Soreing is a despicable practice, something I have only recently learned about thnks to this forum. it is no surprise that he doesn't want his front feet picked up - at the moment he only associates it with pain. I would use the advance/retreat method and start with just being able to run something like a feather duster on a stick up and down his legs. Stay with him if he moves (as long as its safe) and the instant he is still, walk away. Repeat, repeat, repeat over days and days if necessary until he can achieve this - them move onto a glove on a stick, then your hand, then being able to hold his foot without lifting it...you get the idea. He is nowhere near ready for the farrier and if you are lucky to have a good farrier you can borrow an old rasp, get him used to the feel and sound, wear some chaps etc etc. Let the farrier meet him but do nothing. It is a VERY laborius process but I have done it a few times with very upset horses and boy does it pay off. It meant 3/4 times a day every day for 6 weeks but it works. Not only does it work but the horse learns you can be trusted so their ability to learn about other scary things increases.

Now the bolting: this is very dangerous. I would advise not to ride him for now. You need to assess whether he ever bolts in hand, whether he has any pain, what triggers the bolting, what does he do just before he takes off. can you longline him? This is a great wasy of seeing at what point he bolts. It is important to see if there is a reason or whether its a habit. There may have been a reason in the past and it served him well, but the reason may now be gone but the habit is ingrained and effective from his point of view depending on what he achieves from it. Look for every possible reason first though before putting it down to a habit because how you go about it will be different depending on which it is. Hope that helps. Keep us posted :-)

I agree with vicci about the dangers with bolting and what you need to do, but here is something you might be able to work with from the ground meanwhile.
Very simply, teach him to bend his head and neck towards his body. Bring it around gently with the rein (or halter rope), hold and release. No force! If he start turning around just hold on gently until he stops, then wait a couple of beats before release and praise.
Whenever you lead and he gets spooked or whatever, bend his neck and let him walk in circles around you until he stops.
Ultimately, you should be able to bend and hold his neck while mounting to prevent him taking off with you halfway up or unbalanced - also when you feel he tries to bolt, you should be able to stop and calm him by bending and turning. But it needs a lot of practice from the ground first so the horse associates the bent neck with calming down and standing still.
Best of luck sorting it out!

What a challenge you have! Not sure what scoring means so I will check. back through forum. Great advice from Vicci and Kicki. I would incorporate a lot of ground work with the dually too which I am sure was inherent in both answers above. With the dually do the usual walking in the sweet spot backing up turning etc and then spend time teaching him to just stand still for you. Once you have taught him to stop in the sweet spot then have him stop beside you then turn and slowly back away until you are standing about a metre in front of him - if he moves at all while you are moving away or standing in front of him then discipline with the dually and repeat the process. Once he will stand for you then back off even further away from him. I put my open hand up with the palm facing them and say woo if they look like they are about to move -bit like training a dog to stay. Finally you should be able to drop the lead rope and keep him standing still while you move off even further. Naturally you will need a safe enclosed area to do this. Once you have taught him to stand still for you then pick up his back legs which he is fine with and keep him standing in the same spot and then start on his front legs the way Vicci has outlined. Once you can pick up his front legs and rasp them then it is appropriate to try with a farrier. Unless your horse is ready for the farrier it will just do more damage getting one. Time is money for farriers and they have little patience with horses that won't stand still and most will either lose their patience and/or resort to cruel methods like twitches on the nose or ears or tying legs up which will only make your horse worse the next time. Kicki's solution for the bolting can come after you have solved the hoof problem unless you intend riding him in the mean time then it is imperative to teach him that too ASAP. I would personally not ride him until you had the hoof problem solved. It will take time and patience. Good luck and keep us posted.

I also have a TWH who had been shown in the big licks. For Monty and others who aren't familiar with soring put in abc nightline twh soring, It will make you cry.
It took me a year before I was able to mount and walk off calmly. They are trained to go into the arena like a bolt of lightning. Everything must be done with slow, steady patience. You will be so rewarded! My Walker is the best horse you could ask for. So worth the wait.
I wish you the best of luck. Just a thought when you start working on his front legs try it with him parked out. Just once to see if it may help.

What does "parked out" mean?

In the English saddle seat world a horse isn't squared up when standing still. The front legs are straight but the back ones are extended behind him.
They are taught to do this as soon as they start getting handled. Whenever my TWH is confused he will " park out " it doesn't matter if I'm riding or doing ground work. It seems to be his answer.

Thanks for that - I recognise the stance now you describe it :-) Not heard it called that before! How do you feel that him being parked will help when working his front legs? Sorry if I'm being dim, I can't quite grasp this.

They are trained to not move when parked out. I wouldn't pick up his rear feet when in this stance for fear of unbalancing him. To make him park hold your lead high up in front of him. Maybe rock his withers a little . Crinkle a peppermint wrapper in front of him. Or sometimes just moving him back and forth slightly to set his feet will work.
I wish you the best of luck. There will be many, many TWH ex show horses in need of rescue now. The federal Government has finally passed laws making it illegal to sore horses.

Another method that has worked for us on some of the horses in our barn who don't like their feet picked up. Be sure that you use a treat bucket never your hand for this as I found out the hard way. If your TWH likes treats and I haven't met one yet who doesn't. I recommend wearing a helmet whenever you work around your horse the inhumane torture some of them have been through can make them unpredictable. If you have a person who can help this works better. With two people, Have one hold him loosely on a lead connected to his dually halter. You start at his neck and with confidence run your hand down his shoulder and foreleg. You must be firm and confident! When he strikes out your handler corrects him with the halter as shown in how to train your horse to stand still. Now you do it again. When you reach that same spot where he struck out last time but he didn't this time you double reinforce by giving him a treat immediately! Be sure to use treat bucket. Your work is done. Just let him stand and soak it in. Next day next leg. Following day both legs. Each day you go father down each leg. This is what has worked for me.

Just wondering how things are going with your TWH. Have you had any luck with any of his problems? If you haven't made any progress maybe you could find a Monty rep. in your State who could help. The TWH is such a wonderful breed capable in every discipline of riding. Even after years of pain and abuse they still manage to be gentle and loving. I so deeply wish you and your horse success.

Hello, He is doing well. I have a friend that does clicker training help me with him. We are able to pick it up and hold it. But not do much work on it still yet. we can clean it a little.

I'm so glad to hear you both are doing well. It's so hard for them to learn to trust again. It sounds like your on the right path.

Well done Christena. Good to read of your progress! Hope it continues to go well. A clicker trainer would use treats and these are a great plus in my opinion in these circumstances

A good read and thank you for posting about the soring. I was watching YouTube clips for these shows a couple of weeks ago and just thought what do those horses have to go through to perform such unnatural moves. only humans can be this cruel. glad to be part of the Uni and kindhearted ones!
Mel x
"it's All About The Horse"