Hi! Appaloosa are notorious for being stubborn. They have a head of their own, and are known to be a bit difficult. So you have to handle her a little different. She may never cooperate unless she sees that she benefits from it. You may want to change your bit or put her in a running martingale. All this will do is get her attention a little more. But it will also help to keep her eyes from wondering all over the place. I would even try training blinkers and a shadow row may help as well. I'm sure you have thought about all of this. What else I have also done is go back to basics. But that will not stop her from spooking. The only thing that helps with that is time. And some horses never settle down to the level you may want. If she is skittish, she may settle down when she is older, but that does not help you now. The most important thing is limited her vision and distractions. And if you in the open, that is impossible. If you could train indoor, that would give you some help. Food additives are not going to make her suddenly be focused and change her nervousness. This is her personality. It is very common to the breed which is why some perple shy away from Aps. My oldest brother raised them for years and finally decided to stay with thoughbreds. The bottom line is you can not train her until you can get her attention and keep her mind on the job at hand. Limit her field of vision, if you can put her in a bit that keeps her attention, that would help. Go back to the simple basics and work her from start to finish and repeat until she does. Reward her. I wish there was a magic wand to change her temperment, but there is not. I think there could be one other thing. If her mind is wondering, she may be bored. Put together a routine that has her changing more often, instead on the same over and over. If she has to pay more attention, it will force her to, aleast for a few minutes, to focus. The other thing I use to do with my Paint was carry a crop. I would tap him on the shoulder when his mind wondered to get his attention back. If you are getting wrapped up in style and technique, the horse is clueless to what you want. Some how you have to make it more interesting to her, and often a treat will help. Lots of praise and see if you can move her along. Good Luck.
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