My trainer has recently had me work with a new horse at our barn, and judging by his teeth he seems relatively young, maybe 6-7 years old. He has a very sweet personality, but the place he came from would just ride him around and not really ask for much, besides that he made it over the jumps. They also were very fond on hitting him in the face for every little thing. So by this, it has created some problems with how he functions and can be corrected.

Because they would just have him go around at jumps with no corrections and he's so young, he has several problems when it comes to being ridden. His trot and canter to the left are lovely, but he has issues with keeping the right lead. He can pick it up and it doesn't seem like it physically pains him to do so, as his ears stay relaxed and he doesn't get agitated, he just will randomly swap over to the left lead. I've tried keeping him bent to the inside to prevent that, but he will still find a way to swap, which is odd. He also has some issues with trot jumps, so I was thinking lots of trot work, trot poles, and gridwork would help with that. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to help his canter problem?

He also has many issues while tacking up. He does not stand still at all, he moves side to side constantly, and even when I push his side when he starts moving over, he doesn't listen. He just keeps coming. I believe the issue is he really just doesn't know his job there. He also, when asked to walk backwards, doesn't know how. I've tried seeing if he was trained with a leadrope to do it, but he wasn't, he also doesn't respond to pressure on his chest. He also doesn't go into wash stalls. He's not afraid of them, he just stops right before he steps into it and doesn't budge unless someone is walking behind him.

If anyone would have any ideas on how I could work on correcting any of the problems mentioned, that would be fantastic. Sorry it's so long as well, he's just a little bit of a problem pony.

P.S. Also, forgot to mention his name, its Murphy lol

Alright, so I'm going to start using this to keep track of my progress of Murphy and my rides on other horses during the week.

This week, the horses I'm riding are:

Murphy - he's a little solid bay gelding, I'm not sure what breed, height, or age he is, but he's young and pretty green

Ferris - 17h grey gelding, he's a jumper and he's super mouthy on the ground

Dolly - 14.1h grey large pony, she has two speeds, halt and gallop. Was just started being put into work again at the beginning of the summer, the owner wants to sell. She would be a perfect children's pony if she weren't so fast and strong.

I rode both Murphy and Dolly today, Murphy was way better today. He was a little distracted as all of the horses were being turned out while I was riding him. I worked him mainly on a circle when we were going to the right, to help strenthen his left side and help him learn how to bend to the right. He made some progress and was much more willing at the end. He also got a little better at staying on his right lead, although he still tried to bulge. It's just tough, because he bulges and counterbends while cantering to the right, so when I go to correct with my inside leg, he takes that as me asking for a lead change, and swaps to his left. Although at the end he was able to canter half a lap without swapping.

Dolly was way better today as well. Yesterday when I rode her, she would either walk, or when I asked her to trot, go straight to a canter. However, today she was way better. I was able to get a slow, relaxed trot and canter. Whenever she would get a little strong, I would make her circle where we were and she would immediately come back and start listening again, which was huge progress from yesterday. And like I said, I think she would be a perfect pony for a kid if she could learn that she doesn't have to be galloping when she's being ridden. I just don't think she was taught her aids very well, and it's also that she hasn't been ridden very consistently until now. She's super sweet and gentle and stands super well on the ground though.

Alrighty, so I rode Dolly and Murphy today. Dolly was pretty good, except it was super windy and a plastic bag got caught in a tree. I was the only one there and I couldn't get off to remove it so we only got to ride on one side of the ring as no matter how many times I walked her past it, she was not having it xD

Murphy was super good though, except he bit my thumb super hard without me noticing right before I got on. It wasn't a big deal tho, as he probably thought it was a treat, as I was reaching down to grab something while holding the reins with my other hand by his mouth. He was better and more relaxed to the right today. He even walked into the wash stall without stopping today too! I'll admit I had to bribe him with treats, but it's progress.

I'd love to help you, I've been working with project horses for a while now. If you have any questions, let me know!