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Pistol is my first horse. I've had him since the beginning of September. When we first got him, I rode him after a few days of allowing him to settle in. He was alright, but then he ran off with me at full speed. We solved this by adding a tie down to his tack, and that made him a perfect little gentleman. Then, he started getting very uncomfortable whenever I shifted my weight, such as to mount or dismount, but only then. He got to the point where when I tried to get off he reared! We finally figured out why. He had an awful rainrot infection all down his spine and hips because the people we bought him from decided to leave him out in the pasture for 4 weeks straight during all the hurricanes. He got nonstop rained on.
Thanks to that wretched rain rot, he's had a 6 week vacation from riding, and has become extremely spooky in these past 6 weeks. I still handle him every day, he's just as nice as can be when you go to pet him, but he's a jerk sometimes. We got a second horse, Lacy, to give him a companion, give me someone to ride, and most importantly, to CALM HIM DOWN! Well, I think she simply made him more excited, even though she's extremely calm and seemingly bombproof. We were hoping that he would learn from her, but he hasn't.
I finally got back on Pistol yesterday, and it didn't start out very well. He acted like he had never seen tack before. When we went to put the blanket on him he almost hurt himself trying to get away. He clenched his muscles so tight to himself it was obvious, and even tried to lower his body to the ground without falling. Next we had to practically throw the saddle on him to get him used to it. He took the bridle OK, but this was really ridiculous. You don't forget what tack is in 6 weeks, and you don't forget manners. I got back on him after this fiasco, but not for more than 10 seconds. The second I started to get on he started trying to run away so Dad held on to the lead rope and I got on. Pistol instantly reared, trampled my dad, took off at a gallop and I came flying off.
Has my horse gone completely mental? I ask this very seriously because this isn't the only situation in which he's panicked. Oftentimes if he's just say, grazing outside, tied to a post, or even in his stall, everything will be peachy and calm. Nothing will change, no noise, no wind gust, nothing. SUDDENLY THE HORSE EXPLODES!!!!! He'll take off at light speed, he'll break the rope in a panic or tear a post out of the ground (yup, he's done it), or suddenly almost hit the wall. It's like something in his mind spooks him. I just don't understand why he's like this. He's also extremely, extremely head shy. He's not a mean horse or anything, he never has been, but he's terrified of something for some reason. I've checked everything. I make sure I never wear any make up or perfume around them, and I don't smoke, so my smell doesn't change. My clothes are usually the same type when I'm around them. My hair is never different. NOTHING will change, but out of nowhere, he'll spook and dangerously at that. He's cut himself badly on the tail end of a pickup truck one day by breaking his rope and taking off in its direction. I DON'T GET IT!
I can also tell by this, there is no way in the world this horse trusts me. How do you earn their trust? I've never hurt him, and I used to be too nice but I can tell with this guy it's going to have to be no nonsense from here on out. He got to the point where he avoided me, so I make him earn his dinner every night. He HAS to let me pet him, and not just for a second, for as long as I want, or else he's not getting any food. He's figured this out, and it's made him better about being a snot in the stall.
Can anyone help me with this? Is my horse mental, seriously? What kinds of things can affect a horse's behavior like this? Grain? Disrespect for people? My neighbors do like to come down, fill up a scoop, and hand distribute it among the three, but they let the horses push them around about it. But that doesn't explain the spooking, this was going on long before they started this. Maybe he's going to need a refresher course with a very, very good trainer... but that is going to have to be a last resort because I'm a college kid with very limited funds. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.

Hey there-Pistol sounds like quite the handful! It's been a while since you posted this and I'm hoping you've gotten some help already. I just read this a couple of days ago because i was curious, I am by no means an expert. I just got my 'first' horse recently also, so I've been doing a lot of reading. Coincidentally, mine has an awful case of rain rot too, I'd love to hear what you used for it and how it worked for you. Anyway...I was reading yesterday about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. This caught my eye and made me think of you, "Stricken horses may lose their appetite, display excitable or compulsive behavior, and walk blindly into objects." This is part of a description of Equine Encephalomyelitis ("sleeping sickness", I found it in a pamphlet distributed by Fort Dodge Animal Health. Good luck.

Interesting... I should look into that.
Well, for the rain rot while it was warm, we bathed him as often as the weather would let us and i used the reccomended amount of shampoo... oh some kind... the shampoo's green and clear and gelly... good stuff though... and i dumped in Betadine Surgical Scrub as much as they told me too as well. I washed him head to toe, as well as directly applying Betadine to wear the rain rot was particularly bad. It cleared up nicely.
My horse is still insane, by the way, but we're working with him. It's helped a great deal.
The other thing I reccomend is Blue Kote. I LOVE this stuff. I'll use baby oil, soak the scabs, pull off the softened ones, whipe off the excess oil, let it dry up over about an hour, then go back and spray on Blue Kote. I can't tell you how much I love this stuff. My other gelding, Boo, is a goofball and decided "Gee, the ground is frozen, what a great time to start rolling! Oh crap, I ripped out chunks of my fur." Well, blue kote solved that problem in no time. Although they really should call it Purple Kote, it's purple, not blue!!!
Besides, it's kinda fun to humanely spray paint your horseys. Teehee!

This is simply my opinion, and I may be wrong. What I am thinking about how he treats you as far as trying to put the saddle and other tack on, is that he associates those things with the pain of being ridden with the rain rot. Treat him as an unbroke 2 year old, going slow and showing him that the saddle wont hurt him. Let him get used to seeing it around him, perhaps hanging on a fencepost, or even sitting on another horse. I don't know if he would let you, but possibly try to ride him bareback, and see if he acts like the pain is still ongoing. Another idea is using weighted bags to get him used to weight up there again. About getting his respect, have you tried lunging him before you work with him? I would definitly get some litarature on how to train horses, because alot of persistant training is going to go into getting him alot calmer. You do have the right idea about making him earn his supper. Its good to spoil, but alot of horses I've had to deal with were overly spoiled. My aunts own horse wont let anyone put a halter on her without first giving her a treat. She then about sticks her nose right into it. But I hope this helps you a little bit.
Jess

Hi, my name is Meagan and Ive had horses for about 7 years. Ive trained a few, but I am no where near expert! I train with Clinton Anderson methods, all about respect! When I got my horse he was 3 years old and he used to take off and be a real jerk, when I got a trainer that helped me he taught me all about Clintons methods and now my horse is almost 5 years old. I would recommend looking into him.