OK folks - looking for input.  Have years of riding experience, performance, trail, foxhunting, you name it.  Have a nice 16 hand spotted mountain gelding, just 5.  Weathered a tornado today with him and want to see what else I can do if it happens again..  here goes...

This horse is buddy sour so each ride at the end I have been splitting off from the group for the last mile or so.  Stretching it out each ride.  Usually I split in another direction but sometimes I turn and make him back track.  He is very vocal and upset about this, but we stay the course and I have thought he was getting better.  I ride with a very comfortable (for him and me) Bob Marshall Sport Saddle and use an english pelham 3" shank mullen mouth (comfortable again) with a german martingale for some extra leverage (he can get high headed and evade in certain situations - this stops that cold). 

TODAY we backtracked about a mile from the end of the ride (had been out a nice 3.5 hours)  and he threw a pretty good fit on the turn around.  I half halted, stopped and turned, disengaged his hind, practiced side passing, you name it.  At one point he got out of hand when circling in the trail, braced and bolted.  It felt like a temper tantrum to me.  I basically ran  him into a post and rail fence real quick,  to get him stopped.  Then we stood quietly til he got it together and proceeded on without too much additional trouble.  This horse gets a lot of kind attention at our barn, and its my bet he just decided perhaps this was a democratic arrangement between us. 

He is not schooled in one rein stop (neither am I), but he is schooled to leg yield, side pass, and generally respect rein pressure. He does come around into a circle as a rule, immediately when qued. The mullen is such a very mild bit, and this is a spanking big strong gelding. 

Not sure I have the right big.

I am including a link to photos...here...I am the one in the first photo - and I am on the ground.  Since I am the one normally taking the photos, I don't think there are any of me riding this horse, except maybe at the waterfalls.  http://s888.photobucket.com/albums/ac86/eleanorvallone/CC%20Spotted%20Mountain%20Horse%20Gelding/

Any input is welcome.

Oh, its a good bet I'll fix him. No, I don't plan to get hurt I'll TRY to be smarter than that.

You confirmed what I was just thinking.  I keep him in a 21 horse herd.  Its time he came out of the herd and lived by himself, in and out of the herd.  That should get him over it in part without even riding him thru it. 

It really was a tantrum.  He comes away from his herd on his own when I call him to the barn - about 800 feet away.  So, he's not THAT attached to his herd.  Just under saddle as I said he thinks perhaps its a democracy.  Will cure that one way or the other.  One thing I am thinking is to ride out with folks, let them ride away, and bring a book.  Neck tie him to a tree and read the book.  When he calms - get on and ride...  And do the same at the barn - keep him separate in a stall (which he will hate) and when he's good and calm let him back out.

Ideas welcome - all of them!  Thanks.

I appreciate your input.  Patience and persistence pays.  if he gets 1% better every ride, in 100 rides he's 100%.  Well, for me, that's about 33 weeks -  not shabby!  Happy trails to you.  E

Oh, I am not at all worried about tying him or any other horse to a tree.  I have stormed it thru with lots of ex-racehorses in my life, and found that to be a huge tie breaker (neckrope, appropriate tree) ~;-) No sense trying to reason with an "over the top" horse.  They settle down, and I'm back up and riding in no time. 

I would like to know how to teach a true freeze stop!  Any reference websites would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Bob.  I believe this would work very well.  I can't dedicate that much time to any one horse/problem, unfortunately.  Just isn't in the cards.  But, I think I will look up training for the one rein stop.  Not sure if that works in a really torqued up situation, but its worth trying and takes less time to train.

Thanks again for your input.

I truly appreciate your input.  The videos were all done when he was perhaps just 4 and almost untrained; and I am not the rider just popped someone up to get a "starting from here" video when I first had him under saddle.  I should have let that be known.  In fact, though he looks as if he could be fast, he is not very fast at all.  Just sort of gets the job done, but not forward unless left behind (hence my post).   Wouldn't mind a fast one, if somebody has one for sale ...    I love to ride fast, but rsponsibly, and not until the horse is entirely well trained and can easily handle it.  So, this guy has been kept to a moderate pace.

I do ride this gelding with a german martingale as he does have a tendancy under stress to float his head up. 

All in all, with much thanks to those who posted, it seems i better take time to ride him out alone.  He's going on a weekend camping trip with me tomorrow, for that reason.

First of all: how awesome of you to trailer your boarders out to ride!

A few ideas came to mind: the 1 rein stop and also a horse divorce.

Horse divorce is best practiced in an arena. Basically gallop your horse next to his "buddie" for several minutes. Separate then let them rest. After a few minutes walk the arena and as soon as your horse looks at or faces the other horse, go right back to galloping next to each other. I've seen this work in less than 20 minutes.

A trail version is to let your horse pass everyone, then turn him towards the back of the line and trot to the back, then let him trot to the front, then trot to the end of the line. Clinton Anderson had a version of this in the arena where the buddy sour horse cantered circles around the other horses that were walking or trotting around the arena.

Good luck and happy trails!

Wow what great input!  My boarders think its pretty good that I take them along, too.  Its why my place is bulging with horses.

So far, he is getting better at riding alone.  He never has been spooky; just calling out less now.  We also are practicing leaving him in the stall alone.  He is settling down with that. 

He doesn't stand a chance because I simply won't give up.    If he gets 1% better a week, he'll be 50% better a year.

I like the horse divorce.  Would like to try that one with another horse.  This horse is only anxious on trail not in the arena or around the farm.

Thanks so much for sharing. 

Eleanor