When to give up?

Pony & mule behavior

Strange behavior in my young mare

Billy Allen bits

Young race horse

Overly rounded back while riding

Should I buy a stallion?

Keeping My Horse Focused

Aggressive Gelding

Catching another scared horse, equine rehab...

When to give up?
...Sometimes when we go out for a ride he gets very difficult to manage. I am forced to get down and walk with him until he calms down. I know in the past that people had accidents when riding outdoors with him. I've also tried to go with other calm horses but at certain moments he looses his patience and wants to go home. These moments could be when going next to cows, other horses, rivers, forest, bicycles, etc. ... He has improved a lot but I feel that he doesn't enjoy to go out. Considering his age (26) do you think I should give up on going outside on trials with him and just dedicate our time playing at home ? ..

Pony & mule behavior
...We had 2 mules (6 yr. & 3 yr.) that played together constantly.  We sold the 6 yr. & the young one became slightly depressed.  The pony (who never played w/the mules) started gathering up big mouthfuls of hay & pushing it at the mule’s mouth, neck, rump whatever.  Sometimes they will rear up w/each other, start biting necks or legs & chase each other, but not as violently as the mules did...

Strange behavior in my young mare
...Tonight when he was riding her out in the large field, she started bucking / bolting / rodeoing, so he wisely decided to go back to the round pen with her to tone it down. She didn't throw him, which I think frustrated her. When they got back into the round pen, her new tactic was to go totally limp and drop like a sack of cement to the ground. He got clear of her, and waited until she started to get back up, he jumped back on the saddle, and this scenario played out over and over about ten times. ..

Billy Allen bits
What do you know/think about Billy Allen bits, or snaffle bits with shanks? I have a large 4 yr old Appy, first bit was a snaffle, went to a Tom Thumb snaffle, but the shanks are to short, they tend to get caught up in his mouth when I first put it on, of corse causing some problems. He has done well with this type of bit, starting to neck rein with less & less direct rein, and gives to leg pressure. I have recently seen the Billy Allen bits, but concerned that the longer shanks will put more pressure, and want to stay with as little pressure as possible...

Young race horse
I  have recently purchsed a tried race horse, he has no vices and is a very nice horse, he has a habit of locking his jaw and wanting to hang in (turn into the fence) Right , We tried a lugging bit with solid bar but just seemed to make him worse, we have only had him for 1 start he had 3 starts with his previous owners, he isn't sore and his teeth are perfect. I think our next move is a norton bit and maybe remove the blinkers...

Overly rounded back while riding
I bought an Australian Thoroughbred October 2004, retrained him and used him for eventing. [After extensive reconditioning] ...now that I am riding him again, he travels with his head low to the ground and back overly round. Is his back just weak? If so, what exercises can I do to strengthen the loin area of his back? He seems to flatten / move out and travel great while lunging with side reins. Do you think he is just in an "I'm still injured" mind set, and is trying to manipulate me into thinking he needs more time off?...

Should I buy a stallion?
...I want to know whether a stallion could be the right horse for me. I consider myself to be an advanced (not pro) horseman and I truly have no fear of horses but do keep myself in check and aware of the power and risk that comes with handling horses. My goals and reasons for wanting a stallion are to achieve my goal of becoming a pro jumper and my reason for wanting him to remain a stallion is so that when/if he becomes a great jumper I would be able to breed him...

Keeping my horse focused
My horse is continuously looking for little things that distract him, then he spooks. His previous owners stopped riding him when he began doing this, so now it has become a way of getting out of work for him. I've had him checked for everything for illnesses to tack fitting properly. Everything has come back normal. So I am beginning to wonder if it is just a matter of keeping his attention on me. This would mean always doing something even when he is getting a break at a walk. Do you know of any exercises that would keep his mind always having to listen for his next cue?..

Aggressive Gelding
[Editor's note: lengthy question/description]
...I went to ride him with the intention of working on the same calming circles.  He was very agitated when I got to the ring.  I would try to move him in a circle around me and he just kept barging into me with his shoulder, when I tapped his shoulder to move it away he bit me on the arm hard, I smacked him immediately 1,2,3 with the end of the dressage whip on his shoulder, he came right back at me biting and trying to run me over.  I got really scared, he felt like a totally different horse, I felt like he was trying to kill me. ..

Catching another scared horse, equine rehab...
I have a question about catching my "scared horse".  At a loss, I, too, searched the internet for answers and saw a VERY similar questions posed by Keelyn in Salem, OR.  She has a an adopted Mustang that appears to have been abused, and I recently bought a 4-yr. old Tennessee Walker (that came from an auction). She's had hers just over a year, and I have said I will "give him a year", then I'm done trying. Similar "problems" catching....snorts at every move you make around him; initially would turn his rear to you in the stall, but now after 5 months of "making him let me pet him" in the stall before I let him leave...he'll stand tense and scared to death, then he bolts...