I have a mare who if you pressure her will lie down, if she doesn't understand. You can groom, saddle her quietly, climb on top and she will give you her head, but not her feet.Lead her around with a rider no problem, but no forward motion on her own.
Any suggestions?

_________________
"The rewards, whether for winning or for losing, offer almost irresistible temptations to race a two-year-old more times than are good for them." John Hay Whitney at the annual testimonial dinner in October 1963 for the Thoroughbred Club of America

The two most important things you can teach a young horse are go and stop, and in my opinion both of those things need to be learned before anyone gets on their backs. It's so much easier for the babies to process one new thing at a time (ie, go forward or carry a rider, but not both.)

If I were you I would take the mare back to the round pen or the lunge line and teach her to go forward and to whoa. Once she knows the voice commands for the different gaits, it will be much easier to make her understand what you want her to do under saddle.

She's not a baby, 5 year old . I sent her and 2 others off to be started and got nowhere with them. I pulled them home after never seeing the trainer or getting call backs to schedule a viewing time of him working them. She leads well, handles quietly, falls asleep during saddling. Only 2 vices are ear shy (had ear warts when younger)and hard to catch until stalled.

_________________
"The rewards, whether for winning or for losing, offer almost irresistible temptations to race a two-year-old more times than are good for them." John Hay Whitney at the annual testimonial dinner in October 1963 for the Thoroughbred Club of America

She may be five years old but if she will not go forward she has some gaps in her basic training.

You say that she doesn't understand what you want her to do--the best way to rectify that is to go back to the beginning and start over. Learning doesn't come with age, it comes with being able to process what is being taught.