First and Second Rides

Here is Cudgewa Antonio.  He's 9.  This is his second ride in 6 months.  First ride was last Friday when I just walked.  He had a little lunge in the round yard, then I climbed on.  This video was taken after about 25 minutes of walking and trotting.  He started out like a total green bean - nose in the air, no idea about leg or rein or contact or moving the shoulders or going straight or anything.  He's obviously a bit uncomfortable in his mouth - I think he needs his teeth done and a different bit (this was a too-wide single joint snaffle so nutcracker city).  So a bit uneven in the contact but very polite.  This is how the ride finished, he was pretty tired and sweaty and I think he moved a bit more freely earlier in the ride.

He tried SO hard to work out what I wanted.  Every time I spoke to him his ears twitched.  At one point in halt I sighed, then he sighed.  There were other horses in the paddock to the far left having play fights and galloping about but apart from a tiny look, he didn't bother at all, even when I purposely went down there when they started up.  He was scared of the barrel by the gate but was very happy to move towards it as long as he didn't have to look at it.  When I went over the poles he looked for the next one.  We were totally playing.  

The guy has owned him for 4 years, bought him as a newly-broken baby and has done virtually nothing with him.  He is a nervous novice rider; he bought him so he could ride with his daughter who has now lost interest so both horses on the market.  He has only cantered him a couple of times on trail rides and has never jumped anything.  He's registerable but not currently registered.  Here's his bloodlines, he goes back to Abbey who is very famous.  http://abri.une.edu.au/online/cgi-bin/i4.dll?1=223F293D&2=2420&3=56&5=2B3C2B3C3A&6=505859265D5C&9=5B525C5E

Right at the end of the video he shied at the owner coming unexpectedly back into view.  I think he's a bit of a spooky horse generally.  He jumped (well, flinched) when I unvelcroed my gloves near his face.  And then when Janet looked at his capped elbow (he has a capped elbow on the offside) and he didn't realise she was crouching near him, he did a little scoot away from her.  

I'm thinking of buying him.