My family and I were riding with some good friends last night. The husband has a draft/quarter cross gelding who is normally pretty steady, but he has a stubborn streak. About 3/4 into the ride (facing home no less) he sulled. Just stopped dead. When his rider kicked him to go, he backed, and stopped again. Getting home was stop and start, stop and start thing, kinda like driving with someone who can't drive a stick-shift. My daughter was riding our green mare and she had been doing so well that we actually split up the group with two of us going directly home (to keep the green horse from getting confused).
Now, some details. The horse sulling was riding in a curb bit, which he has had before, but long ago. He had previously been riding in both a D ring snafle and a tom thumb, but the owner is trying to go less severe than the tom thumb and one handed rather than the snafle. So the owner blames the bit. I think that since the horse did not show any problems for the whole hour before in that bit that is unrelated. Furthermore, my daughter (very experienced) rides that horse occasionally for our friends to exercise him, and he has done that to her (in every bit). So I think it is not an equipment/tack issue. My daughter kicks him and if he backs, she jumps off (safety thing) and backs him from the ground, then smacks him with her reins in a kind of emergency lunge thing. Suddenly he thinks that maybe he is happier with her on his back doing what she says than with her on the ground acting like a wild boss mare. But he still does it with his owner apparently. What are your opinions?

I used to have a little palimino QH mare, who used backing up as a resistance. When she did this I would just turn her around and back her in the direction that I wanted to go. I would back her hard and fast until she was happy to turn around and go forward. This mare had this vice when I got her. After a while, no more backing up as a resistance.

Yup, I have encountered this before -- same thing, as resistance. I just back the crap out of 'em till they are so sick of going backwards they beg to go forwards. Just be careful you don't cram them back so hard and fast they rear.

My husband's quarter horse did this a couple of times when we lived him in Arizona. Like the above poster I backed him hard but aimed for a patch of cactus. When he hit that he went forward quite readily and quit that particular evasion.

Ok, I will pass this on. So you also think it isn't a bit issue?

Based on your description, I would say no, not a bit issue.

This is the same sort of thing Abe does. It is an evasion or a refusal if you will. He is saying NOPE not gonna go where you want me to. Backing up is fine IF you can do it right and you have room to do so. Abe will back to heck tho.. I suggest bending exercises and also yielding the hindquarters. Lots of that stuff. I circle abe as a rule when he gets too balky.. I also spank him with my rein end. He seems to understand the rein end movin toward his butt thing.. lol

And no, it's not a bit issue.. it's a brain issue. Boosiler from this forum is boarding her horse with me here and she has been a virtual godsend. She has helped work him for me and has given me a ton of help with my confidence(lack of) issues.. He is better, but he knows from past history that balking worked to keep him out of doing what he didn't wanna do. So, I have to be very vigilent or he will regress to being a big pita again.

Yogi started doing this when I would ride on a trail or on the rode by myself once he had friends at the barn. He pulls it every so often now, but he and I have come to an understanding. Once he stops or starts backing up refusing to go where I want to go, I circle him or bend him to one side and push him on with my leg. I would think this is definitey not a bit issue at all.

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Furthermore, my daughter (very experienced) rides that horse occasionally for our friends to exercise him, and he has done that to her (in every bit). My daughter kicks him and if he backs, she jumps off (safety thing) and backs him from the ground, then smacks him with her reins in a kind of emergency lunge thing. Suddenly he thinks that maybe he is happier with her on his back doing what she says than with her on the ground acting like a wild boss mare. But he still does it with his owner apparently. What are your opinions?

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didn't you answer your own question?

I thought I did, but the owner gave me such a hard time, I felt I needed back up. he still wont even talk about it so I've just saved the comments for the next time the horse does the same thing in his other bit.

I agree with the above posters...this behavior is most likely due to a lack of respect. Whenever this horse stalls and starts backing, I would say, "Great idea, let's back up!" And then do it briskly and so much that going forward is a relief!