My Horse acts like a completely different horse when I let him out of his pasture/pen.

Question

My baby   I have a 20 year old fully broke mustang. Lately I've been busy so it had been a while since he'd been ridden. I'm proud to say that I've just started riding again this past week and he's doing just fine of course. I've been riding him inside his pen which is about an acre where he has hay and I feed him grains. There's not much grass in there so occasionally I let him out to graze in my yard.  He's been out many times and he's been in unfamiliar settings before and acted fine but for some reason when I let him out to graze he seems to think he's back in the wild again; not letting me catch him, and some times even hopping and bucking. I took him out with a lead rope to try and do some ground work. He got upset when I wouldn't let him put his head down to eat and started pawing the ground. And anytime I tried to walk he couldn't walk with me without almost running me over. When I move towards him or walk him he's just wild acting, whipping around when he moves, really "on end" and alert (like he thinks something's after him), things like that. He also has tried to get away from me a couple times. He doesn't listen well to commands anytime I walk him out. And on top of all this he's EXTREMELY spooky but only when he's out of the pen. What is strange is that he's never acted like this before, (I've never dealt with this before) and so needless to say I need some help. I would love to be able to ride him out on trails and out in a bigger space but I'm just having a hard time getting him to pay attention. I would just like some advice on how to help these situations, to help him pay attention to me and help desensitizing him.

Answer
Hello Noel! I do apologize for my late response, but it seems to me that your horse doesn't like to be left alone for long periods of time. He's the type of horse that needs to be worked with constantly. every time you go out to grab him go ahead and bring him treats or grain and he'll be easy to catch in no time. Start teaching him that he doesn't need to walk on you by working him in a round pen if you have one, don't be afraid to make the horse think that your going to kill him when he does something that doesn't make you happy.

For instance, I have a 1 1/2 year old paint mare right now, I got seriously busy and didn't pay her much attention for a good month and she got moody, constantly running away from me hopping and bucking so that I couldn't catch her in the field, heck she even escaped through the gate as I was pulling another horse out of the field and my Husband Practically had to tackle her in order to get her to stop running from me. The instant I got a hold of her she thought I was going to kill her with just one glare and I dragged her into the round pen and worked her until she was dripping sweat (mind you, it's the middle of winter and everything was frozen at the time so it's harder to get a horse to sweat). I haven't stopped messing with her ever since, and she's been nothing but a dream. She also had a problem with walking on me, and she quickly learned her lesson when I whipped around and gave a good few whacks on her butt.

So really all you need to do is keep giving him as much attention as possible. Don't just go out there and feed him or ride him every now and then, every time you feed him brush him or rub him down, touch him everywhere (this isn't just for desensitizing a horse). If you're not going to ride him that day try to make some time and work him in the round pen for a short while, bring him into the center with you when he's ready and start rubbing him down again, strap plastic bags to the saddle in the round pen and that can even help desensitize him.

If you're still having issues with him in a month or so go ahead and tell me and I'll try to help as much as I can, also if any new issues pop up just ask! I hope I was of help to you and I hope I am not too late in answering your question! Have Fun and don't stop riding!