Following on from mounting from the ground...

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Didn't see that :0 Glad to hear the old ways continue (Ican still do itall, but have knackered knees, which may be a result of it all
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have just put pics and diary in Pic gallery
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oh yes, walk, trot and canter for 45 mins on the lunge, no reins or stirrups
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Well, I am ashamed to say that my hips are so knackered that I can't even get my foot up high enough to get on a 14h nowadays. Consequently I haven't mounted from the ground (ie horse at same level as me, not down a ditch) for years.

As a child I rode bareback by choice, often hacking out with just a headcollar. Too lazy to get tack you see.

A trainer I bought a horse from showed me the no girth thing, and I was impressed, more for the fact that this was a 14 + stone bloke, OK a western saddle but I don't see that that made a difference, he had that horse spinning, doing sliding stops, changes, patterns, everything, and he and the saddle didn't move an inch.
 
I first started riding in 1996 and I used to ride bareback, riding and leading horses down to the field.
I learnt the welsh A was a tad bouncy and the section B i could almost "wedge" myself on.
I used to do back flips off the horse as well, only landed on my head once!
I've jumped with a saddle but no girth, that soon taught me to sit up and keep with the horse and I've jumped with no stirrups and reins, I think that was all in my second jumping lesson!
The same riding instructor made me do an hour of no stirrups, often including rising trot with no reins and my arms doing windmills.
I think if I asked my TB to do that now, he'd have a heart attack!
 
What do you mean by mounting properly? I just put a foot in the stirrup and get on
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I mostly use a mounting block, but Antifaz likes to be different and I mount him from the ground
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I discovered today that dismounting correctly hurts my idiot shoulder, so I've had to start dismounting by swinging right leg over the front of the saddle
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And I couldn't possibly ride PF bareback because she's just too narrow... and I'm sure that Antifaz, being 'speshul', would just not know what was going on and stress out completely....








... excuses excuses
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I remember doing gymnkhana games in a saddle with no girth (when I was about 7 - in the late 60's). I don't think I ever mounted with out a girth, although back then I could just swing on from the ground anyway
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I used to be briliant at riding without a girth, mainly because my pony was about 25 yrs old and had a spine which stuck up about 3 inches. She was agony to ride bare back but you didn't fall off.
 
I used to work in a riding school, so have ridden with saddle and no girth, no stirrups, no reins etc
I used to hack out bareback on a regular basis and even gallop and jump.
Have never been able to mount properly from the floor.
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I was never taught to mount with no girth (do you mean from a block, as I can't see it being feasible from the ground?). I have hacked Henry out forgetting to tighten the girth on a number of occasions over the years, though, with daylight between the girth and his tum, so I can't be too bad. I do mount from a wall, though, unless I'm already on a hack.
 
I used to have no problem springing up from the ground, but now confess that I avoid it now and use the mounting block, my short fat legs just don't go up like they used to.

I did have to mount Chancer from the ground at the BSPA champs - first time ever. He was a darling as I put my stirrup down about 8 holes go I could get my leg in (thank god he is only 15.1) and the proceeded to do a pathetic bounce and climb him via a handful of mane with large groans and collapse on top of him - he did not move an inch. We won the family horse championship I think on that mount!

Farra - I know when I'm beat, I am just under 5' and no way can I get on her as she is 16.2 without something to stand on. When I was 20 I could get on a 16.2, but not now as 46 is only a few months away and am not shall we say as nimble as I used to be - don't bounce as well either.
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However, I can leap onto Jet no problem - but then he is only just 13 hands
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I ride in a treeless saddle and it quickly sorts out those who have balance and those who don't. That said, I hate jumping in it.

I am teaching my niece to ride and as soon as she could do canter, she was then taught to ride at walk and trot with no stirrups. Now she rides for 10 mins at the start trotting round and really likes riding without stirrups.

Now she is ok at that, I am going to start her in canter on the lunge. Once she can do that, then we are going bareback. I have said to Ella that if she does bareback, I will do the same on Chancer so I am now bound to fall off.

As a kid I used to be able to do a gallop round the fields over jumps with no saddle, and even a few years ago rode Cairo out bareback though the old sod used to put in a little buck in canter, as he had a great sense of humour - that said he was so wide it was difficult to fall off.

Problem is that there are too many people wanting to sue if they land on their backside and hence schools can't risk getting people to do more potentially risky things on horseback.
 
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I was never taught to mount with no girth (do you mean from a block, as I can't see it being feasible from the ground?). .

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yes, from the ground...left hand on withers, right hand on rump, and spring up...

i couldn't for the life of me do it now, as i said, arthritis has put paid to that..although i can, if i need to, mount from the ground with a girthed saddle.
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I was never taught to mount without a girth, I did have to during a saddle fitting but from a gate not from the floor and managed it pretty well. I don't have my girth very tight if I am schooling but if he is feeling a bit fresh or I am hacking out I have it tighter simply for safety. I would love to be able to ride him bareback more, I have on several occasions but his shoulders are very flat and there is nothing at all in front of me if he is being a boob his whole head and neck disappear and all I have infront of me is the floor!
 
I usually ride with a pretty loose girth. it's tight enough for me to get on without saddle slipping, but once i'm on Monty just wants to go. I'm not going to fight to keep him still and try and tighten girth!! I've tried tightening it when we're riding along but it's difficult to keep him from jogging with one leg forward trying to tighten it!! lol
 
Having grown up on the West coast of Scotland with only the horses used for taking stags off the hill (semi wild & no tack) we did used to clamber on them as kids
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, No I never had a lesson till a family moved from aberdeen and then it was a get on kick to go pull to stop lesson from her mum
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I have only been having lessons for the past 10 or so years so I have never been taught how to mount or ever had the opportunity to go to pony club..
 
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sadly, far too many decent riding schools are no longer with us because of the culture we currently live in...

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So very sadly true!
 
Well, in all honestly, I have never really been able to mount from the ground. I had to for my BHS exams and just about managed it. Wherever possible I try to simply swing my leg over the horses back from a decent height mounting block. Not that I ride any more - but I will be riding again soon. Part of my inability to mount from the ground has been excessive weight at too young an age! I have now shed a whole heap of weight and surprised myself a few times last summer at being able to get on Berry from the ground when I had to dismount out hacking. OK, so he was only 15hh and I am 5ft10/11ins, so I shouldn't have had an issue, but I was still pleasantly surprised. I don't think I will be able to get on B with such ease when the time comes, in fact I am considering getting a sturdy portable mounting block made, so that when I do get on, it will be in a nice soft bouncy arena and no where near any fence lines....
 
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Didn't see that :0 Glad to hear the old ways continue (Ican still do itall, but have knackered knees, which may be a result of it all
grin.gif
)

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have just put pics and diary in Pic gallery
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oh yes, walk, trot and canter for 45 mins on the lunge, no reins or stirrups
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Daughter's RI gave her an hour lesson last week, firstly without saddle, then with saddle but no stirrups, walk, trot and canter. She could still walk afterwards too. Don't think I could manage more than 20 mins, I am sooo unfit!
 
I could mount correctly from the ground if there wasn't so much of me - it's not so much the weight, rather it's just in the way!
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I used to be able to get on 18hh horse with and without the aid of a saddle
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Oh those were the days.

Daughter often rides bareback - she's better at getting on without a saddle than with one! Maybe we should try the loose girth and see if she can improve
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I didn't ride Dizz bareback due to worrying about coming off... how irnoic is that
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