horses who wont stop

Question
I have a young horse who has had quite a bit of her foundation training, and about all I have to do is finish her. I'm still a green rider and am learning about training as I go and as I ask questions. I do have one problem with her that I don't normally have, but I think the reason she did it was that I was riding her away from her only pasture buddy so I could put her in a separate field. I was riding in a D-ring snaffle, and she absolutely refused to go at any calm speed. If I let her trot she went faster until I slowed her--which I had to do with quite some force because she wasn't paying much attention to my hands--and if I made her walk she wanted to trot. I don't want to get heavy handed with her, but how can I get her to slow down on those occasions? I've noticed she does very well in a rope halter--should I try riding her in one of the styles of bitless bridles, or should I keep teaching her to respond better in a bit? She's normally extremely well behaved.

Answer
Hi Hannah,
Buddy sour is a common problem. I would stick with the snaffle bit for now. You stated that it took "quite some force" to stop her. "Force" is not the answer. You have to go back to the "Wrong thing hard...right thing easy" way of thinking. I would ride past her buddy on a loose reins. Let her make the mistake of acting out. When she does, pick up ONE rein (not two) and put her in tight (not large) circles at a trot right then and there in that spot. I mean let her work hard!!!! Then go in the direction you want on a loose rein. If she does it again, let her make the mistake again. Then repeat the process. This make take some time as it has turned into a bad habit. Bad habits are easy to make and hard to break. Don't get frustrated...just keep on with the repetitions. Everytime she does it...it means tons of hard work in tight trotting circles. She will soon learn that it just isn't worth the hard work to act that way and she will want to just walk on with a loose rein. Use the same method if you want her to walk and she keeps breaking into a trot. Walk on with a loose rein...she breaks into a trot?? Put her in tight trotting circles with ONE rein. Then let her walk on with a loose rein. Remember, never pull BOTH reins at the same time. Only use ONE rein at a time. Pulling on both reins will only cause her to raise her head high and you will end up in a tug-o-war with a 1000lb horse. You won't win that battle!!!!! So using only ONE rein at a time is the answer. Once she gets good at this, then I would ride in a halter sometimes just to give her a break from the bit.
I hope I have been of some help to you. Good luck, don't get frustrated, have patience and please stay safe.