Shetland pony wont walk on lead rein

Question
Hi My 4 year old daughter is riding a friends shetland pony while on a lead rein led by me the problem is as soon as we start to move off for a walk the pony stops dead and refuses to move except to go back home i am not overly experienced with horses i have tried lunging before putting my daughter on to get the pony to work but it's having little effect i think it's more a battle of wills the pony does not do this when my friend handles her any advice would be great thanks

Answer
    Hi Meghan,
  Firstly I would like to apologise for the delay in replying. This was due to very exceptional circumstances.
  This problem is easily cured, and I will do my best to explain exactly how, but you will need to be pretty precise in following the instructions. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get back to me.
  The secret lies in teaching the pony to react positively to pressure. You begin by applying enough pressure to make the animal uncomfortable. The pony has basically 3 options i.e. he can ignore the pressure, he can fight against it by pulling back, or he can decide to yield to it. The chances are that he will explore the two "negative" options first, and it is important that you try to resist him in that, so that he doesn't get rewarded for doing the "wrong" thing, however if he reacts by yielding to the pressure it is "VITALLY" important that you reward him by letting the pressure disappear for a short length of time.
  I hope that I have painted the backdrop adequately. To move on to the actual technique, I would suggest firstly, that you do NOT have your daughter on him, when you begin the training, because you don't know how he is going to react. Begin by putting a strong headcollar on him, now attach a leadrope to said headcollar. I would then apply some pressure to the rope, then bend forward and rest my hand on my thigh. I would imagine that 2 questions immediately occur to you, namely "how much pressure" and why rest ones hand on ones thigh. The first answer depends on how resistant the pony is, so start off fairly light, and be patient. If after about 2mins. he is ignoring you completely, then release, and begin again at a slightly higher level. You may have to "up" the intensity several times before he begins to take notice, but try to "guestimate" your own strength, and don't exceed 50% of that (the reason being that you need something in reserve in case he decides to fight you). Bear in mind that he is much stronger than you, but hopefully he does not know that. The reason for "fixing" your hand on your thigh is that, if it was in midair and he eased the pressure slightly at his end, you might not notice, and it is "IMPERATIVE" that he gets an immediate reward for any yielding that he does. I should have mentioned that during this operation, I would be standing between 3 and 6 feet in front of him, slightly to one side, and turned sideways on, to him. Try to resist any increase in pressure that he may apply, but if you feel the pressure lessening, then "DO NOTHING", except start counting. By the time you get to 10, he has had his reward and it is OK to reapply the pressure.
  His initial "positive" response may be only a slight lowering of the head, or a stretching of the neck but that is good and reward it by allowing him the 10sec. release, and it should lead to him taking a step forward. Only reapply the pressure anytime you feel him resisting, and it should lead to an obedient animal walking quietly by your side, with a slack lead rein, exactly like a well behaved dog. Incidentally, I should mention that if he starts to get too far ahead of you, all that is required is that you reverse the procedure,i.e. you stop, lock your hand and arm, and wait for him to release the the pressure by taking a step backwards, then you can walk forwards again.
  I always invite people to let me know how they get on with my advice, but unfortunately very few do, but I would really like to know how you manage.Meanwhile I will wish you the best of luck.
    Slan,
          Brendan