Buying older horse

Question
Hello, I have been leasing a 17 year old Azteca who I have considered seriously buying.  However, he has several issues that I am not sure of how to help him through.  The positives is that he has the best ground manners and has been an excellent confidence builder. I would not mind helping him through these issues if I thought that he might get better.  My trainer had brought him from his original owner.  He had some bad training and arrived with an inverted (U-neck).  His topline was undeveloped.  Through lunging and some in-hand work he is beginning to develop a topline so he'll looking much better. My trainer had not worked with him until recently and had been using him as a school horse.  However, most of her students were fearful of him because of his forwardness (he trots rather than walks, canters rather than trots).  He never takes off on you,but can be stubborn and take over.  He is, however, not a dominant gelding in the field and extremely docile otherwise.  I'd seriously consider buying him if I could have a plan to retrain him for the following issues:

In general, it is very difficult to keep him round and on the bit when under saddle. He'll move with his nose stuck in the air.  As a result he's hollow backed and stiff.
1.  He's 17 years old and always wants to go.  I'm not sure if that is just his personality or a matter of poor training where he was "rushed."
2..  He begins to ignore my signals when he decides the training should stop.  He even ignores my stop signal (which he's rather good about generally).
3.  He'll decide to rush on the lunge line and ignore my commands to walk
4.  I'll know he's anxious because he'll chew/bite on the bit
5.  It is very rare that he is playing with the bit indicating relaxation
6.  Most of the issues of jaw tension and ignoring my signals occur under saddle, or when he is asked to do something he doesn't want to do (ie. something simply like continue to walk).
7.  He'll give me his all and be wonderful until he designates a time when the training should end....at that point he completely ignores me.  
8.  Even in the field, he was very difficult to get his trust.  It has been with much patience that he responds (without food) to my voice cues.  Even so, he rarely comes quickly

Also,
1. Are older horses harder to train?  Is it too late for him?
2. How many years does he realistically have to be ridden?  Can you canter a 25 year old horse?  

I just worry that I'll buy him, have only 2-5 years with him and then end up paying board for a horse I can't ride or show. As much as I love him it would be hard to justify having a pet I can not show or ride and pay board of $350+/month. Also, what are the options of retirement?  

He is extremely sensitive under saddle and would make an incredible mount if I could just help him work through this....Your help would be immense

Thank you"  

Answer
Maria,

You have a lot of questions here that I will try to answer one at a time.  

1.  Older horses can most definately be trained.  I have trained a horse as old as 21 to drive.  But, it takes patience and persistence in some cases.  A lot depends upon the issues the horse comes with.  

2.  How long he will be rideable depends a great deal upon him as an individual.  I've known many horses that were ridden until well into their late 20's and early 30's.  Animals, like people, differ with how they age.  I have a 21 yr. old National Show Horse (Arab/Saddlebred) that if I got into condition I would not hesitate to ride on a 50 mi. endurance ride.  A friend of mine still competes her 20 yr. old horse in endurance and competitive trail rides.  It all depends upon the horse.  They do benefit from some extra care as far as joint supplements.  As they get older their digestive system gets less efficient so they often need to be on a higher fat feed, good quality hay and should get a vitamin/mineral supplement.  An occasional addition of probiotics to the feed to help the gut bacteria population is also helpful.  

3.  Sounds like patience is not one of his virtues so you need to work with that.  It's most likely a personality issue.  I don't know how long your training sessions go for but abut 45 min. - 1 hr. is enough for any horse.  If you don't get everything you want accomplished in one session try breaking it down into smaller steps that you can accomplish in a reasonable period of time.  Horses are a lot like kids and can only focus for relatively short periods of time.  Try to only go as long as he's working with you and stop before he starts to "lose it" by getting frustrated and unhappy.  Reward him and praise his efforts profusely.  It will take time but I think he'll come around for you.

Given the issues you say he has the trust thing will take a lot of time.  Bad training can take much longer to un-do that if it was done correctly the first time!  

If you like this horse and see possibilities with him then go for it.  He's 17 now, in all likelihood he will have at least 10 yrs. maybe more of useful life.  See if you can find an equine chiropractor to work on him.  If his back is "out" then he's got a lot more reasons to hollow his back than just behavior.  Work over ground poles and cavaletti help to get a horse to round his back but first eliminate any physical problems that may make it difficult/impossible for him to do that.  

Hope this helps.  If you need anything let me know.

Lyn