colored TWHs. They breed them to Appaloosas, Paints and so on and give the results cute names like Walkaloosas. They claim they get the "best of both breeds," but a significant percentage of the time they get the worst combination of characteristics they could possibly get. This mare was one of those combinations.
The moment the mare was brought out of the stall I knew why the mare wouldn't trot or gait. She had a stock horse shoulder on one side and a TWH shoulder on the other side. I immediately saw the mare had matching diagonals - a stock horse hip on the TWH shoulder side and a TWH hip on the stock horse shoulder side. There was no way the horse could physically trot or gait smoothly.
Andalusian's and Paints have different conformation and way of going. It's possible her skittishness is caused by a conformation conflict. Their neck angles are different, their leg action is different and so on. They really are two very different breeds of horses. If I had some pics to look at I might be able to come up with some idea. The very first thing I look for in an abnormally spooky horse is cervical problems, especially when the horse is a product of two different kinds of head carriage. I also look for transition kinks, those areas where one major part of the horse flows into another such as lumbar / caudal, etc.
not broke to ride, not trained to lunge, bolts, has a very untrusting nature. I bought this mare, and the owner flat out lied to me. The only things she said that were true were that she is 6, and an Andaulsian/APHA cross. Everything else was a lie. This is an extremely sensitive/tense mare, bolts at the drop of a hat, and doesn't trust humans. (This is apparently a hereditary, issue. Why on earth you would breed her dam, knowing what she was like, is beyond me.)
Sheesh! If I could figure out why people do the things they do I'd be so much in demand I wouldn't have time to horse around.
My trainer is using natural horsemanship training on her, and has made some progress. But, ALWAYS, her first instinct is to bolt. Mare does retain some of the training. My trainer said that she has only had one other horse like this mare in her lifetime. The mare seems to be only minimally trainable. She is not mean. Doesn't bite, kick, or strike.
I have no idea what "natural horsemanship training" actually means. Natural horsemanship trainers are all over the board. I am one myself and not many train like I do. If the trainer isn't making steady, fairly quick obvious progress with her, you need to stop the financial hemorrhaging. I'd suggest bringing her home until you can get some idea what's happening.
So, is there any help or hope for this mare? I am not a trainer, and can't afford to keep her in training for 2 years to see if she comes around. Is there any way to get into this mare's head, and figure out how to turn off the 'bolt' switch? She seems to feel more confident in small areas, so she is easier to deal with in a small area. She's a stunning mare, but I can't afford to keep her as a pasture ornament. Any ideas you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
I've seen some pretty frustrating horse CTD (Circling The Drain) situations disappear, so chances are, there's hope. You talk in terms of getting into her head and turning off the "bolt switch." It may not be a switch problem, it may be a wiring problem and all the switch flipping in the world may not make the lights come on. I'd have her examined by an equine chiro. If you can't find one try AVCADoctors.com I have seen these types of cases quickly resolved with chiropractic treatment.
You may also find my DVD Troubleshooting Physical Issues In Horses helpful.