How do you train a horse to stand still while mounting from a mounting block?

Question

I have a 17 year old standardbred gelding, and he tries to back-up or move forward when I go to mount him. Why do you think he is doing this and how can I correct it?

Answer 1

First, before you mount, you have to rock the saddle, or his withers, until he places his feet far enough apart to steady himself. Usually horses walk forward or backward because they're off-balance, then a rider's weight throws them ever more off balance.

Second, if he really doesn't stand to be rocked, start walking up to the mounting block and putting a treat on it. Then stand on it and give him a treat, then so on and so forth. Make it a sweet spot, and when you get on, stand there for 30+ seconds so he doesn't just learn to walk off as soon as you are up. Good luck!

Answer 2

its not necessilary a training problem.He could be in pain and moving in attempts to aviod it, like his saddle might not fit or he might be scared about you riding him because of a bad experience etc.call a vet to have her check ur tack..all of it..and if its not that its probably you, there areTOO many things that you could possibly doing wrong that could be causing him pain such as spurs,a crop a mean bit,your balance etc etc...

Answer 3

My QH had the same problem!!!! To teach them to stand still, lead your horse to the mounting block and try and mount (like you would anyother day), and if he start to walk away, take your hand and push on his hind quarters so that his hind quarters go around and around in a circle, do this as long as it takes until you feel some resistance like he wants to stop, once he stops against the pressure of your hand while your pushing, then stop and lead him up to the mounting block again and mount. This REALLY works!!! He will learn fast, No hitting or anything like that. If nessary do this again until he learns to not move when being mounted. Its like saying to him "you wanna move?, Well, lets MOVE"

He will learn very fast that walking away means more work then just standing still.

Hope this helps!!

Answer 4

I know this isn't a helpful answer, but my horse is doing the same thing! It's my biggest pet peeve of all time! Here's what I'm trying to do to correct it:

I'm asking all my friends to be far away, so he won't get distracted while I'm mounting him.

I say "HO" very loudly while firmly holding on to the reins and pulling a little bit if I need to while I'm mounting him.

I hope these two tips help. It's taking lots of patience and practice with my horse, so don't expect him to get it right away!  

Answer 5

if he tries to walk off while you are getting on him, then get on him completly, say whoa and make him stand still and then make him back up a couple steps. then do it all over again. my horse used to do the same thing. it only took about 10 minutes of doing this over and over again, and know she stands still while i get on her from the ground. it really works.  

Answer 6

Make sure he is not in pain first of all. My horse had this problem when i first got her. I made her back up, but you can't just let the slowly back up. You have to make them do it fairly quickly. I would also say "no" in a firm voice. Then i would get on the mounting block and pet her all over and say "good girl" if she stood still(if they don't stand make them back up again). Then I would get on and just make a fuss over her. The making them back up has to do with the concept on natural horsemanship. When you move the horse you become their leader, and the respect and trust you.

Answer 7

To start off, you've got to make the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard there. But first let's talk here for a moment about proper mounting procedure, because this is what you are going to want to back up and teach your horse step by step and then I'll show you what to do if the horse moves off when you are mounting. (I'll get into cinching problems near the end here.)

When I mount the horse from the left side, I always will have mane and rein in my left hand, with that left hand planted on the horse’s neck, and I keep the horse's head tipped in my direction via a drawn-in rein, light contact with the horse’s mouth. (Note: rest assured that it does not hurt the horse to pull on the mane when using it for mounting.) I make sure sufficient slack is let out in the offside rein.

The farther you stand from your horse during mounting, the more uncomfortable pressure you will exert on the saddle and the more pain you therefore potentially create for the horse, so I stand as close to the horse’s body as I can. Improper mounting causes the girth to bind, the saddle to twist, which then causes the horse pain, and in domino effect, creates horses that want to move off to get away from that pain. So, getting this down correctly will teach the horse to better stand still and also get you up onto the horse’s back more safely.

