I have a 4 year old by Ima Firefighter out of a DFP mare. He pulls and pulls on the bit (o-ring snaffle with split reins) while I ride. The. Whole. Time. Nosey. We are walking, he wants to trot, we trot, he wants to lope, we lope, he wants to go faster and faster. After we lope a bit and he gets worn down some he is better but ugh, it's not fun at all. I can get him to work on a loose rein sometimes but ususally the first 15-20 minutes I'm on him are me just trying to hold him back and keep him geared down, snorting, the whole bit. If I let up on the reins at all he will straight up just fly. I dont know how to get him to trot or lope and nice circle with his head down. It's prance prance prance. Is this something he will grow out of as he gets more miles? Round pen work is nice, it's when I get on he's like OMG lets go go go. He will pick up the correct lead, stop, turn (likes to bow out and swing his butt out if we make a smaller circle but his big circles are balanced), but I have to basically fight him to stay in his gaits. Help!

Can you lunge before you ride to wear him out a little?

Yes, and I usually do. He works in the roundpen really nice all level and puppy dog like, then I get on his back and he is like a fire breathing dragon. Drives me nuts. He does listen, and I am in control of what direction we are going in, but the speed, nudging, nosing and head shaking wanting to go has me so frustrated. If he's busy working/ turning/ trail riding where he has things to look at or a job to do he is much better. Has anyone had one like this? WTF do I do. 

ETA: Lunge, then long trot and lope is typically how we start out. Now he's getting in better shape and it takes longer to wear him out. I feel like I'm spending more time getting him ready to actually chill out and work and less time actually working if that makes sense.

Also to add, he is on a 12% stock and stable feed at the suggestion of a trainer to take some of the edge off as I was giving him Pro Force Fuel and he thought that maybe that was part of the problem. He's been on the new stuff for about 2.5 months.

You will never wear out a physically fit horse on a lunge line. 

True story because I have tried with this guy and while I appreciate his work ethic and stamina, I'd like a better way to channel it into something more productive. 

Sounds like he needs to go outside and have a cowboy job for awhile and learn blowing his wad first thing doesn't do him any good. Getting his mind engaged in a different job along with getting physically tired. But that's not an option for everybody or finding someone who won't take advantage of that big motor and possibly pulling his plug making him worthless as a trail horse let alone a barrel horse.

I do a lot of counter canter on horses like that. I drive them up in the bridle and have them give on a circle, once they softened and start paying attention,  I give a release by letting them go on a straight line. It requires a lot less work to lope on the straight than on a counter canter in a circle. (Don't let him change leads)If they want to take off and take the bridle after I let them out on a line, back to the hard drive into the bridle on a circle. Rinse, repeat. It makes them responsible for themselves.

Constantly holding them back with the reins is babysitting and creating a fight which can cause the progression of finding a bit to hold him back as he learns to push through it. You know this otherwise you wouldn't be on the internet asking ;)

My mare wasn't bad, but she would get in a hurry coming home. I found it was best to get their mind on YOU. Before I ride off, I ride around a circle and have her tip her head in/out, walk with her hip in/out, walk collected, then stop, back up, and go the other direction. If she wants to go faster than I'd like, I will stop her, back her up a few steps and make her stand until she "chills." If she didn't want to stand, back up a few steps or bend them to the side. She will still hurry on the walk home, but she knows she can't break into a trot or prance or I'll make her wait. I have one mare that will get worked up, so I do a lot of one rein stops and the circle drill at a trot. Spiraling down and downward transitions helps too. In my opinion, you just have to get their mind working and in tuned to you so they can't think about having to hurry and move.

Reading through the original post again, focus on the basics at the walk for a bit to get him to listen to you. Not only will it work on his respect for you, but hopefully make him realize saddle time is not always "go time"

I would suggest that before he changes speeds you ask for his face to one side or the other and hold it until he stops. At first he will spin and try to figure out what you are asking but eventually he will learn that if he goes any faster than you have asked for that you will shut him down in a way that he can not easily brace against..

I started asking for this motion before ever riding by standing beside the cinch area and pulling the nose towards the cinch area around the spot my hip would be if I was sitting in the saddle. When the horse gave an inch the direction I was asking I released the pressure and did it again. Eventually the horse understood that I did not need their feet to move I just needed their nose. I like to try to do an equal amount of times on both sides but for this horse I may begin with just a left side pull. Once it was second nature on the ground and in any headgear I would do this riding at a stand still. Most of the time they did it no problem until we got to adding speed. This is where you learn to feel the horse. If I am sitting still on your horse and the horse decides it would like to take a step I would pull on one rein. He obviously knows he can brace and yank so I am going to take that away from him by pulling just one side. If I ask for a walk I can normally feel tension just before the horse tries to trot. With a slow smooth motion I would pull just one rein to my hip and wait. Because you want to catch them before they fully take off you will need to be careful not to snatch. Practice smooth slow and steady. This isnt fool proof but just a suggestion that if nothing else will help your horse get a good stretch :-)

 Ignore my grammar and understand that I am not a professional

Have you ever seen the Sherry Cervi and Clinton Anderson dvd pack? I think you would find it helpful. Clinton starts by doing a lot of bending side to side at a stand still. Then he goes on to walk, trot, etc. When the horse would hurry, he would "shut them down" and bend them side to side. Its kind of hard to explain without seeing it. Even though Clinton is not everyone's cup of tea, he has some good methods. May be worth looking into!

Thanks everyone for your responses. I just got my round pen set up over the weekend (SO EXCITING), so we are going to go with lots and lots of ground work over the next few weeks so that he respects me on the ground before I get back on him. I came to the realization after reading through these that the issue with him is ME. Humbling... lol. Once I do get back on him, we will go SLOW and correct and hopefully stay more relaxed.