Any tips for mounting - Having a LOT of trouble

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newhorse

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Can anyone give me any tips, had my horse for nearly 3 weeks now. A smashing 5 yr old Thoroughbred.

Only problem is, as soon as I go to get on him, he is off like a shot! I am not the best rider and haven't ridden in some years but am having refresher lessons and taking him in the school etc.

He is great once I am on apart from he doesn't really want to move! He is an ex race hourse (which I was unaware of when I bought him) but lovely placid little lad.

I just wish that I could ride him when no one else is around as currently have to have someone hold him and even then it's a struggle. He is basically off like a shot at mounting, stops dead when I am on lol

Earlier in the week he ran off with me half on / half off and I was just pleased that he never tried to buck me off !!!
 
My old thoroughbred used to be like this - it took me ages and ages and ages of repetition work with him, mounting and dismounting, mounting and dismounting, after a while he got the hang of it and eventually let me on without bombing off although he never actually completely stood still, he always took a step or two. One time like you he took off and I ended up on his ar*e behind the saddle I though he was going to throw me but luckily he didn't and I scrambled onto the saddle. good luck.
 
This seems to be a "thing" with some ex-racers
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My friend's does this and he gets on via a mounting block but doesn't put his foot in the stirrup, he just places it across the saddle .... if that makes sense.

When he has the time and patience, he does get on "properly" and the horse is getting better. He has only owned him about 5 months, so it is a work in progress.
 
Yes thats what I have to do - make a bit of a leap from the mounting block lol. Its not the most 'graceful' of mounts I have to say!!! ha ha ha
 
Firstly have you had his back checked? Badly fitting saddles and sore backs mean you getting on causes pain so he may be moving away from pain.

My own horse is an ex racer and when I first got him I would struggle to get on as as soon as my foot was in the stirrup he was off. It is a hang up from racing where a jockey is legged up. I have managed to cure him, now he stands still while I get on on and then moves off when I ask him to. It took me a while, I had to put his head against the wall as I got on so he could not move forward, I would do teh same if I was away from home, I would take a portable block with me and put his head in towards the trailer. basically anything so he has nowhere to go in front.

I also would bore him into submission, keep getting on and off, and make him stand still. But only do this when you have had a good back man and a good saddle fitter out. If he has pain or remembered pain it has to be treated and sorted before you start to get on and off.
 
Hi Bosworth. Yes, back pain was certainly something I considered. When I first got him I had the vet out for a good all over check and she felt down his back, sides, legs etc and gave him a clear bill of health. I have had a saddle fitter look at the saddle as I would like a new one anyway and the current one is fine

I was told though as someone mentioned that this is common in ex racers and they are used to pretty much making a move before someone is on. Hopefully I will get to grips with it
 
I'm not a Pirelli fanatic by any means but our local guy came and sorted my cob out in two sessions, bloody brilliant. Very occasionally I have to remind him but otherwise he's completely sorted! he just needed to realise what was expected of him instead of walking off whilst you were still mounting!
 
I had a session on mounting off the ground from Mickey Gavin. He gave me some tactics for teaching him to stand still before mounting.
 
A few months ago I started riding a horse that wouldn't stand still for anyone to get on. It used to take bewteen 10 and 25 minutes for me to get on if I was on my own!!

The answer was food and patience and now he's absolutely fine. I basically decided that I wouldn't even try and get on if there was no one around and so I just lunged if I was on my own and then used food when someone was there to help. Seems to have done the trick.
 
If he's generally sluggish/laid back, it would suggest he's not doing as the sort who is always in a rush to get on with things... So is he panicking? If so, you need to solve it with TLC. I'd always mount in the school with him in the corner so he's facing the fence. Mount from the fence so you're up really high & can almost step on - try to do this very quickly but super gently. If you can initially have someone holding him who's on the inside of the school & on the side he could run to, your helper can sooth the horse whilst ensure he doesn't go anywhere - if he can be bribed with treats for a bit that would be good (whilst praising him - so eventually you can them have the helper just praising without treats then ultimately just you involved, doing the praising).

If you can get to the point you're doing this without stress, then's the time to start practising - so on & off a few times so he starts to tolerate it - progressing to moving away from the corner of the school.
 
Racehorses tend to have the jockey being legged up whilst they are walking (apparently) so that's what they are used to doing. My old ex racer was dreadful for walking off - I used to position him in a corner, chest against a fence, and get on him that way. He soon learnt what was expected of him.
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Thanks Sal, yes I think it is a case of panicking. This poor horse has been neglected and had no love or affection so I am busy just trying to bond with him at the moment just sitting in the stable with him, walking around his field with him etc.

