getting young horse to move under saddle

Question
I have a 3 year old Morab. He was handled from birth. He does his groundwork perfectly, wears a saddle and bridle with no problem. I am an experienced rider,56 years young but this is the first time I have started a baby from scratch. I have started to get on him this month. He moves out great when being lunged, knows voice command, and will respond to a click. Until I get on. My problem is he won't move. I can turn him right and left, he turns in place and then stands there. I am putting leg pressure on him and he doesn't understand, I cluck, use his voice commands and he just stand there. He even turns his head and stares at my legs. I have had a friend lead him about, he moves then, but only to follow. She stops, he stops. Took the lead rope off and had her walk around the arena and he followed. In fact he was trying to play with her, but when she stopped moving, he stopped. I tried just using his rope halter rather than a bit in case I was checking him, but it didn't make a difference. I haven't wanted to try using a crop because I'm afraid it would startle him.

Answer
Hi Lisa,
This is a common problem with I have found in training. Basically, the horse's feet get stuck. They kind of freeze in place because they don't know what to do.
I have found the best way to remedy this is to get the feet moving. I would suggest have your friend stand in the center of the round pen with a training stick as if they are lunging while you are mounted. Your friend  will be the "gas pedal" only if needed. Use split reins for this.
Squeeze with your calves. If the horse doesn't move out, keep squeezing and cluck to him. If he still doesn't move out, keep squeezing, cluck and give him a little spank on the withers with the ends of the reins. As soon as he moves out, release all pressure. If the horse refuses to move out after squeezing, clucking and spanking, have your friend move the horse out as if they are lunging. As soon as he moves out, your friend should release all pressure. It may take several times of doing this to get the idea over to your horse but I have found it to work for me. Eventually, your friend can stand outside of the pen and you can cue your horse to move. Don't try to make him move while he is turning right now. You will need forward movement before he can turn. Later you can get some turns out of him.
I hope this has helped. Good luck and please stay safe.