What are the basics to getting a young horse to not buck?

Preventing bucking in a young horse is fundamentally easier than correcting it after the habit has developed, and the basics of preventing it are rooted in the same correct systematic training principles that produce a well-broken horse in every other respect. A young horse that bucks is almost always frightened, physically uncomfortable, overfaced by what is being asked of him, or carrying more energy than his current management and exercise program allows him to release appropriately. The physical preparation of the horse before the first ride is the most important preventive investment. A young horse correctly started on the longe, that accepts the saddle and girth without tension, that has been desensitized to the feel of weight on his back through progressive leaning and mounting block work, and that has been introduced to the bit on the longe before anyone swings a leg over is a horse whose first ride contains very little genuine novelty. The bucking that happens in first rides is almost always a startle or panic response to something unexpected and threatening — systematic preparation removes the novelty so that what is left is a familiar experience in a new combination. Correct physical management directly controls the energy levels that bucking requires. A young horse in appropriate turnout — ideally in a small herd on pasture where he can move freely and release energy naturally — arrives at training sessions without the explosive pent-up energy that stall confinement accumulates. Young horses in full work kept in stalls twenty-three hours a day and fed high-energy grain rations are being set up for behavior problems regardless of how correct their training is. The canter is the gait most associated with young horse bucking and deserves specific attention. Introducing the canter too early — before the horse is balanced and comfortable at walk and trot under saddle — sets up bucking because the canter's physical demands on balance and hindquarters create a combination of novelty and physical demand that easily tips into anxiety. Immediate calm forward riding is the correct response to the first hints of a potential buck. Close both legs, sit deep, pick up both reins with a soft but present contact, and ride forward decisively without panic. Forward energy is mechanically incompatible with a serious buck — it is very difficult to buck well while moving energetically forward, which is why every experienced trainer's instinctive response to impending bucking is leg, leg, leg and forward.