Horse that freeze and don't want to move
I have a very large warmblood gelding that I really struggle with. I've had horses for 25+ years and have been working and competing in high level show jumping for the past 10 years and I've never struggled more with a horse. Riding has never been the problem but handling him from the ground is a nightmare.
Bought him two years ago and from the get go struggled with walking him shoulder to shoulder, which was a big issue for vetchecks at the shows since he simply didn't understand/wanted to jog. Practiced this a lot at home and it got better but have to be super consistent and work on it daily or he will "forget" and walk at snail speed behind me.
The last 6 months he has decided that he dont wanna go in or out of his stall, mainly at shows. Hes almost 190 cm tall so I do understand that it might feel like the openings is a bit too narrow or low for him. I let him take his time, reward him when he takes a step forward and never get angry with him (you really can't, he will freak out if you show the slightest irritation towards him). Some days we have to take the whole box front off as he just won't go in/out.
Today he didn't wanna load on the truck, which has never been a problem before. Again, I let him take his time and reward him when he takes a step forward but it took about an hour to get him on. I've never had this issue with another horse before.
He also don't want to go in the wash bay and in there he will keep backing or walking out, and he will freak out if you put any tension on the lead rope.
It honestly breaks my heart cause I really don't feel like he trust me whatsoever and I have never had this problem with another horse. I've always felt and been told that I'm very gifted when it comes to handling horses.
I'm based in a very high level, quick paced show jumping yard but I'm more than happy to spend all my free time on working on our issues if anyone has any ideas or tips.