My right hand helps the left foot get positioned into the stirrup securely; I make sure my foot is not pushed too far into the stirrup, only my toe inserted, and there is a very important safety reason for that: if a horse ever spooked or moved off quickly with only my one foot in the stirrup, I want to be able to remove my foot easily, quickly and safely. A foot jammed too far into a stirrup could translate to a rider becoming hung up there, dragged and seriously injured in such a move-off or bolting scenario, so remember: toe only in the stirrup!

Next, my right hand holds onto the saddle cantle (back of saddle) or, better yet: the offside swell of the saddle (opposite side of saddle front). With the right hand on the offside swell, the saddle twists less, though with some beginner riders, or those mounting very green horses, they may feel more balanced or secure using the cantle at first. But do work to eventually be able to mount with right hand on offside swell if you can, because this creates far less pressure and twisting on the saddle, as well as on the horse’s spine and muscles, making it far more comfortable for the horse.

Hands now in proper position, left foot in stirrup, next, with one or two hops on my right foot, I use the energy from my legs to bounce straight up into the air. (Or you can use a mounting block if the horse is too tall.) I am careful not to bump the horse’s side with the toe of my left foot during this mounting process. (Important!) If your horse chronically moves off while you mount, try having a friend hold a hand between your stirrup foot and the horse’s body to see if you are inadvertently kicking the horse’s side as you mount – happens more often than you might realize! It is also a good idea, when first learning proper mounting procedure, to have someone hold the horse, or at least remain near the horse’s head for backup help, if needed, until you (and the horse) get the full hang of it.

As I begin the mount, if the horse starts to leave with my one foot balanced in the stirrup, I simply pull the left rein in tighter with my left hand, and the horse circles into me until completely stopped. A horse generally only can move easily in the direction his head is pointing, therefore, with his head ****** into me, he can only circle. And horses do not like to make tight circles, because that is much harder for them. Make the right thing easy, and the wrong thing hard. Inevitably, after circling, the horse will halt.

also easily can jump off at this point, if wished, since only my toe will be in the stirrup. I will not swing a leg over a horse’s back until I have the animal standing quietly and patiently waiting for me! If a horse will not stand still, compliantly for mounting, then we slow down and work on just this problem alone. Repetitions of the horse circling as such will find him before long choosing the easier route of standing still. Since I plant into the foundation of every horse I train the one-rein stop, first on the ground, we have practiced the one-rein stops already thoroughly before even getting into saddle, so the horse is familiar with bringing the head around to the side to stop. If a horse still continues to walk off during mounting, however, usually increasing pressure annoyingly, bumping with the left rein along with a disciplining “Shhhhh!” sound will stop most walk-offs quickly.

When the horse remains still, I then swing my right leg over the horse’s back in one smooth straight-legged motion. It is important to be smooth here, not sloppy. It is also critical not to bump the horse’s croup/rear end with that right leg as it crosses over, as this sometimes upsets horses or triggers a move-off, especially in green beginner or jumpy horses. I sit down softly in the saddle. Flopping down too hard onto a horse’s back at this point can create a “cold-backed” horse or even one who bucks, so it is important to always ease ourselves gently down into the saddle. However, remember to be confident at the same time when mounting; don’t approach this stage apprehensively or the horse will pick up on that tension. Don’t hold your breath either, as this will automatically tense you up. Breathe deeply and regularly, and this automatically will help relax your body, and that relaxation will translate over to the horse.

When I do swing my leg over the horse, I will still maintain a feel through the rein on that left side with the horse’s head tipped inward; i.e., the rein is still held fast in the drawn-in position. This allows me to safely find the stirrup on the offside and get myself arranged. If the horse becomes upset, I will simply circle to the left, perform a one-rein stop, bring the horse’s head to the side for bonding/stroking, taking the horse back to that safe, loving place we already established on the ground in the earlier steps – the safety zone. There are no large learning leaps. It all made perfect sense to the horse on the ground earlier. Now it is simply being transferred to the same expectation in the saddle.

Answer 8

I was just watching a trainer on this on RFDTV. I wish I knew who it was but what he did was.

