Thoughts on Max Part 2

 Read part 1 here

Showing:
I know Max has been taken to shows. When I search his registered name, I get some hits for the Illinois State Fair. I'm fairly certain he was shown in halter and maybe some driving classes.  There are also pictures up of him showing at the old lesson barn he was at. I imagine it was either 4-H, local shows or just schooling shows held at the barn. But that's about it.

Trail Riding:
This is a bit of a mystery. I have no confirmation that he ever went on trail rides.  The one time I was able to take him off farm, he was a lot more forward and excitable that I was expecting, but only hesitated at a couple of things. He was very willing to follow or do the obstacle if he saw another horse do it. This included walking through a covered bridge, walking over one of those wooden bridges that moves like a teeter totter and walking up and over a dirt filled tractor tire.  However, he hates cars.  Being a trail horse will be his primary job with me.

The covered bridge.  Then cars started coming and he nearly lost his mind.

Jumping:
I doubt he's been trained to jump, but he is very willing to jump anything you point him at.  This includes jumping over muddy ditches rather than walking like he should, jumping through deep snow, rather than plowing through, like I expected, and jumping the temporary electric tape line (about 3' high). I'm considering taking him to another barn for lessons with the expectation of jumping, but will decide that later.  I need a trailer first.

Overall I'd say that Max has some decent training put on him. He lunges in side reins or just with the line through a bit. With just a halter though, he's a beast. I don't have a roundpen so we are working on that. He needs work on moving off pressure, turning, personal space and simply not grabbing for grass at every opportunity.