Help and advice for a disabled rider

carthorse

carthorse

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My friends grand daughter has a disability so is not the most confident rider. She is a young teenager and fir Xmas she had a pony from a rescue centre. The pony is 17 years old and has been a saint to ride but there is a problem, she is not easy to mount.
Once you are on she is fine and a real sweetheart, if her mane gets caught under her saddle she panics , if you are not quick to get on she panics. She is not keen on her saddle being put on but it appears to fit well.
She has spoken to a previous owner [not the one that gave her up to the rescue centre] and she said she had periods of this behaviour all through her life.
Her grand daughter is getting more nervous as she is not quick at getting on, as I say , once on she is perfect in every way. She is starting to panic and rear if you are not quick.
Could it be to do with her seasons? Is anyone using any suppliments like moody mare , do they work? They are not very well off and have been doing so well up to now , any advice.
Thanks
 
I think it might be worth having the horse's back checked,.As it sounds a bit like it could be painful for the horse when it is mounted.
 
Maybe but it has only just started and the old owner said it happened a couple of times a year with them. She is fine once she is on and the sweetest pony around, just the mounting she hates.She doesn't appear tense when you squeze around saddle area . You just never know what they have been through , do you.
 
sounds like shes cold backed, perhaps an experienced friend could school her for a while , if its purely psycological a great deal can be done to improve things but she still may not be suitable for a disabled person , my son is disabled and has had spinal surgery , he uses a mounting block and he needs a horse carved in stone to mount
 
maybe she had had a bad experience with someone mounting? is it a cant wait to go mind set or is it panic of someone actually getting on her. how is she when you hold her when the girl mounts?
 
Can't help on supplements, but am worried for the rider as this sounds like this situation could get worse as the mare and rider both start to anticipate the problem and tense up...

I volunteered as an RDA instructor once a week for 10 years, and the mounting part was always the most difficult - for the horse, the rider and the helpers.

New ponies and horses brought to the stables (a dedicated RDA centre) would not be used for RDA work until they were fully trained, which might take months for some, and it was the mounting part that always took the most work.

Ours used to be lined up to a purpose-built wooden mounting block, then a volunteer had to stand bodily in front of the horse, holding the reins out to either side, so the horse could not walk off. Another helper then assisted the rider on, all of which was labour intensive, but it worked.

Not sure that this is any use, as not quite what you asked and perhaps you know all this, but happy to talk further if I can help. Can you get someone else who is perhaps more agile to practice mounting her in the meantime, so it is less dangerous for the current rider? Whether it's hormones or pain, it's obviously an issue for the mare.
 
Daughter going to assess tomorrow, I used to manage a RDA centre so should know what to do but as its not all the time it is a shame.Just wonder if she has pain in her back from being in season at certain times . We are not light enough to get on and it may well take time and then return, such a shame .
 
Try loosley bunchng her mane into a plait so it does not get caught, and rider using a neck grab strap, rather than taking any hold of the mane when mounting.
It may not solve it, but would remove one possble cause of discomfort.
 
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