re-schooling a horse

Question
hi there
i have just bought a 12yr old appoloosa mare.
she has been hacked out with her owners and seems happy with this and good in traffic.
she dosent seem to have been schooled much as she naps in the school and although she can jumop has been known to refuse and get a little silly and buck.
her previous omners used to hunt her so is it just a case of re-schooling her. is this possible with an older horse as i want to ba able to show her and do some xc and sj for fun.
she seems to have good manners and a sweet temperment so really want this to work but not sure if i am experienced enough to train her myself as this is my first horse although i have been riding a few years now.
would it be better for her to be sent away or is it something i could do with her slowly with lots of patience.
would appriciate your advice
beth

Answer
Hi Beth,

12yo is certainly not too old to be retrained.  Just remember that she is an older horse and her habits will be set so it will take a lot of patience to change her mind about everything.

I think the best thing to do would be for you to find a good instructor and work through her problems with them.  If you are feeling a bit inexperienced, it's best to get help so you don't retrain her into more bad habits!

I can't really give you any exercises without seeing the two of you in action as so many things could be going wrong. The best bet is to find a good trainer who can watch and correct as you go.

Good Luck!