To be honest, if I never rode him again I wouldn't care I really like the companionship more than the riding but obviously this probably wouldn't be fair on his so I make the effort to ride. Then again, maybe when I am a little more confident this will be a different story lol
 
I would question whether a 5 year old ex-racing thoroughbred gelding is the right type of horse to be a companion pet... he has a lot of years ahead of him, they are intelligent beasts and stress and/or boredom manifests itself in many ways, mostly unpleasant ones - especially when he has put on some condition.

He will always have had jockeys legged up, usually while he is walking. It won't be a quick fix for him to learn to stand still, and ultimately be mounted using the stirrup. Is this the horse for you to regain confidence on - is it fair to expect him to do that for you, when he's an uneducated baby himself and needs all the help he can get..?

I hope with experienced help you will be happy with each other.
 
newhorse - have you thought of getting a Intelligent Horsemanship RA out ot help you with your boy? the various groundwork excercises would help with standing while mounting but I am thinking it would help you and him bond as well as helping him settle into a different way of life from the one he has been used too. I had one out on Monday (to help with sometime hooligan cob!
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) and he was saying how he has been to help at a stud as they wanted the horses to have the best start so if they didn't make it in racing they would have a better chance of a second career. Give it a bit of thought.
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We have had two mares over the years who would not stand to be mounted when we first got them. With the first one, we happened to have a raised concrete walkway which she could walk alongside as you 'hopped' on, on the move and she was absolutely fine with that. She had no problem with you getting on, she just didn't want to stand still while you did it. But we couldn't let that carry on so we taught her to stand still. We positioned her in a corner with a helper on the open side and used a portable mounting block until she got used to the idea. With the second one, we blocked her in with straw bales on 3 sides, helper standing outside this shape holding her and stirrup and mounted from the left hand bale. She was then quite happy to stand while helper dismantled the 'holding pen'. She was a heavy horse and would not have dreamed of trying to jump over the bales. The first one might well have decided to jump over! With both of them the helper gave a treat as the rider put foot in stirrup and progressively gave treat later and later until the rider was giving the treat after mounting and eventually the rider could give the treat after adjusting girth etc, as we always do. We knew little of the first horse's history but the previous owner of the second one did tell us that they had scrambled on without a mounting block, and as her husband who had ridden the mare mostly was a 16 stone man and the mare was 17hh, I couldn't blame her for walking off. She became so good at standing still that the first time I rode her after breaking my left ankle she stood next to a portable mounting block in the field with her legs at most peculiar angles so that I could mount with the least possible difficulty, bless her!
 
Hi newhorse,

Firstly, stop worrying! You love him, + if he never works again, well, i've never known a horse complain about that!!! I think it's only humans who think they want to work!!

But i have a sneaking suspicion you want to ride this lovely horse? OK.

You have a young TB, so he's going to be well sharp, but cos he's young, he won't go forwards. So, he just needs a bit of time to learn, and he will. (And if, by your own statement, you're not "the best rider", well a 5 yr old TB keeps most folk on their toes!)

I totally agree with Sal-E's suggestion that he is panicking, so face him into the fence, and mount very, very gently (i still do this with my 11-yr-old TBxID mare). As for my 19 yr-old TBxWelsh, well, if i'm not totally agile at the 1st hit, all hell lets loose!!!

Your horse is very young, so he will be reluctant to go forwards, albeit that he panicks when you first get on. To me, that suggests that he is very recently backed, despite what you've been told, it sounds like he hasn't a clue what to do!

So my best suggestion is to get a very good trainer (by 'trainer', i'm not referring to racing trainers, but to riding teachers) to help asap. And someone who is prepared to teach your lad the basics, and share it with you, so you can carry it on.

Where to find such a trainer? Local reputation is said to be best, but i also wonder about the Emperor's Clothes thing. So maybe also look at the BHS register of instructors (www.bhs.org.uk) (hopefully you won't get British Home Stores!!), and very often, riding centres have excellent instructors doing regular training.

Maybe you could ask previous owner who their instructor was?

Hope this helps, friend,

Just take it very slow, understand him (or get a man who does!), and above all, remember you're dealing with a young TB.

With all my best wishes to you both, BS x
 
I have 3 exracing Tbs and have had the same prob with all 3...! The two I have had the longest are now 'cured' and will stand stock still while I scramble on from block or ground and the new one, only here a couple of weeks, is just learning. Most racehorses dont stop when being mounted as the lad is legged up whilst on the move so it is very likely your horse has never been shown how to stand still for someone to get on, this isnt his fault and shows he isnt being naughty, he just doesnt know any difference.

