We got two horses in June of this year      (a 12yr mare and a 12yr gelding) they are both being trained by the parelli method.   Last night we rode the gelding western, and the problem is that he wouldn't walk on.   He's fine being led around with a rider but when we unclip the leadrope he just stands there.   We've asked nicely for him to walk on but then we tried to tab his sides, but stilll no luck.     What should we do???????

hi,

well first have to tried spurs or a whip? get off of him and walk him on the ground and every time to want him to walk tap him with a crop on his side and if he doesn't walk then each time u tap him a lil harder.

goodluck

            sara

Sounds like they have learned how not to be ridden.

If you have a round pen then work them in it first.If not a lounge line will work.

They don't respect you or look at you as a leader."Round penning for respect" use your rope or whip to get them moving and step behind the shoulder for the forward "GAS PEDAL" and in front of it for the "BRAKE"

I have used Parellie and the others for years,they are all somewhat the same but slight difference in presentation.

At any rate they need to respect you as a leader or they won't listen.If you can't move them and handle them on the ground, you won't be able to do it on their back.

Keep working at it you don't have to be "MEAN" just firm and it will get results.These guys are smart enough to know this works for them and they don't have to work.

Good luck,and remember have fun.If everything else fails there is the threat on horse meat,you could print it out and read it to them.. Ha Ha.

Backing is a bad idea if you are asking for forward motion.... That just teaches you horse to start backing up when they don't want to do something... I know this because my first horse had the problem (when i got her).  
If your horse isn't moving forward, that is what you need to begin with.... I think round penning is a good idea, but really doesn't seem like that NEEDs to happen at this point (but roundpenning is a great supplement).

If your horse wont go when You 'suggest' him to, tell him to.... If he still doesn't go, DEMAND him to.   Use you legs, then heals/spurs, then if those don't work, give him a tap on the butt with your split reins... Tap goes to wack.... if there is still no progress... Then you will need to start from the ground.

When you suggest, tell, demand, make sure to give the horse his head.... when he moves forward don't "take" his head away from him.... Keep moving forward... LOTS of reward for that..  You have to throw everything else out the window until he can move forward freely... I mean, don't worry about head set, collection etc etc.... the name of th egame is forward... if he wants to run, let him....   Once you get free forward motion, then you can start working on other things.

there is a lot of good advice here and

a lot of questions have you tried rideing with the other horse to see if he will walk out if he will let him know that is what you want him to do good luck

I have to second checking the saddle fit.

Also, if this horse has been trained to be ridden by the rider using the seat, you might want to try (even if you don't feel you are holding the reins too tight) dropping the reins. I'm serious. I was at a roping years ago and one of the Mexican trainers at a team roping a friend of mine was competing at, let me ride his horse and all I did was pick up the reins (or so I thought) and the horse was backing up, eeeee. I dropped the reins, repicked them up, left them very loopy and concentrated on my seat. What a nice ride. Funny thing was he let this other lady, because she insisted after seeing me get to ride him, get on that horse and she never did anything but back him up. hehehee 

Otherwise, if you can rule out all those other things, perhaps if you have a vet that does chiropractic with horses, have him/her check him out to rule out back issues, teeth, or other possible soundness issues, before doing anything drastic. If it is tack or back issues or perhaps something being missed elsewhere, forcing the issue of not moving before fixing it could result in a horse that's problem is not moving and turn it into one of bucking or worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUyvy_8HNEQ

Has anyone noticed that the original poster has not replied to any of the messages?

Could this be another joke  (jessejames)?

         I thank all of you for your advice and wanted to let all of you know that

A horse who won't move is telling you 1 of 2 things: 1.  I can't move because I hurt or 2. I don't understand what you want me to do.

The first thing you need to do is make sure the horse is comfortable and sound to "Go".  Have you had a vet check for soundness, teeth problems, etc?

Once you are cleared from the vet, you need to check your tack.  An ill fitting saddle may cause the most keen horse to stop in its tracks!  Ask your vet or even better get a qualified saddle fitter to see what's going on.

If you're sure there are no physical issues causing the problem, I would recommend that you get a professional trainer involved.

It is just not possible to learn how to train a horse off of a video.  Horses learn from consistency and if your horse is very green, it is crucial that he not get mixed signals.

Getting rough with a green horse would be the same thing as yelling at a person who doesn't speak English.  They aren't going to understand any better and will only leave the situation afraid and it will be even worse the next time you try.