How long is a piece of string - retraining ex racer

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Sidalba

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Hi All,
Opinions please (but please try not to tear me to pieces - thanks in advance!)
I have a 10 year old ex-pointer who I've had for 16 months.
He has come on loads in terms of schooling and all-round ability but I just can't chill him out.
He is so wired that sometimes he has panic attacks where he freezes, holds his breath and then rears and bronks. If you hack him out he'll go out lovely but the stress will build and build in him so that after 20 mins you can't ask him to stand still as he will go up. Alot of his stress is related to standing which I understand due to his background.
He's not spooky at all, will walk past anything, his stress seems to be completely unrelated to what other horses react to.
Obvious issues all checked - saddle, back, hocks were bad - had steroid injections. No heating feed (luckily he's a really good doer for a TB). Tried lots of calmers. Yd is really calm and quiet and I am about the most unstressed person (too laid back) ever, so pretty sure it's not all down to me.
He's a total gent on the ground, manners to burn, follows me round like a dog!
Thing is when I take him out to compete (even walk trot tests) it's all I can do to get through the day without him exploding so we're just not getting anywhere.
Sentimentally, I love him but in practical terms he's really not what I want from a horse. I want my victories to be in rosettes, not in the fact that I got him through a day without a massive scene or ending up with an injury!
So question is how long would you give a horse in these circumstances before you give up (and giving up brings it's own decisions).
If you're still reading thanks for persevering and thanks in advance for advice!!
 
Can you afford to send him away to a pro for a few weeks? If, after 16 months of struggling, there was minimal progress that would be my first port of call tbh. What had he done before you got him?

Secondly, does he live out? Reg is a different horse if he can live out 24/7. He gets quite stressed and worried if he's stabled a lot, whereas when he lives out he's Mr Chilled.

When he starts to show his first signs of worry/ stress, what do you do?
 
Hi thanks for reply! I was thinking to send him to Jason Webb for a couple of weeks as we spent a day there which was really good.
He lives out in Summer but is in at night now but it doesn't seem to have any effect on his behavior either way. He's still out for about 10 hrs a day.
I've tried everything when he gets stressed, sometimes riding through it is best but when he freezes experience tells me it's best to get off, wait for him to snap out and get back on. I know all the reasons this is bad but, if I stay on, he can't snap out of it without rearing and it's the type of uncontrolled rearing where he will end up going over. Usually, I just try and ignore it his stress, use my seat to slow him down and talk to him, etc.
Before I got him he had race trained, hunted and pointed once, then mostly stood in a field for a couple of years. I sometimes wonder if it's just too late for him.
I tracked down his old trainer who said he's always had 'panic attacks' even when young, but only when ridden and she wasn't aware of any cause such as an accident. Even pointing he was 'unruly in the paddock' according to the book.
 
Sounds like one of the Stresshead Family - I have one who is still more or less the same after 6 years of every method that can be thought of to remedy his stressiness. Mine doesn't sound as bad as your lad (no rearing, etc.), but I have recently decided to give up trying to "cure" him and to leave him in the field while I go and enjoy my other, saner horses. It's just not worth it, IMO, and I got tired of the drama, danger and lack of enjoyment.
 
try magnesium.

i started mine on 20g magnesium a day (it was to try it as a cheap calmer), and the difference within 10 days was astounding, and mine was awful on the ground, bargy, very unmanageable at time, box walking, etc (though ok when ridden). Its only a few pounds for a months supply - think i paid £5 for 4 momths worth, so might be worth trying it while you try a behaviors expert too
 
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