Problem with mounting my horse?? help??

Question

sooo my horse [well i'm half-leasing him], killian is bad about letting me get on him. for example when i pull the mounting block over to get on him, he turns around so he's facing me standing on the mounting block. does anyone know how i can make him stand still so i can get on?? any advice?? thanks!!

Answer 1

Get someone to help you, at least until you can teach him to stand still.

Practice what you want him to do a few times a day.

Answer 2

put him up against the rail when you put the mounting block up he cant side-step away. Also have someone stand to the side and hold his head so he cant walk forward to evade you.

Answer 3

If you're willing to invest the time, you can do some ground work to teach him.  There are two exercises.

First you need to be able to get him to move his quarters toward you by pulling the outside rein toward you while you are standing on the mounting block.  To practice for this, use your halter and lead (rope halter and long lead, at least 8', is best. If you don't have a long lead, use a lungeing line)). If you are to the horse's left, the lead should be brought around the horse's right side and around the haunches with you standing by the left shoulder. When you shorten the lead it will force him to move his hindquarter around until he is facing you.  Do the same thing in the other direction.This will get him used to moving his quarters in the same way you'll want him to when you go to mount.  By pulling the outside rein he will bring his body closer to the mounting block.

Second,  lead him to the mounting block (never take it to him; always lead him to it). Circle him around the mounting block with you standing on it.  If the lead is in your right hand, send him to the right moving around you.  

Remain on the block and switch the lead to your left hand and send him left, with him turning toward you and then reversing direction.  To keep him moving you can swing the end of the lead at him, cluck to him, shake the lead or whatever it takes.

Once you can get him moving around you in both directions begin asking him to stop when he reaches mounting position.

Feed the lead around over the outside of his neck, so it passes over his wither to your hand.  Shorten the lead until he moves his hindquarter over toward you.  When he does, then do the same thing in the other direction.

Practice this every day before you tack up.  If you have a helper, you can practice mounting bareback when he moves his quarter over to you.

The next time you lead him to the mounting block in his tack, have the reins ready on either side of his neck so you can use pulls on the outside rein to bring his quarter toward the block.  If he turns to face you, stay put on the block and work him around you using the reins to direct him...it may take some patience, but he'll get it if you persevere.  Don't move the block and chase him around...always stand your ground and make him do all the work.  He'll eventually know that it's easier to just stand by the block in the first place.

Once he can be positioned correctly, insist that he remains there while you mount...never continue to mount if he moves.  Just patiently go back to positioning him, however long it takes...and try again.  Once he will stand for the entire mounting, insist that he stand a minute before you move him off.  Be sure he only moves when you signal him to move.

Answer 4

My OTTB did the same thing. At first you should have somebody hold him for you while you mount and after a few times of that try having the person let go of the reins and you could try saying "stay boy" or gently patting him before mounting. Don't forget to reward him when he stands still! This worked for my OTTB so I hope it helps somewhat for you :]

Answer 5

i dont know what kind of mounting block u have but if u have a light plastic one then u just drag it around till your horse stands still...

thats what i did with the horse i used to lease

Answer 6

Oh god, I have the exact same problem.!

Recently, my horse began swivelling his bum away from me as I took him to the block.  It then got so bad he took off twice as I was getting on and chucked me into the school fence (owchie)  

It was caused then by a saddle that pinched him, so I switched to one that fitted.  I now have someone hold him as I'm getting on as I am afraid he will take off again (and in fact he did!) I was worried it was his saddle, but my friend checked it for me and said it's fine.  

So now I am just trying to get him used to mounting by haveing someone hold him for me, and lots of praise when he stands still.  He no longer bum-swivels, but I still have someone hold him as I suspect he would revert once I tried alone!  I am hoping practice will help.  

Check your horse's saddle doesn't pinch his withers, and have someone hold him for u as you mount.  He may be in pain, cold backed or naughty!

Answer 7

have someone hold on to him to keep him still and then just practice getting on and off over and over until he stands still without the help. it will most likely take a few days for him to stand completely still.

Answer 8

If my horse would not let me mount  Iwould take him into the round pen and work him out and help him come around.  I am not sure what your horse is like...I mean his temperament.  Sometimes just working some of that extra energy off helps them be easier to work with.

Answer 9

my advice to you is to get someone to hold him while you mount or else hold him firm as you out the mounting block into position.

maybe you could learn to mount without a mounting block as well, it is much easier as you don't have to juggle the horse, yourself and a mounting block.

good luck!

Answer 10

ah i feel your pain- my horse does that too. it's a big form of resisting- he doesn't want you on his back so he's going to do all he can to stop you. What i do is have my mom hold him in the place and no matter what- keep trying because if you give up then he will know he won and he will continue to move around and prevent you from mounting him so he will never have to be ridden. No matter what- don't stop trying. Eventually, he will give in. :]

best of luck.

Answer 11

You can go about this a couple of different ways.

First, make sure your saddle fits well, there are no back problems or other vet problems.

Make sure your groundwork is good.  Horse should lead well, stop well, not crowd, yeild to pressure, etc.

When working on mounting issues, what I have found that works has been to do the following:

If the horse steps forward a step, move him back three.  Have him stand.  If he yeilds his hind-end away, yeild it further - make it unpleasant.  (yeild him further than he wants to do)  every time you finish moving him, give him the reward of standing there for a little bit before you try to get on again.  If he keeps moving, you keep moving him.  Keep repeating this.  If you don't see progress, it means you need to move him more.  Instead of backing him three steps, try six, or twelve, or more.  You moving him should be something he doesn't WANT to do.

When he starts standing still for you to mount, get on, then reward him by getting off.  When you build up to him standing more solidly, get on and stand there.

NEVER get on a horse and GO!

ALWAYS stand with the horse still for a minute or so.

Otherwise, you tech the horse that when you get on, it means go.  This teaches the horse to anticipate the go, and you build it into a bad habit.  You want your horse to wait for your cue.

Repetition is key.

Answer 12

A lot of people seem to have this question, as I just answered another gal's question on the very same thing.  I told her to read this article by trainer Kevin Wescott and try one or all of the 4 different methods he suggests.  I know Kevin Wescott personally, and he is really good at reading the horse and finding out what is causing the problem.  Here is his advice:

http://www.liverystable.net/kevin_advice...

My own personal advice would be to spend an afternoon just working on this mounting problem.  Your goal is to get the horse to stand at the block and not move without you having to pull on him or hold him there.  It will take some time, but you can do it.  The longeing method in step 4 of the article I pasted will probably help.  Also, you can use a longe whip to ask him to swivel his hindquarters back over towards the mounting block so he is positioned correctly.

Whatever you do, be patient and very consistent, and be willing to work with him on this EVERY time he acts up about it.  For instance, if you longe him the first session and he does give up and stand at the block quietly for you to get on, great.  But next time you come out to ride, if he turns away from the block, you have to repeat the whole longeing thing so that he knows he can't get away with it.  His moving away from the block means he has to longe and work harder.  So he will learn that the block means it's time to stand still and relax a little bit.

Also, ask your horse to stand still AFTER you get in the saddle.  Don't immediately ride away from the block.  It will help him learn that he has time to stand and relax and hang out and be happy just standing there.  Practice a LOT.  

Good luck!

Answer 13

oh

my

gosh

i had the same problem!

okay so i found that this works: get someone to hold the horse's reins on the other side (right side) and when he starts to turn around, have them push on his rump so that he doesn't turn. they will have to hold him until you're done mounting, otherwise he will turn while you aren't fully mounted.

hope this helps :)