So what you must do is keep this in mind and help your horse deal with it. How you help him deal with it is treating him kindly when wagon doesn't move.

Thus, when you're in wagon and he steps to move but wagon holds him back, you should get out of wagon and go caress him. It may sound funny, but tell him you know this is a little difficult but that he can do it. Do it in a soothing tone.

Why tell him he can do it? Does he really understand words? No. I'm simply saying you must be sympathetic with your horse. Talking to him like this will help you be sympathetic and talk soothingly to him.

Being kind to your horse like this helps his confidence. It keeps him from getting confused and thus frightened - or at least it minimizes it. It's a big key to getting him to pull that wagon.

You see, when he pulls on that wagon first time and he can't move as freely as he's used to, then it's confusing and frightening to him. If handler is behind him yelling and striking him on rump with a stick or whip then it's going to frighten and confuse him worse. Soon, he'll be so overwhelmed with confusion and fright that his senses will get blunted and won't do anything. He'll simply freeze.

That's why you want treat your horse kindly when he doesn't instantly pull wagon. He needs reassured because he's a bit confused and frightened.

That, in a nut shell, is how a horse learns to balk.

But what about bucking, bolts, biting, spooking, kicking, and others?

Again, it's mismanagement. The horse doesn't arrive in this world with those habits. They are learned - particularly through bad handling.

The key to knowing how to stop a bad habit is to prevent it in first place. You learn to prevent it from educating yourself about do's and don'ts of horse training.

But if you have a horse confirmed in habit from either your handling or from previous owner, then it takes stronger measures to stop it.

There is a horse training manual written in 1800's that includes cures to stop bad habits and vices like ones I mentioned earlier. The book was written by Jesse Beery. He was a famous horse trainer.

If your horse has a bad habit and you don't know how to change it then this book is your magical answer. It has directions to stop AND prevent bad habits. The instructions are so detailed and thorough it's like reading a recipe.

The other alternative is to take your horse to a horse trainer. You'll spend from $400.00 to $900.00 per month to fix habit (if trainer thinks he can fix it). Or, you could (and should) learn how to do fix problem yourself. If you're going to be a responsible horse owner, you should learn all you can and Jesse Beery's information is one of bible's of industry.

Okay. Now that you moved him, turn your body to walk forward while holding your lead line. Something magical happens right here. Your horse suddenly focuses his attention on you. He’s very aware of your movement and what you’re doing. If he messes up because he was distracted or something scared him, all you have to do is move his rear end again. Eventually your horse will start gauging your pace and keep up with you at same pace you move.

If your horse starts to get ahead of you while leading, move his hindquarters. If he’s lagging behind you, move his hindquarters. If he goes off into La La Land, move his hindquarters.

Having good control leading your horse is perhaps most basic training technique there is. But it is also way we get horses in trailers, moving them around, bathing them, and even riding them. This will help teach your horse to be soft and responsive. And if you have a soft responsive horse while you are on ground, then you will more likely have same kind of horse while you’re sitting in saddle. And that is ultimate goal.