Stableizer/Dangerous to shoe horses

["Redman" <aredman@remcen.ehhs.cmich.edu>]

OK, here's one for someone alot smarter than I!  My friend has a 16yo QH gelding who is being ridden by her daughter.  They would like to do just a couple of 15 mi. and maybe a 25 mi CTR this yr.  This horse has developed a definite shoeing problem.  Gaucho was previously owned by a gal who did a couple of seasons of CTR 5 yrs ago, then bought an Appy.  While she used Gaucho, he started to become unruly during farrier visits.  Just general refusal, progressing to kicking, rearing, lunging forward.  This former owner tried everything, chains, tying up a leg(which almost had the horse break a leg), and sedating.  She worked with the horse, picking up his feet, tapping on his feet with a hammer.  She finally gave up and just put easyboots on his back feet.  Then she leased Gaucho to a family who trail rode only, and light pleasure riding.  This family shod the horse all four feet for a  year with NO PROBLEMS.  My friend then purchased this gelding for pleasure riding but got hooked on our sport.  She put shoes on him last season with some slight resistance, but this year this horse has gone ballistic over shoeing.  The last time she tried, the gelding lunged up and forward pulling her husband down and stomping on his chest, breaking four ribs.  They have tried everything also, short of sedatives.  The Stableizer is their farrier's last resort.

 

Any suggestions?  Could this horse have learned to associate  distance training with shoeing, or is this too much credit to the horse?  He's a very kind horse every other way,  a perfect beginners horse for this family.  They are very discouraged and I don't have any ideas.