Horse refuses to lunge...

The other day I tried lunging one of the mares and was dissapointed when she sat at the edge of the round pen and grazed the whole time, ignoring me while I asked her to move forward and occasionally turning her head and pinning her ears at me as if to say "back off!". I tried for quite a while to get her to walk around, and eventually got her to jog half a lap, which ended in her cutting halfway through the ring, walking to the gate, and grazing on whatever was growing on the other side of the pen. I made a mistake by not getting what I wanted with her before I put her out, but I did not want to refer to yelling and hitting, and I did not know any other ways to make her respect me. Does anyone have any ideas on getting this horse to listen to me? I've never really had this problem before and I don't know how to handle it.
Thanks!

Put her on a lunge line and use a lunge whip to 'encourage' her, even if you just get her walking is a start

Yep, you need a whip. She'll move along after a few suggestive taps on the bum. :)

Sounds like you have a very dominant mare on your hands! These horses are fun though.....if you know what to do and how to make it a game. I promise you that if you get stronger and more forceful with her, it will only make her behavior worse. And it certainly won't improve the relationship.

I'd suggest starting the Parelli 7 Games with her. You need more 'drive' with your horse, which is how easily it is to get the horse to go away from you. The 7 Games are a great place to start.

I agree with "Spirithorse"!

The 7 games could really help you!
You're mare needs more confidence to you!
Even if its dominant!

You can use a lead and flip it in the direction of her hip; make sure you are positioning yourself in the proper postion as well, to encourage her to go foward. You should be behind her shoulder, and focus on her flank area. Only step infront of her driveline when you want her to stop.

You could toss a coiled rope at her hind end but I wouldn't hesitate to give her a little whack on the butt. It sounds like you should have titled your post " I'm allowing my horse to refuse to lunge".

My sister's mare did the same thing. Stand there, cut across the pen. We could not get this horse to lunge...period. Got one of our cowboy friends over to help out. Cowboy + whip + 10 minutes = horse lunging like a dream. She had a few whelps on her hind, but she now knows what she's supposed to do and does it with little to no pressure. A little assertiveness seemed to do the trick.

Thanks all for the tips, but I must tell you that I was lunging her with a whip. Yes, this horse got a whip in the back end quite a few times. Sorry for not posting that the first time, I forgot that some people lunge without whips. I just wanted to see if there was another way other than yelling and hitting at this horse.

And thank you, kevinhorses, for pointing out the mistake which I clearly already admitted to and asked for help for.

Try Monty Roberts Join-up Monty Roberts Join Up, Man Who Listens to Horses, Real Horse Whisperer, Books, Biography, Train, Demonstrations, Flag is Up and also read on his site about using a lunge line on a halter. Better off not to use one, there is a video on there that explains how it can damage your horses spine and balance. You can get his book "From my hands to your" too.

Join-up works. It worked with my 2 year old who was challenging me in the round pen. Actually coming at me, freaked me out. He lunges like a dream now.