Lined the horse parallel with a fence and stood infront of him, and used a dressage whip, and clucking. As you would to get the horse to swing its hind end away from you, tap at the hip but now you want to swing into you, too pick you up. So allow him one step forward as that will probably be his imidiate reaction but no further than that and just keep clucking as a warning and a tapping as a cue. Release pressure as soon as he crosses his hind feet over towards you and continue to repeat until he is parallel with you. mind this is all on the ground.

Im not sure if this will work seeing as it is a little different than your question. but just an idea

(Mind this is all done on the ground)

Answer 9

Oh no this habit stinks. You attack this problem in many diffrent ways but here are just a few options that have worked for me in the past.

1.) Trying mounting you horse in the stall. The horse is usally good because he can not really move anywhere with four walls surrounding times. But a lot of people feel unsafe doing this becasue it can dangerous if your horse is kind of crazy and you feel unsafe.

2.) Use hay bails to mount instead of a mounting block. Sometimes this tricks the horse and he does think you are going to mount him. He also recognizes the hay bales as something pleasent instead of something stresssful.

3.) You will need someone to help you with this one. First start of with having someone hold your horse and get on and off him a couple times. Once he gets the hang of this have the person helping you just stand by your horse without holding him and get off and on a couple times. Than once he gets the hang of this try it by yourself. If he is still bad just go back to have someone hold him. Eventually your horse will get the hang of it and mounting will be a breeze.

4.) A lot of the times horses having problems mounting is becasue they do not respect you. If your horse is dancing around while you are trying to mount try doing a 5 min. disipline session. You can make him back up and walk foward. Doing walk on's and halts.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 10

A lot of horses have this same problem. It's possible that he's doing this because he's starting to associate the mounting block with having to work.

What I would do is bring him up to the mounting block and have him stand  there for ten or fifteen seconds. If he does this successfully, reward him (mints are probably most effective, and in small amounts they won't interfere with the bit). Then have a friend hold him while you try to get on - if he stands still, give him another mint. If he starts to stand still using this method, gradually wean him off of the treats by simply patting and praising him.

(You could also bring him up to the mounting block and have him stand without getting on him afterwards - but I would use mints first.)

Another possibility is that his back or withers are bothering him. A horse at our barn used to actually get people off because he'd get upset when someone tried to mount from the mounting block. When you put your foot in the stirrup, it applies pressure to the other side of his withers. If he has a sore there, it could be causing pain or discomfort.

See if he stands still when you get a leg up. Also check his withers for cuts. You can try adding extra padding underneath the saddle to relieve some of the pressure.

I would try the first method first, and if this doesn't work try the second.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 11

sometimes i have that problem but u have to hold back the reins or if that dosent work try having ppl give u a "leg up"

Answer 12

he is doing it to be a tard get on him even if he is moving and back him up when he starts walking. when you get on him and he stops moving let him stand for a minute and stroke him

Answer 13

Oh this is my biggest pet peeve! When I get on, I make him stand there for a period of time before I actually swing my leg up. Pet him while he stands. Then I go to swing up, and kind of rest my leg on him. DOnt hang on him, but make him stand while your resting on him. Then get up on him, and make sure you hold the reins back and tight. If he moves, back him up to the block. Make him stand there for some time, then go. I dont go through this EVERYTIME of course, only when training them. Good luck!

Dee, I have my horses trained on that too, I trained with Buck Branaman and such who is on RFDTV. It work well on the rail, but it can be a pain when using a mounting block.

Answer 14

He's probably doing it because he's trying to avoid work. My horse used to do that all the time.If you ride english, cant really help :/. But if you ride western, I have a solution. take the rein on the side that you are on and tie it around the horn. Take the other rein and pull it around the horn so it is on the same side as you and hold it. Go to mount. If he moves, pull slightly on the rein you are holding and say "whoa". The more he does it, the harder you pull. Good luck!

**Don't get to frustrated that you pull due to anger, just to show him that you wont take any c**p from him