The Boogie situation

What we have here with young Boog is a sitcheashun. A real one.

I picked Boogie up on Friday nite, and for sure, I could tell that no one was happy with his development, least of all the training barn. Although he was pretty laid back in his every day activities, this riding business was different. He did not go gently down the road to a broke horse. Hell, he is still not going that way! He was developing some quirks at the time I picked him up, which will have to be worked out over time.
It took until tonight for Barry to get on him. And the strangest things happened--we learned that Boogie is just a nervous wreck. He needs a Xanax. This is a complete 180 from who he was before, but that is where we are.
Not only did he wig at being saddled, he wigs when you try to get on him. Once you are there, he is cool. He just seems really freaked out at ANYTHING touching his sides. Stirrups flapping, legs being thrown over to get in the stirrup, you name it, he is not a fan of it. He almost has a meltdown.


He does not seem angry. He is scared. In that way, and the way he evades by throwing his head in the air like a giraffe is very much like his sister Slygirl was. She came out of it though, without being so damn dramatic about everything. Another similarity between the two of them is that she HATED anyone being in her face--so does he. However, since he also does not want his sides touched, I have no idea what to do with him. She preferred to have all her direction from your legs, he not so much.

Somehow he must be desensitized. I am torn between just letting him run for a few months until he decompresses and gets a grip on himself and starting over, and continuing on with what has been done thus far.

The odd behavior at mount and dismount is a new problem that just arose, and I assume that more repetition will do the trick on that--but WHY did it suddenly develop? And what, besides consistent repetition, do I do about it? Considering he has been ridden for the past seven weeks, what the heck is going on in his mind?

I hear his mother was really fractious as a young horse, but that did not stop her from getting to the reining futurity--she did not really simmer until she had her first baby, or so I was told by her previous owners. Now she is about as bomb proof as they come (which is why I am taking her back for my personal riding horse when I wean this current baby of hers) . Obviously, foaling is not on the agenda for Boogie, so that solution will not help.

I am more than open to any suggestions--I need help on this one!