Does he really hate schooling?

[JOJOBA]

My horse is guilt tripping me. He is trying to make me feel cruel.
He really really seems to hate schooling. He goes really well on hacks - really bouncy and forward and drops on the bridle and does this amazing walk which I thought was impossible (different story!). But put him in a school and he's constantly pulling to turn in, never puts in anything that you dont force out of him, drops out of paces all the time, and if you flick him on he just runs a few steps with his head up and then settles back into his so slow pace....
Once we did an excercise in a lesson where we all had to let go of the reins and keep our legs on to see what our horses did. At first the others walked straight looking confused, but then they started snuffling round and going to chat to each other and digging little holes in the school and playing - having little trots round and stuff. My horse walked straight to the gate. And as I had my leg on he turned a tight circle, and another, and another, until we got told to move to the other end of the school and try again. We did and he walked straight to the gate, and circled, and circled, and circled.
However - put him on grass and he's a different horse - he squeaks and pulls and even occasionally runs off (last guest instructor thought he was hilarious, she spent all her time saying 'right - get back in line again!'). He even works on the bridle then. So why does he hate the schools so much??? I know most horses dont enjoy schoolwork as much as hacking etc but this is like riding two completely different horses.
I try to do interesting things with him - we do pole work and canter work and lateral work etc. I do my best to keep him moving and thinking but he can be infuriating. He goes much more forward with other horses but only because he's a born follower. He doesnt get excited by the thought of jumping, the other day my instructor said to give him some fun and let him have a gallop down the long side of the school to show him he can jolly up. He just looked annoyed at me and did a few forced canter strides and then broke into trot...
He's about 12 years old and has never been used by a riding school. He was in bad condition when I got him and had been doing a year of just hacking, but Ive had him 5years and he's done Pony Club and Camp and lessons and hacks and dressage lessons and jumping and mini shows etc.
So what do you think? I like schooling he just seems to despise it. He makes me feel really evil for making him do it, and I get annoyed at him because I know he can, but wont!
Thanks for reading my rant,
Jo and Hec xxx

[Esther.D]

I have just posted on this subject on your other thread...before I saw this!

I would be inclined to give him a 'holiday' from schooling for a while..and school sneakily on hacks instead. Rather than going head to head and battling in the school..concentrate on working on him out on hacks and then slowly return to the school for short periods of time (even just a 5 min trot about at first) so he realises schooling is fun. Try playing games in the school, mine love playing gymkana games in the school and it gives them a break from 'proper' schooling and stops them seeing a school as a boring place.

Please try to work with him rather than against him, I used to get frustrated with my old pony for this when I was a young teenager and worked against him rather than with him - he too hated schooling. I eventually started to do a little endurance riding with him and we both loved it. Sadly only a year later he had to be put to sleep with a back problem :( (he had always had a dipped back that was worsening and we knew he would not reach old age). I have always regreted not going to endurance earlier with him, I wasted so much time getting frustrated with him when I could have been out having fun with something we both enjoyed :(

[shirley]

What sort of livery is he on. One where the riding school use him for cost of your livery? If so perhaps the learners he is being used for are not as good a rider as yourself, and perhaps this is his way of telling you I am fed up of being in the school x number of days a week.

[Bebe]

Bebe used to hate schooling and as a result I hated it too. We could do allsorts out hacking but put us in a school and it all went to pieces and Bebe became uncooperative, spooky, had no forwards or impulsion and was generally very hard to ride.

I played around with various things including basic western riding, switched instructors and when that didn't help decided to give up schooling altogether. A friend at the yard offered to have a go at riding Bebe for me to see if she could see what the problem was, she actually longreined her to begin with and we found that Bebe just didn't understand various things that meant being worked in the school was hard for her. My friend offered to help me and we took Bebe right back to basics, in fact we're still only seriously working in walk and trot.

The difference in Bebe is amazing though, she's forward and willing (most of the time, you can't change a horses personality completely obviously and she will always find hacking more interesting). She's light and responsive and I don't have to battle with her anymore.

It might be worth investigating other methods of riding or looking into alternative lessons (Alexander Technique lessons are fab) to see if you can find something he does like or a different way to make schooling more interestintg and pleasurable for him.

[JOJOBA]

What sort of livery is he on
Private - just me.
Sometimes my mum or my mum's friend takes him out for a hack, and on odd days he does lessons (usually once a fortnight or less) but only with quiet, experienced riders I have pre-approved.
Otherwise tis just me :)
Alexander Technique lessons are fab
What's that? Not heard of it. I have longreined him recently thinking it was his first time and he was like 'oh, longreining. Yep, can do this. Outline, yeah. I can drive too, by the way.' (we think he can maybe drive by the looks of him).
I wish I knew more about his past. Pretty much everything schoolingwise I have had to teach him myself.
thanks
xxx