He sounds green and you sound inexperienced. Send him to a trainer to have his canter finished after you have him checked by a vet.
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Back when I was a young adult and not yet a horse owner, I was taking lessons. My trainer told me about a new horse that the barn owner said we could use in our lesson. So trainer gets horse from paddock. I tacked him up and took my lesson. This horse WOULD NOT CANTER. We spent most of the lesson trying to get the canter. I finally got a tiny bit. Usually he just trotted faster and faster. It was almost like he didnāt know what I was asking. Fast forward to my next lesson. Well, my trainer told me that we pulled (we, right, HE did, haha) the wrong horse out of the paddock. What I rode was a Standardbred trotter race horse. OOPS. I feel really bad that I made him canter. I donāt know if he was ever really ridden before!
So, anyway, with a ākillā horse, you never know the breed. Maybe heās a Standardbred. Any tattoo? Good luck.
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If it pins its eara and gets sulky every time you put leg on, I would fix that first.
He is training you to back off when he sulks.
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Have you found the solution?
Iād hope so after two years. Are you having a similar
issue?
Balkiness to the leg is often ulcers.
I am. Ulcers are always a possibility, yes, as are other physical issues. In my case, I believe the mare has been ridden by many uneducated riders and its defensive baggage. Sheās not flexible in the poll and doesnāt yield to the bit or go into the contact well. So with her head up and her back hollowed out, a defensive position, it will be difficult to canter. I need to soften the whole topline with suppling excersizes, soft, forgiving contact, etc, keeping in mind that many basics need to be revisited with her and mastered before I can expect much. Forget the canter until you get all of that in order. I suspect similar with this personās horse. I use a neck strap too. Instead of touching the mouth to slow down or back, use seat, core, neck strap. Its helped the mare tremendously. My point is that it is not just simply the canter, but everything the horse needs to feel comfortable in the canter must be there first, including a confident and correct rider. Then, one can ask for the canter.
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Yes, all of this. HIGHLY recommend the neck rope, the TTEAM website has them (called a Balance Rope), but I have made them out of light, soft Marine line - much cheaper.
Also, a horse like this ā any horse, actually! - will benefit from suppling and mobilizations from the ground, working on softness and responsiveness and core strength and correct āpostureāĀ will help the horse become stronger and less ābraced.āĀ It takes time, but everything with horses ātakes as long as it takesāĀ; make haste slowly.
Any horse that has had a starvation issue should be treated for ulcers automatically. Itās pretty much guaranteed that he has them. Iām betting this is part of the problem.
If you have no history on him, assume that he knows nothing and start from the beginning. If youāve put weight on him the first thing to do is build muscle. Itās the muscle he needs to carry you. Then work on his balance. He must first balance himself before he can balance with you on his back.
When you finally get to the point of a serious canter, take him on a trail ride where you know there is a hill. They canāt buck going up a hill - ask me how I know 
It sounds like a confidence issue with the horse and hill work will help you both out.
If he is pinning his ears and sulking at your leg, either something is bothering him (more likely), or no one has instilled forward in him (also possible). I would first absolutely have a vet assess him for soundness, and then look to saddle fit before assuming no one has installed the forward. The not wanting to go forward could be caused by anything from ulcers, to a sore back, to sore hocks or stifles or even sore feet, not to mention other conditions like PSSM, Lyme, EPM, kissing spine, etc.
If he has not been taught to go forward properly, you need to fix that at the walk and trot before trying to train the canter. First, start in the round pen or on the lunge line - you must drive the horse out with a posture that means business, standing tall, chest out, shoulders back, your belly button out and pointing towards their hip. Use your lunge whip like an extension of your arm to encourage him to step forward and under. If he does not respond to your posture, verbal cues, clucking, etc. - then you use the whip to reinforce those other aids - I like to point the lash of the whip at their back feet and flick it close to the feet in order to get them to step away from it and combine it with a big cluck. Reward any speed he chooses to go forward and just let him truck on for a bit Over time, continue to encourage more forward for longer stretches and continue to praise his efforts.
Once you get a good response to your go forward cues on the ground, you move on to doing it on their back. You need this horse in front of your leg and going forward. In order to teach him to go forward, you need to implement the squeeze-squeeze/cluck -squeeze and squeeze-cluck- stick method. First you squeeze, if no response, then you squeeze and cluck, if still no response then you squeeze, cluck and use your stick (and not a love tap). Once he actually goes forward, you praise him and let him go as fast as he wants - you canāt catch him in the mouth or pull him up even if he is racing off, you must stay with him and let him GO. You can focus on slowing and balancing later. You need to do this routine over and over again until the horse starts moving off your leg with just the squeeze and goes nice and forward. After that is 100% consistent, you can think about asking him to canter.
If you have anyone in your area that is skilled in long-lining, I would definitely a hire them to work with this horse and teach them how to go forward and how to canter before getting a rider involved. Anyone who is into combined driving may be able to help you, as they are generally very good with the long lines.
Another thing that may help these horses is someone on a ground with a lunge whip to help encourage them to go forward while you are on their back. They donāt need to wildly crack the whip, just use it as an aid to push forward from behind - taking what the horse has learned on the ground and helping to tie it in with what you are trying to accomplish on their back.
If you do not get this horse respecting your leg and going forward, you risk the chance that the behaviour will escalate to complete foot planting, bucking or rearing. The first thing a horse needs to learn is to go forward and that forward is not optional. A lot of people overlook this basic element and end up with behavioural issues down the road. Get your basics right, and you will not have many problems later on.
