azsun - 2016-08-18 10:57 AM I have a horse that was severely abused in the past and he has some quirks. Sounds similar to your guy. Here's what I've had success with .. I've come to accept the fact that there are just some things that will always be there. 1. He doesn't like to be hard tied. If he spooks and pulls back and comes is hard tied, he will fight to get away until something breaks. I use one of those ties where they can pull loose. If he starts to pull back and feels he can pull, he stops. I only have to loop his lead to the fence and he'll stand there all day. 2. I treated him for ulcers. Probably the biggest change here. 3. I took him off all processed feed. 4. I added magnesium to his feed. I use the MagRestore crumbles. This made a huge difference - even my farrier said not to take him off. After hearing the progress on magnesium, my vet gave me some biovigor (or something like that to try). This helps too. 5. I never approach him without letting him know I'm coming. I talk to him all the time. 6. I get some debate on this, but it works for me. I give lots of cookies - my guy is very food motivated. 7. Chiro and massage. 8. My farrier is really calm and quiet with him. We don't get farrier work if the wind is blowing - we try to make the experience a positive one for him. 9. No matter what, I try to keep myself calm and not get too excited or rattled about anything around him. 10. Lavender essential oils. I spray some on my hands and his brush to put it on him. (This might actually be more for me! LOL) Sometimes when I go into his stall and he acts afraid, I will just stand there with my back turned a little bit (keeping him in my peripheral vision) and 'ignore' him. He will come up and look for cookies, eventually. I always have to have extra time to take my time. He can tell when I'm in a rush. Good luck.

IRunOnFaith - 2016-08-18 2:24 PM  This is very interesting. Can you elaborate on why you added Magnesium to his diet and what exactly Magnesium is doing for him?  

azsun - 2016-08-18 2:58 PM Several years ago, I read that magnesium has a calming effect on people and after it was recommended to me by my chiropractor when I mentioned I was having trouble falling asleep I tried it. It worked well for me. It didn't make me sleepy, just a little more relaxed. I started to research horse anxiety and rehabilitating a horse with a history of abuse. I came across an article about magnesium deficiency in horses and some of the the symptoms. It sounded a lot like my horse. (I found it using google). After researching magnesium supplements for horses, I came across Performance Equine's website. I had used their Focus product several years ago when I had a horse that just couldn't focus on the run and had good success with the product (they offered a trial size for $20 so if it didn't work, I didn't have a bag of supplements I couldn't use. They had several articles and testimonials (don't they all) and because I'd had good results with the Focus product, I figured I would give it a try. Don't get me wrong, he's not suddenly become bombproof, he's still watchy and will spook at the tractor and deck chair near his stall, the difference is he isn't jumping away and trying to run away regardless of who is nearby.