How to Lead Your Horse or Pony

use consistently. Walk forward yourself.
If your horse doesn't understand how to walk forward at your cue, you can try carrying a long whip that is between 36 to 40 inches long, like a dressage whip. Hold the whip in your left hand with the folded rope. Tap the horse gently on the top of the croup and ask it to "walk."
Stop by asking the horse to "whoa" (or whatever word you choose to mean "stop"), stopping yourself and pulling lightly on the lead rope. The horse should stop and stand beside you and not swing out or try to face you.
To ask your horse to trot, increase the distance between your hand and the halter to at least a foot so that you don't restrict its head (which can affect its gaits. This is especially important if your vet is trying to see lameness or you are in the show
ring).
Cue with the forward motion of the lead rope as you did when walking, tapping the horse's croup with the whip and asking it to "trot" while jogging forward yourself.
Ask your horse to back up by turning around to face it. Take the lead rope in your left hand, and with your right-hand point at or press on the horse's left shoulder. Ask the horse to "back" and pull down and back slightly with the lead rope. Step forward yourself to stay with your horse as it steps back.

Tips

Do not try to haul your horse along. The harder you pull, the more resistant the horse may become. The horse should be taught to walk and trot with you on cue without any pulling.
Don't get left behind, but stay at your horse's shoulder.
Stay close enough alongside that you can see what your horse is doing. But, don't go so far away that your horse is off on the opposite side of the lead rope.

To get your horse to move forward if you don't have a whip, try pulling the horse slightly to the right so that it has to take a step with its left forefoot to re-balance. Pull the horse gently back towards you so it then has to move its right foot forward to again re-balance. Sometimes this is enough to unstick a reluctant horse.