traing an ex trotter to be riddin

Question
Hi lisa i have come across your website hoping i can get some insightful advice about  my horse Joe. He is a 7 yr old gelding who has just retiered 3 months ago from racing (trotting) and i am trying to break him in to ride. i have had some help from a women who is a riding instructor but have only gotten as far as to be able to walk with him anything other then that and he freaks out and wont pull up. he is also very jumpy. How can i improve this and make him less frightfull and more trusting of me?

Answer
Hi Meagan,
           The first thing I would do is give your horse another 3 months off to be a horse and to get rid of any medications that are in his system. When that time is up then start to retain him like a green horse. Start with the ground work, do some lounging and work your way into riding him. Like most race horses he most likely only knows how to trot and will need to unlearn that. Trust will come over time.

Lisa