Help

In a lot of ways things with Kachina are going well. We've had some great rides and lessons. We are doing new things under saddle, both progressing in dressage, and trying out some pole work for funsies and Kachina is a willing partner who is learning quickly and trying hard. I have lots of posts I could/should have written about that side of things. But after every high under saddle, I come crashing down from the simple act of asking Kachina to stand in the barn so I can untack her (the pre-ride routine is just as bad). She wiggles, paws, screams, poops. My willing partner is replaced by a tense bundle of nerves who can't think about anything other than getting out of the barn and back to her buddies.

Tense pawing horse at old home

Please see this post for review of the problem and potential causes. (I really can't fully summarize it in a couple sentences, but basically Kachina is fine at other places and fine when I'm doing anything with her that involves her moving (lunging, riding, ground work), but standing at home (wherever home is) is a major problem. I expect this is related to past trauma, herdboundness, or both).

As an update from that post: I've tried using her stall and getting her to just chill, she doesn't. Instead she works herself into a sweat in the stall. She has only been in a stall while I've been on property so it's not every day, I've debated switching her to indoor board so she is inside 12 hours every night but I'm not sure if that will help or make things worse (right now no other horses are on indoor board so she would be alone). Trying to handle her feet in the barn has also regressed, so much so that I had to cancel a trim appointment because I wasn't willing to subject my farrier to that. I've also had to start putting hoof boots on during the grooming process so that Kachina doesn't get sore from wearing down her hoof with pawing (that happened a couple times). She also has completely disregarded my location and swung into me a couple times (I shut that down hard because I know that could get dangerous quick). I dread having to put the bridle on or off because it is not a smooth process and it takes everything I have to keep her from leaving or throwing her head in the air while avoiding the bridle hitting her in the eye or teeth. To remind you, she knows how to have her feet handled etc, because she can do it well when we are away from home or working in a round pen etc., the root cause seems to be the standing inside at home.

Tense pawing horse at new home

Moving one foot at a time isn't even enough at times

I know asking for help on the internet is not ideal but that's where I'm at. It gets harder and harder for me to keep working with her on my own when I'm not seeing any clear improvement. Also I know emotion has no place in horse training and I'm starting to get more emotional because it's so difficult to see her this way. This is beyond the ability of any professionals I have at my location, and since the problem is related to home, sending her off for training seems like it would have limited value. It may work if I send her off for multiple months so that training place becomes home and problem redevelops, but that is a significant cost both financially and in losing all riding progress and access to her for that long. I'm willing to do that if required but I want to see if there's any other solution first. Finding the right trainer who has dealt with this type of problem before is also tough.

So, does anyone have any ideas for me? Specifically, has anyone had experience with a horse like Kachina and what did you do? What was your solution with the hardest-to-stand horse you've ever encountered? I'll take any advice I can get, but hearing "this is my typical way of dealing with training horses and I've never had a problem"-type of comments isn't super useful. Many horses are fairly willing to just stand, Kachina is not that horse. There is a level of tension here that changes the equation considerably. For example, I know a common solution is to give the horse the option between moving=work, standing still=chance to rest, but Kachina will choose to work all day (downside of a seriously non-lazy horse). Help?