Bucking in canter

Question
Hi, I have a 10 year old Welsh section, who is wonderful in every way, she has been out of work for the winter and she has now started bucking when asking for canter, she even does this on the lunge when there is no weight on her.  I have had her back checked etc.
Due to personal reasons I need to sell her and this issue is causing a problem, walk and trot are excellent, I would be very grateful for your suggestions, many thanks x

Answer
Clara-
I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, I was busy during the 4th of July.
If the vet checked your horse and she is fine then you really only have two options.
A.  Explain to people that she had the winter off and she is now acting a little silly.  You will have take a smaller amount for her I'm sure, but you won't have to worry about the problem any more.
B.  Work with her and get her through the problem.
If you chose to work with her I can give you these suggestions:
1.  Lunge her in a round pen, small paddock or arena.  Preferably free lunging (without a lunge line.  
2.  Do it first without the saddle on.  Do all the good speeds first(walk/trot) in both directions and let her relax.  Pay close attention to how she moves, without the saddle and how she "throws" her legs forward.  
3.  If she bucks with nothing on her, drive her through it - she will settle out of it eventually.  However that is why it is best to have her free lunging because there is no chance of the lunge line getting caught up.
4.  Once she can do it without the saddle, put the saddle back on and work with her until you see that same relaxed movement you saw before.  Where she throws her legs forward and moves very smoothly.
5.  Then, I would put her back on the lunge line and attach another lunge line to the saddle.  If you are using a western saddle attach the second line around the horn, if english, loop it around the cantle.  Then as she lunges, give small tugs on the second lunge line.  the idea is to simulate how the saddle will shift around with a rider on her back.  You want to do that until her gait doesn't change when she feels the movement.

That is about all I can tell you.  Unfortunately ther is no magic thing that can be done for a quick fix.  It just takes work.  It isn't a unheard of thing for a horse to be a little rough around the edges after a long period off, especially if they were somewhat new to riding prior to that.  However, if the horse has had winters off before and never had problems, then I would think there may be a health issue.  It is not just back trouble that can cause a problem like that.  Feet/leg problems can cause trouble like that, but usually you will see some type of limp.  Kidney problems can cause that behavior, and sometimes as the horse goes faster and their insides start to get shaken up a little more, that can cause discomfort.  If you lunge her in a bit to maintain a certain head/neck "set", the bit may be causing her some trouble as she tries to stretch out to canter.  But if the vet checked her, then it is probably just the lack of work that is causing it.  Just work with her regularly for a short while, and she will work through it.  I would not recomend using a lunging whip while you lunge her.  And if she is bucking, I would suggest using a chest strap - even if it is just a rope tied to the saddle across her chest - to help keep the saddle in place.

I hope this helps, and let me know if you need more help.

Best of Luck!
Michael Hockemeyer
Kicking Bear Mustangs