lungeline bolting

Question
I have a three year old haflinger gelding that I purchased 6 weeks ago.  I was told at the time that he had been ridden (and I did indeed ride him with a halter and leadrope), but he did not seem to know a whole lot.  I spent the first month with him working on ground training (freeing his body in all directions, joining up, leading, lungeing in a round pen, some driving with short lines, going over obstacles, etc.  All of this he learned very quickly and willingly and with very little work.
Then I tried to teach him to lunge on a line.  I started out with small circles.  His bend was great and he did very well at close range, so I started letting him out slowly.  He would always start out jogging, as he seemed a bit nervous at the whip (or rope if I used that).  After just three mellow sessions, though, he was doing fairly well at the walk and jog (ie- very little pulling on me and working decently circular circles).  So, I decided to ask him to lope.  I smooched and raised my whip hand, and he immediately went away, but still stayed going in the right direction, so I kinda just went with him in this larger arc.  He seemed nervous though.  So, I got a short lope and accepted baby steps.  The next time I worked him, though, he not only went away a little, but he got his butt turned so that I could not turn or stop him, and he took off around our 1+ acre pasture trailing the line.  I have been working on the theory that you send them off to work until they are ready to come to you, so I continued to send him off, but then to soften up my body to invite him back in.  Well, it took a ling time and more energy than I would have liked, but he did eventually come and join up.  I then worked with him again on lungeing, but only walk/trot, as I figured he needed more work there.  The last couple of days, though, we have gone through basically the same routine.  His walk/trot have improved greatly, but when asked to lope, he will do good for a half round or so and then either break into a trot, or bolt.  I don't mind the break into a trot, and actually try to beat him to it so that we can get a positive experience.  But the bolting is a problem, because he seems to be scared or confused in that time.  I know that I am somehow giving him confusing messages, but I cannot figure out the trigger.  He does always come to me after running around the pasture, but I have to admit that it wears me out.  I have tried getting him and taking him back to the round pen to work there, but he does not bolt there.  I tried tonight to simulate the stimulus, and was semi-successful, but again, I could not quite figure out the trigger, which I am guessing has everything to do with me and my body language.  I really don't want to ruin this wonderful little horse.  He is really a kind and trustworthy fellow, so I figure that I must be doing something wrong.  Please help me to help my horse stay trusting and willing.  

Answer
Hello Angela,

First, never be afraid to go back to the beginning and reinforce his trust in you by just walking and a bit of trotting.This should be done for weeks and wekks at least before asking for canter.

The canter can be frightening to a horse. Your horse may be a bit unbalanced, not supple enough to maintain the canter in a circle, and he has a right to tell you that this is too much too fast.

This can affect his other attitudes about you......he needs to trust that you will not ask him to do something that he is not ready to do yet.

I really like this breed, and I feel that you will do fine with just more time. As you know, lungeing is a beneficial exercise when done correctly, but you may see a lot of people NOT doing it correctly.

You should never have to snap the whip, etc., it is all about body language and getting the horse to understand the whole concept. Double lungeing is also useful, and I will try to go into more detail about that if you wish. My email, also is Sumemrsdressage@apol.com, www.MitziSummers.com.

Be sure you are always consistent and using voice commands.