Hiya, I recently started loaning a horse called Charlie, he's 15.3 and 6 years old and very green, especially for his age. He can't walk a dn trot under saddle, will go over poles pretty well etc, and is an extremely good boy especially on the ground, he has no bad bone in his body and honestly tries his best for anyone.

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That being said, I'm having a bit of trouble with him in ridden and lunging work. He is pretty much spot on with long reigning, turns well and goes at a good speed and rhythm without needing to correct him. He is a little iffy with straightness towards poles but consistent work is all I need for that. However, he is VERY sensitive to leg, very unconfident, and very unsure of himself. I cantered him for the first time yesterday, which was his first undersaddle canter off the lunge, and I came off (we're both fine! Not even a bruise, and it wasn't as a result of naughty/malicious behaviour). He really doesn't know what to do with rein aids, and sometimes kind of ignores it especially for turns. Obviously I know you're supposed to combined leg and rein for any bending, but it's hard when he won't listen very well to rein aid. He can be a bit strong going into a trot but does soon settle down, but on the lunge, he REALLY pulls out against the line and can drag, and does not slow down with voice or hand, or body language. Do any of you IRL horsey people have some advice for what I can't do with him to get him more confident leading up to introducing canter work? My current plan (since his pretty unfit and has onto really done light hacking and walk lessons with his owner) is to do 10 minutes of long reigning, then 20 minutes ridden work. I did lunge him before ridding yesterday and had some canter out of him, but I think it jsut wound him up a bit because he didn't know what I was asking him, but I have NO idea how to retrain a horse to be lunged, as it's pretty evident this horse has been started incorrectly:/ I want to stay out of his mouth in all types of exercise, because ei know it makes the work easier for youngsters, but if I'm not asking him to slow he will get far to speedy and strung out, and stops listening.
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would appreciate any advice on how to tackle this situation, o have ridden green and young horses before, but he feels very different to the others I've worked with, but like I said, me and the yard owner have inferred that he's been started incorrectly

To build a horses stamina and muscles up to a point where they're decently fit you're going to have to do more than just 30 minutes of mostly walk and trot, get him sweaty.

However if you're only able or comfortable to do 30 minute sessions right now, I'd do a 20 minute lunge with mostly trot and canter, and then 10 minutes of walking and practicing bending, turning, stopping, backing, etc. get him super broke at the walk.

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If you can, I'd also recommend ponying him in the arena and also out on trail and do lots of transitions and open up, get cantering. Horses especially unconfident and green ones love having a buddy and are inclined to follow them, plus if hes being ponied he has to follow anyways lol

Also forwards is always your friend, it may look ugly and feel wonky, but letting him open up is super beneficial. From what I've seen a lot of young horses dont seem to realize they can and should get going. I try to always get the young ones out and moving, you can always refine later on, but forwards is the first step. If you arent able to pony him, another option is to have a friend ride a broke horse and your horse can follow, when they canter you canter, that sort of thing.

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If you have a roundpen, thats the easiest place to teach/reteach them to lunge, but if you just have a lunge line thats fine too, you might have to fight him a bit more lol

Be SUPER strict about lunging, I've seen soo many problems arise later because they have holes in their lunging. When he pulls, first do a quick jerk on the line, if he continues pulling, I set my weight and then tap them on the butt with the lunge whip. It normally unbalances them and gets them to realize oh shit! I shouldnt do that! lol

It seems like his behavior on the lunge is mostly due to lack of fitness, but he can learn to struggle politely

Doing a lot of changes of directions also helps teach them manners while lunging, ideally you should be able to just step in front of their shoulders and they will change, but sometimes adding a vocal cue can help too. You will probably have to fight him for them in the beginning, its not fun but stick with it

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Oh also! About staying out of his mouth yes 100% but dont be afraid to correct him, and then release the pressure as soon as he gets it. Its going to feel repetitive, most green horses struggle with maintaining their own pace, but he'll figure it out!

He's going to have moments of anxiety, being confused, arguments, etc. its all part of the process just stick with him and get him through those moments you're doing a good job.

Retraining a horse is way more complicated and frustrating than just starting them yourself and it absolutely sucks lol so big props to you, you're doing a wonderful thing by fixing the holes in his training to give him a good start ❤️

ROUND PENNN!

Young horses will be nervous. If they're not 100% sure of themselves, they'd find something to comfort themselves and make themselves feel in control - this is when you loose rein aids, leg aids, bolting starts and eventually it just gets worse.

If he's been started wrong, start him again, it doesn't take long if horse is comfortable. Like lucky says, start him again on the lunge, in the roundpen (if avaliable - if not try and find one!). You say he long reins, so go back to that. You can lunge with two lines if that works best for him.

When back on board, go back to the round pen - don't just go around and around, change directions, introduce your leg, release pressure when he does what you want.

Good luck!

Sadly round pens are pretty uncommon in the uk ;( but I could try loose schooling in the smaller indoor

With the rein aids, definitely trot and walk a TON of circles, using rein aids and also your leg, since he is sensitive to your leg, it will help him understand what you are asking, and when he at least takes a couple steps, release pressure a little but not fully so he still knows what you are wanting him to do this worked well for my green filly :) Also, with canter work, do mostly walk and trot work, then when you feel ready, use the corners of the arena, then once you both are a little more confident with that, you can slowly start cantering around the arena. It also helps if you have other horses in the arena to show him it isn't a very big deal, and he indeed can do it. He will slowly start gaining that confidence, but also just set him up for success once he does what you want, then take a break from that for a minute and do something else then ask him again when your ready