I have a buddy sour horse.
As much I always hated to admit it. I might say, "He's a little difficult sometimes," or, "He's cranky today," or "He's just doing this because he doesn't like going this way,".
But you have to face facts. A horse isn't "just a little bit buddy/barn sour". He either is or he isn't. It really depends on how much he acts out on that.
My horses buddy is Sage. He goes no where without her.
Only having three years of experience in the saddle, I used  to be extremely cautious.  So here's how a ride would go;
I get him out of the yard after stopping many times. Sage whinnies. We make it to the road and go south. Sage whinnies. Poco, against my cues and commands, veers to the right side of the road and stops. Sage whinnies. He backs into the ditch(that's right folks, just like parking a car) and pulls forward and starts heading back home.
No matter what I did, it always ended badly. Finally, I started getting off and leading him because I didn't want to get bucked. A few times, I'm sorry to say, I lost my temper with him and it turned into a battle of wills, who could pull or push harder. Can you guess who always won?
Neither of us were happy and rides were emotional, usually had both of us yelling at each other.
Back to basics. I didn't know what else to do. I had even tried selling him twice because I was, if I admit it, afraid.
I don't know what changed, but I saw everyone else on their horses riding flawlessly and I couldn't take it. I had to have that.
So I did what I knew how to. I went back to the very beginning. I was going to teach him how to learn.
Horses learn their leaders by one ability. Can you guess it? It's not intimidation, by the way. They learn that that horse is the leader because he can move their feet. Watch two horses that are just meeting. There is a role for each, and whether it turns to a full on gallop and battle of who's winning, or just a pin of the ears to say, Hey, that's too close, move.
Horses want that. They want to have a leader and someone to look to.
So our job, as riders is to show them we are capable of this. We take the roll of herd-boss. I like having a partnership with my horse, yes, but I don't want him walking all over me, metaphorically and physically. There is that fine line that I seem to like to tread on.
Moving his feet. I needed to get tough, put on my I'm-not-afraid face and get in the game.
Every time he starts veering to the right, before he get's there, I pull the left rein toward my belly-button and slack the right rein. I lay my left heel against his side to make sure he doesn't drop his shoulder into the turn and bump his right side in the middle of his ribcage to create energy to move off from. I will circle him twice and then move him off in the original direction.
I can usually tell after a few times of doing this that his mind is more on me. He's tucking his neck around, picking up his feet and giving in to smaller amounts of pressure faster. His brain may still be back at home, but his feet are moving away. And that is one step toward a better horse.
Troubleshooting. I know. This sounds too easy, right? Sometimes it just is. But sometimes, that horse will, as soon as we've finished a circle and are moving away, will try home again. Well, turn again!
Yes, you may be dizzy. He may be dizzy! Just take a breath and try again.
Changing pace. Starting out, just try this at the walk. If he's feeling good and energy is going into his step, pick up a nice jog for a few strides. Be warned, the faster you are moving the faster you stop, so be sure to read his body language and cue him to stop before he takes it upon himself.
Small spaces. If you only get the chance to ride away from the buddy or barn, or just simply want to go for a ride on the trails, and you find yourself in a situation without enough space to do these circles, instead back him.
Teach him to back first at home, then try this out of the pen.
Put soft contact on his mouth and wiggle or "seasaw" on each rein individually, creating energy with both hands and feet. Squeeze with your calf muscles while bumping with your heels. As soon as he takes a step backward, release all pressure and stop your heels. Praise him so he knows he did it right.


The most important part of this exercise is to get his mind on you. To get his feet moving. And if you can do that, he will start looking to you as his leader instead of whatever is at home.