How to help my horse

Question
Hi I am 40 years old - feel I am quite knowledgeable about horses - however I have never been a trainer I have been working with the Parelli program for the past year on all of my horses - all the horses are together in fields and stable - I wrote several weeks ago about my 9 year old palamino gelding that I purchased last year. He was listed as anyone can ride (which my inexperienced nephews rode without issue) as well as myself and others. However when being saddled he would start acting like he was going to sit down - (it seemed he did not like the back strap) so I took it off - and he was fine.  The first time this year after saddling and working with him when I went to get on he went crazy knocked me down and bolted around like a bronco.  After I received your response on working with him that is what I have been doing.  Not as much as I would like to be but I always spend time making sure he is touched underneath with my hand, rope, etc.  Yesterday I was off and took him into the ring - circled him with/without the saddle - he would come right back to me - followed me etc.  I took the rope off him and did the same - he did very well - I decided to put the rope back on him and do some more ground work - just as I started to snap the rope back on - he knocked me down and went off like a bronco again breaking the gate on the fence. When he calmed down enough to walk up to him I very gently got the saddle off and I saw where there was blood coming from his chest - to make a long story short he ended up running a 1/2 wide bolt into his chest from the gate he broke - I called the vet and he doesn't feel he hurt anything major but may have injured a muscle which only time will tell - the biggest thing right now is to watch for infection - I am just hoping that since the bolt was not rusty that will help.  But my question is I have no idea what caused this - and I don't even know where to begin to try to sort it out - he does have a couple old scars that looked like might have been pretty bad at one time - but I am beginning to think he may have been beaten at one time because something is scaring him to death - he is such a nice horse and I need to do something to help him so he doesn't hurt himself again or me.  I am totally lost as to where to even begin to help him because I have no idea what made him do this yesterday - if it was the way I moved or what.  Please help!

Answer
First stop making excuses or trying to justify what he did.  Accept that you are causing this by not being a strong enough leader and not making him more alert and concerned about you than other things.  It sounds like you may be too careful and the horse senses that you are sneaking around him and about to do something.  If a horse knocks you down, then you have respect issues and he does not see you as his leader or he would not do that.  The cut will heal, but the incident he will remember if you don't get on with his handling.

I would lounge him on a rope, move him fast, stop him, change is directions and really make him almost concerned with you so he watches you very closely.  The worst thing you did was take the saddle off after his little episode, now he knows, if I buck and run off she will not make me work and will take the saddle...  bad lesson, he should have learned if I buck and run off I have to work harder and it was not fun so I won't do that anymore.

The horse is training you, that is why they are called professional people trainers...  stop letting him do that, move his feet, back him up, require things of him so he knows you are the leader...

Rick