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I don't know if you spotted it yet but what's happening here is that
horse is getting confused. Not only that, it's also hurting
horse.
After all, put yourself in your horse's place. If you were asked to canter and
second you did you felt a painful jerk on your mouth...wouldn't you be a little upset? And if it happened every time, wouldn't you think to yourself, "I gotta get this jerk off my back - he's killin' me!"
Now let's say you don't know why your horse is bucking. Let's assume your riding habits are good and your horse bucks anyway.
Here are some helpful suggestions.
First, if your horse bucks you then it is crucial you don't stop him. If you do, he learns that if he wants to stop all he has to do is buck. Very quickly, you'll have a smart horse who knows that to stop he only has to buck.
So, instead of stopping, do this.
First, brace your arms against your body yet keep them relaxed and keep contact with your horse. While doing this, lean back and drive your horse to go forward. (Making a horse go forward is a big horse training secret to help you get your horse's cooperation and obedience.)
Because you brace your arms, it makes your horse's head go up and driving him forward makes his attempts at bucking hard enough he'll quit trying to buck. The point is
horse cannot buck when he is moving forward with energy.
The next step is you must continue moving your horse forward with energy using your seat and legs until he quits trying to buck - be sure to control his speed.
Sometimes it's necessary to hold your horse's head up to stop
bucking while moving him forward. If you need to do that then be sure not to pull his head back. Instead pull it up. You do that by extending your arms and pull up.
If you have a horse that bucks whenever he feels like it then he should be doubled. The trick is to do it on
first buck if you can. Double him then boot him out of it with energy. Then double him
other way and boot him out of it and put him in a trot and make him keep moving.
Remember
horse must slow down to buck. If you can tell your horse is slowing down and getting ready to buck then boot him forward and pick up
pace.

Andy Curry is a nationally known horse trainer and author of several best selling horse training and horse care books. For information visit his website at www.horsetrainingandtips.com. He is also the leading expert on Jesse Beery's horse training methods which can be seen at www.horsetrainingandtips.com/Jesse_Beerya.htm