Rough time

I'm hitting a rough streak and it is really dashing my confidence. I fall off at least once every day I ride and it is usually because my horse is incredibly spooky but excited at the same time. He's got spring fever 100% and it is killing me. I refuse to ride in a saddle, I ride bareback only and that's fine, I have my balance but sometimes I feel like a failure because we will be trotting around and then I'll ask for a canter and he'll kick up his heels and take off while I slip right off and roll in the dust while he thrashes around happily for a moment and realizes "Oopse..." I know he doesn't mean it but its a total bummer to me. I'm getting so frustrated and I have no idea how I can expect him to behave on a trail ride because he's so jumpy and excitable.

well if it's spring fever it *should* stop when Summer comes. But until then try taking it easier. Don't canter if you fall off then. Don't do anything that you are nervous about doing, cause it will only make your horses reaction worse

Does she do it when you ask her to canter on the lunge as well

Try riding in a saddle, if possible. We all go through periods of crappy riding, but you can't learn how to sit the little bucks and hops bareback if you keep falling off! Your seat needs to get more secure--so ride without stirrups, not without a saddle. I used to fall off multiple times a day, when I first started riding... XD now I train my APHA horse bareback doing all kinds of things, if I don't feel like putting on the saddle, because when I ride it makes no difference if the saddle is there or not. But you only get that way from being ON the horse, not eating dirt! Lol

Dont necessarily go to a saddle but maybe a saddlepad would help. Youd have that little strap there to hold onto while asking for the canter but at the same time could be riding sans saddle and building your seat