You will need to spend a bit of time teaching him to stand still, he wont magically learn how to do it without your help. It took me about an hour to teach my lad to stand. I spent 5 min walking him to the mounting block and just making him stand for 10 sec before leading him away, he got a treat when stood still so he knew he was doing the right thing. Once he could stand nicely with me standing on the ground beside him I progressed to standing him at the block and then me steping onto the block and standing over him, again he got a treat for standing still and if he moved he got nothing and I got down, lead him away and done it again. Once I could stand on the block beside him I moved onto putting my foot in the stirrup, again if he moved I started again, when he stood I leant over him and gave him a treat on his offside so he couldnt swing away from the block. At this point I still wasnt getting on, just making him stand with my weight on him and rewarding him for it. After 40 min or so of this I got on, he knew to stand and even once I was on he looked round to get his reward off me whilst still stood still at the block. I havent had to repeat that since, though even now 2 and a bit years on he still looks for his treat reward once I have got on! Its the only treat he gets so I try to make sure I have something for him...

You will probably find he has a fair few 'quirks' from his racing days, I found its best to address them early and show them what you want. He's probably not trying to be naughty, he just doesnt know how to do what you are expecting him to do.

Good luck..!
 
Don't panic
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my mare did this when I got her BUT hot types have the advantage of being very intellegent.
They soon get the message that the mounting block isn't going to eat them, but in the meantime see if you can use a chair/portable block to put beside horsey?

Work on transitions in your riding, and when your horse trots off immediately when you hop on, turn and 'whoa' and ask for a stop.

Honestly, you'll crack it in a couple of weeks with a sensible attitude.

Good luck hun! Have fun!
 
my ex racer did this too! (the racing industry needs to learn!! ha ha)
i used a technique of michael peace's that i read in a magazine whereby you get on off a nice tall mouting block (so its easy to spring up and on quickly) and if they move you drag them sharp round to the right (ie round your right leg). its very hard for them to run off/even walk on this tight circle so they usually just stop and allow you to get settled. i did a few sessions of this- getting on and off and he was cured. he takes the pee out of my sharer sometimes now (after having him 6 years) and tries to walk off with her but he stands like a rock for me....
oh, and ignore the people who are saying he's not suitable...mine probably wasn't the ideal horse for me either (first horse, was only really a good riding school rider) but i learnt bucket loads on him as most TBs are kind, generous and loyal. in two years i was BE eventing after not having jumped a cross country fence before and neither had he- we learnt together and i now ride (different horse) at Novice BE. just make sure you have a good instructor to hand and you'll be fine
 
My horse is like this.
I still can rarely get on on my own, I fell off whilst galloping once, We had a three mile walk all the way home, I came home on foot and got some very strange looks!
What I find helps is using a mounting block, or a dustbin (like me!) Because it's tall and you can move it about to get on.
Also, You have to be very quiet and calm but with your outside rein gently pull his head to the other direction, so he can't see you. But stroke him and let him know you are there.
They slowly get on with his head still pulled into the opposite direction.

Works for me and alot of other horses with this problem!
 
There is no quick solution to this problem and the more he does it the more you will expect it and therefore almost create the problem. Take your time i would do lots of repetition getting on and off, also make sure his back is nice and warm either with and exercise rug (if he is use to one) or by lunging him first. I find, with my horse, that the first mount is the worst and then if i get off and back on again he stands better.

Does he move before you get on or once you have transferred your weight?

If it is before then i would use the block to groom him that way he will get use to it being beside him and you being taller when next to him.

If it is when you transfer weight then practice standing in the stirrup then back to the block and only swing your leg over if he is settled that way you wont end up in a dangerous position if you stand in the stirrup and he goes you can just kick your foot out and land on the floor.

Hope some of this helps but the main thing is not to turn it into an issue stay calm and accept it will just take time.
 
We have one who used to be very difficult to get on - we have the mounting blcok always in the same place in the school - so when he goes up to it he knows he needs to stand by it. And when my OH gets on, I stand with the horse and feed him (herb balls - he loves them, and they smell nice, so he is looking for them as soon as he can smell them). He is allowed several both before, during and after OH gets on. He is usually so busy eating he doesnt make a fuss at all about the mounting. And over time he has got so you can repeat this wherever you are - so even at a show when he is excited, he will stand perfectly to get on as he knows he gets fed. At shows I substitute polos for herb balls as they dont make such a mess of his bit.
 
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Racehorses tend to have the jockey being legged up whilst they are walking (apparently) so that's what they are used to doing. My old ex racer was dreadful for walking off - I used to position him in a corner, chest against a fence, and get on him that way. He soon learnt what was expected of him.
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I also used to do this with my old boy it soon stopped him. The horse I have now is an ex racer and tries to walk as I mount him.
 
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