I always start greenies with Natural horsemanship in a round pen. It builds trust, confidence, and teaches horses skills in a way they understand.

It sounds like your horse would benefit from "Joining Up" with you.

As far as getting him to stop after going one direction here is how I train my horses to lunge; I teach them that when I point at their butt they move it away from me(its one of the Parelli 7 games) once they get this down you can send them off lunging and then point(or toss the end of your lunge line) at their butt and they swing it out and stop.

Sorry for that being very brief. I know that not everyone agrees with Parelli . If you would like me to give you more in-depth steps to what I do let me know and I'll be glad to help.

Heres something very simple to try to stop/slow down you horse on the lunge. Take a BIG DEEP breathe out so he can hear it. Exageratte it. Stop doing everything you are doing and let your arms hang at your side. I know this sounds funny but when you relax and stop giving the cues to move he will understand!!

--Good luck and have fun.
Feel free to message with any questions!
Allison

This is completely normal. Everyone has bad days, weeks, even months. I've had weeks that one day I was jumping 3ft with good equitation, to the next day I fell off over a jump 4 times.

Don't give up, things will get better. If you need to, take a step back and work on something your already good at. That way you and your horse are in your comfort zone and can build back up the confidence that "Hey, I can do this!" Then when your ready work on the canter transitions again.

Remember not to over do the canter transitions. Practice does make perfect but it does no one any good if you keep getting frustrated each time you repeat it. Work on them for a few minutes then go back to something you already can do. Then go back and work on them a bit more.

Always end a lesson on a happy note. Sometimes when I have a bad ride I just hop off and walk with my horse. You'll calm down, have time to think about things, and bond with your horse.

i agree with christy p. counter canter is a very important part of learning to lead change properly. i find that going in figure eights, staying on the same lead(so that your mare is counter cantering on one side of the eight, and not on the other) is a good start, when she can do that while staying well balanced, and responsive, then its time to start asking for her to change leads. its usually easier to ask them when they are on a curve, rather than in straight line, and make sure she has a little bit more speed the first few times you ask, that should help with getting her to not break to a trot. Also, make sure you ask with all parts of your body. when you are asking her to change, raise your inside hand a little, kick firmly with your outside leg, and shift your seat towards the outside as well. i also find that having a verbal cue helps as well if your horse is responsive to that :)

it sounds like she might be cinchy, whether it causes her pain, like pinching of the skin. or someone has caused her pain in the past, I would take your time, rub your hand up and down where the cinch would go.. slowly tighten then loosen, let her know it's not going to hurt her.. eventually after many times of this she should get better. you will need patience, and do this as much as possible even if your not going to ride, half cinch up with hand rubbing, take off saddle, next day cinch up tad tighter.. it will be a process. sometimes if you lift the front leg as well it helps to adjust cinch so it isn't pinching.
Hope this helps..

Thanks im going to try it cross your fingers this horse is a stubborn mule haha :)

Another good way to avoid and/or get rid of her cinchyness is to tighten it just enough to keep it on, then walk her around for 5 or 10 minutes, tighten it a little more, walk her again, etc.

This allows them to get used to the pressure without feeling so constricted. It shouldn't take long before you are tightening it enough in two or three sessions. Good luck! :)

From what you've described it sounds like your mounting from the ground. Right? I'd bet his withers are sore from the torquing that occurs as you get on. This would also explain why he's also slightly better when you mount from the off side. If it's uncharactistic for him to "misbehave" (and it sounds like it is) then he's not misbehaving at all but rather trying to tell you (in the only way he has at his disposal) that your mounting up is hurting him. The bucking especially indicates pain, in this sort of situation. I've worked with many horses with almost exact scenarios, and every time we found it was sore withers from the owner mounting from the ground. It's especially painful if the owner is heavy, takes a long time getting up into the saddle, and the horse has somewhat to very prominent withers.

Get a tall mounting block or teach him to stand next to the fence or the wheel well of your trailer for you to get on, so that you can get on without using the stirrups at all. If this reaction (or anticipation, really) has been going on for a while, then it will take a while for him to be convinced that his withers won't be in pain every time you go to get on. If I were you, what I'd do would be to first of all palpate his withers carefully, to see if you can detect soreness, trying to torque them as if it were the saddle pulling on them. Then I'd give him a break from riding and work on ground work. I'd start him back up using a tall mounting block or the fence, bareback. If you'd be apprehensive about getting on bareback (or his withers are really high!) then go ahead with the saddle. By the way, I'm assuming that the saddle fits him correctly, as all that you described also are classic behavior symptoms of an ill fitting saddle. So if you aren't absolutely certain the saddle fits him well, start with that assessment, using an experienced saddle fitter to help you out.

thankyou for answering, I have palpated his withers from the ground as if I was going to mount, and he doesn't show signs of pain, or soreness. I have recently been using a mounting block in order to get on, and he has been doing much better, has moved a few times, but with consistency he is now not moving at all. He does have high withers, and he previous owner was a bit heavier than I, I am noticing since he now has a job to do, and is figuring out he is not just going to be in the pasture like he was for 2 yrs, with his previous owner, he is coming around. we do alot of ground work to gain respect, and so far for the past 5 times he has been standing totally still for mounting. I have ridden him bareback many times, and he acted the same as if he was in saddle , till you mounted then beautiful. I am seeing a huge improvement, between ground work techniques, and the mounting block.. Also,, when I use mounting block, I am not just mounting, I put foot in stirrup , bounce a bit, lean over saddle, then maybe get on, so he realizes these actions won't hurt him.
Thanks again for your advice, I will keep it all in mind.

i think you should wait. you may find a horse that will do more.

If you like this horse and she does good for you, get her. It's hard to find a horse that is perfect for you.

It's always a safer bet to buy a horse whom you know well and have been riding and with whom you get along well, as it sounds like you two do. It's also good that you've know her for a while so are familiar with her health condition. Buying a horse whose history you don't know is always a risk. I'm guessing this would be your first horse (as an owner). 10 is a good age, and it sounds like you are able to ride her well. As Katie said, it's hard to find a horse that's perfect for you, and if you really get along and it's an option, go for it. Just hire a good professional shipper.