seriously. last 3 times i have ridden her she has completely froze and refuses to move for the world. i had never experienced this with her before. although after talking to another girl that rides her at the barn, she says this has happened to her on trails. its ridiculous. i usually ride her once a week and i always take her out the front gate and ride her down a dead end and back. shes doesnt really like going out by herself, but she usually goes. i have never had a reason to kick into/pop a horse before. i feel like its unnecessary, but when shes does this i am faced with no other choice. but shes doesnt respond! she just stands there and takes it! let me just say that i am always cautious with her/any horse i ride. i always rub down their backs and check their legs and feet before i ride. shes not injured. shes just stubborn. as soon as she realizes im going to try to go out the gate with her she pulls this, but i always make a point to "win". i make it seem like i've won everytime. you just have to keep at it until she gives in. but its exhausting! and yesterday was the worst one she ever pulled. i had to get off and walk her out the gate and part of the way down the road.walking in circles for about 10 mins trying to make her frustrated/willing to give. now add the fact thats shes a 16ish hand horse and im out of shape, its near impossible to get back on her without a stool. i had to get off and on 3 times and the only thing thing that saved me was a raised manhole that comes about 10 inches off the ground. but everytime i got back on and she realized we werent going back to the barn she froze again. we did this for about 45 mins. i was tired, pissed off, and embarrassed to be sitting there whacking the horse with my reins in front of passing cars. they prolly thought i was beating a helpless animal. i know your never supposed to let them win, but there comes a certain point that your just unable to continue. i was there, but in a last ditch effort i ran her toward the barn and then turned back toward the street and kept her at a fast trot past the gate and onto the grass on the sides of the street. i could feel her hesitation right before we went past the barrier and i could almost hear her think, "well *kitten*, i lost this one". and after that she was fine! we walked/ trotted all the way down the street and back without a problem!!! why couldn't we have done that from the start?! i was somewhere caught between relief, anger, and exhaustion. she just seemed resigned. she walked down the road like nothing had happened at all. i was mad that i was forced to be a little rough with her. im of the opinion that staying calm, talking, and pressuring a horse to do what you want is the best way to work, but sometimes thats not enough i guess. we got back to the barn and i unsaddled her and checked again to make sure she wasnt hurt. i guess i was almost hoping somthing was wrong to explain these fits, but there was nothing. completely sound and not even a tail swish at putting pressure on different areas of her back. shes was just staring at me wondering why the hell it was taking so long to get her treats.. unbelievable. no, theres nothing wrong with this horse, shes just a b*tch. im going out to ride her again tuesday. hopefully she doesnt pull this again. the only thing i know to do is to be consistent. if any of you guys have dealt with this before and found a special way to solve it, im all ears. thx for letting me have a rant. i needed it. :P

Ps: i hope all you horse people out there don't take this as me being abusive/harsh to the horse. i can assure you thats not the case at all. shes the most spoiled/ well taken care of horse you can imagine. so much so that if you forget to bring her carrots, you can forget about trying to ride. lol