Neverous & behaviour in ex pacer

Question
My daughter has a 12yr Standbread gelding ex pacer, he raced for 7yrs going back on his history.  he is a very nervous horse he head tosses alot rears and rips reins out of your hands alot. spooky at times. his teeth & feed are good he is very stiff throughout his body, on the ground sweet and do anything with. when ridden he turns into another horse, take him out of his own paddock, his frighten, he is only on hay and wheaten chaff and vitamin & minerals my daughter is only 10yr but she is handling him very well she just keeps him moving forward when he plays up with his rearing and pulling reins out of her hands she kicks him on, she can only ride in her paddock as I just don't know what he will do outside his paddock because he is so nervous I just don't to see anything happen to my daughter or her horse. please help

Answer
Hi Katrina.
  Your daughter's horse certainly doesn't sound like a Standardbred. They have a reputation for being "bomb proof"---in fact many Standardbreds are on police forces. Did you happen to see any of President Reagan's funeral? The black riderless horse used at his funeral was a Standardbred.
  My first suggestion would be to have a vet give him a complete eye exam.  I'm sure your daughter does very well for her age, but perhapa a few sessions with a professional trainer for both of them might give you some answers.
  I'm also wondering if he is having a problem with the wheat chaff. I would suggest gradually switching him over to hay and oats or hay and a pelleted feed. I would also strongly recommend Stress-Dex, a vitamn and electrolyte mix for nervous horses.
  I hope my answer has been of some help! Please keep me posted--I'd love to know how they do.
Best wishes!
Anne Stepien