I need help!

[lollielala]

Hello, I am 17 years old and I just got my second horse (the first one I had, I didn't ride him but once) and I am new to riding. Anyways, I have a 7 year old paint named Rico that I got from a friend of my dad's, and I still get nervous riding him. He is a beautiful horse, but the problem is, when I saddle him up and start to ride him, he doesn't want to go anywhere. He will circle around the yard and when I try to take him to the road, he starts to lope and avoids going anywhere other than back to the barn. Once when I rode him, I had to kick him on his neck like my dad told me to. It worked a little, but the next time I rode him, he did the same thing. He gets an attitude and starts to snort. My dad told me to leave him saddled and tied up. He does well when he is with my dad's two mules and wagon, he follows them with no problem. The previous owner has horses and mules, and Rico has always been around them. Could that be why he doesn't want to go anywhere for me when I ride him? Maybe he's just used to being around other horses. Can someone please tell me what I can possibly do to stop this? As I said, I am new to riding. Any help would be appreciated.

[fullstop]

hey ! :) there was one horse i that rode that gave me the ' attitude' too. he would walk around in circles with his ears pinned back flat when i ask for trot. but when he's in group lessons, and not in the lead he just follows obediently. my instructor advised me to tap him with the whip near your stirrups. so it kinda gives the impression that your legs are actually nudging. i did just that and it worked wonders ! :D

[k8schmutz]

he's just trying to see what he can get away with. Don't go on the road with him until you ahve sorted ths problem out, going that fast on a road is just dangerous! Like fullstop said a smack with a whip does no harm but kicking on the neck is not a good idea