I've had yet another bad fall!

Nope Littlelegs I give him a good contact and hold the reins quite loose so I don't jerk his mouth. But I know what you're getting at. My mare (after 3 years out of racing) still thinks the slightest manoeuvre of the reins means go.

LuLu2 I'm going to use a girth sleeve to see if it makes any difference. Glad to hear your horse is a darling now :)
 
Also to add he is an absolute sweetheart under saddle after he's been mounted. Will do everything you ask of him.
Like a user said before maybe its because he's catching sight of my back leg swinging over? That's when he does tend to tantrum. When I'm putting my other leg over the saddle.
 
Thank you, have you tried teaching him to let you mount from the other side (only a suggestion) and if you do practice it on a calmer horse first lol. will he let you just lean over him with your feet still on the mounting block and whilst ur doing that can you wave your arm about on the side he's iffy with if that makes any sense... probably doesn't haha.
 
I can put all my weight in one stirrup and he won't budge. I see what your getting at, I'll give it a try! If he is iffy with it looks like I'll be slapping a pair of blinkers on him :)
 
Florrie said:
Also to add he is an absolute sweetheart under saddle after he's been mounted. Will do everything you ask of him.
Like a user said before maybe its because he's catching sight of my back leg swinging over? That's when he does tend to tantrum. When I'm putting my other leg over the saddle.
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If he was a successful ex racer it's more likely it's the mounting from the block he's not so used to, how is he if someone gives you a leg up when he is walking? I've had a few ex racers through who had a 'block' about the 'block' :rolleyes: :D
 
I once had a leg up and the horse started trotting off and i missed the saddle and sat behind it and understandably it made the horse bronc with me and i came off I had to go back to basics cos it knocked me a bit but I made sure the horse stood still with every stage of the mounting process, 1) standing at the block 2) standing whilst i just put my foot in the stirrup 3) standing whilst I leaned over them and finally I got on and she was ok, you could even stand beside him and put your hand in the stirrup and jump beside him and everytime you come down put weight into the stirrup with your hand kinda like desensitizing.
 
If everything has checked out fine physically I would take him right back to square one with the mounting.

Get him ok with you pulling the stirrups hard with your arm, bouncing up and down next to him, jumping up and pausing against the saddle, lying over, swinging your leg over etc etc.
Break the mounting process down into tiny steps and make sure he is totally comfortable with each one before moving on.

I have done this with a few horses who came to me with similar issues to your boy and it worked with all of them :)

How is he with a leg up instead of using the block?
 
Rhino when I tried him I was given a leg up and he was a superstar. I'm just so nervous about a leg up inacse he goes off on one!
But I will give it a try for sure :)
 
LuLu2 said:
I once had a leg up and the horse started trotting off and i missed the saddle and sat behind it and understandably it made the horse bronc with me and i came off I had to go back to basics cos it knocked me a bit but I made sure the horse stood still with every stage of the mounting process, 1) standing at the block 2) standing whilst i just put my foot in the stirrup 3) standing whilst I leaned over them and finally I got on and she was ok, you could even stand beside him and put your hand in the stirrup and jump beside him and everytime you come down put weight into the stirrup with your hand kinda like desensitizing.
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That's the perfect way of progressing once you have established it is behavioural and not physical.
 
Millitiger thank you for the suggestions!
I've been doing some exercises with him such as putting all my weight in one stirrup, jumping like a madman next to him etc.
Didn't work too well today though!
 
Only thoughts but I would try:-

Mounting somewhere different - with movable block so he is out of the normal situation
if safe mount with higher block so leg straight over no foot in stirrup (maybe check you have health insurance first)
Use a smaler rider to try mounting to see if it is discomfort caused by weight in stirrup (not implying you are large at all but worth a go!).
Try a different numnah - could it be that as you are getting on the saddle is causing numnah to move and pull hair - if he is a senstive soul that could upset.
Try mounting from other side
Use bucket of food to distract as you swing let over.

In terms of using a dummy - brilliant idea - most of us have one at home - just get your oh to hop on and strap him into saddle for safety.

Seriously though, there is obv something whether its pain, anticipation of pain (even though the issue has been sorted) or other issue.

Good luck - be careful x
 
If you get a leg up just aim to lie across him first and do it on both sides, then one day when its quiet and he feels calm have a go at trying to get your leg over and if your worried about him bolting off just make sure your not too quick to get your feet in the stirrups that way if he does you have a better chance at landing clear and and one less thing to worry about. xx
 
Florrie said:
I have lunged him to death and that helps a lot, hence why I think its behavioural since we have ruled out no physical pain. When he's been lunged for 45 mins or so when I get on he will sometimes do it and sometimes will not.
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But you can't actually rule out physical pain because he can't tell you (except for his behaviour) when something hurts, and anyway it might be remembered pain or anticipation of pain.

If lungeing him for 45 minutes sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, then in my book it doesn't, sorry. Something is making him react when he does react.

I'm interested that after dropping you he then let you remount without reacting - do you know what was different about the second time you got on him (anything at all, no matter how small)?

Also, you said you are rebacking from scratch (which is what I said I'd do if I'd had everything checked, as you seem to have done) - but if I was getting this reaction I would think that something in the backing process had not been absorbed by the horse, and I would be taking several steps backwards and repeating each stage until he was totally happy with everything.

I do think there is something to think about in that as a racehorse he probably never had to stand to be mounted, and never experienced a person's weight on one side as they mounted. It's a problem with a lot of Irish horses too, that they are used to people vaulting onto them, and many of them don't understand about standing at a block.
 
My tb was trained to race although never quite made it, so he can be like this sometimes. It can take a few attempts to get him to stand still for mounting, at first I could not hold the reins at all and had someone hold him, now I can hold them on the buckle (which helps stop him if he walks off forwards or sideways, not usually fast or violently) and can usually get on myself, sometimes one attempt, sometimes a few more. I am quite tentative about it and don't get on until I know he is not going to do anything too crazy. I usually put one hand in the stirrup and lean onto it first to warn him and he will usually stand more still after that as I guess he knows what is coming. I think some more springy people would just go for it as quick as possible but I think this is more likely to provoke a bad reaction and end up with me hanging on one foot somewhere!

Worth noting however that he bucks in general resulting in recent broken arm and him getting some time off until I have various saddle and physio people come to see him.

Good luck I know how annoying it is!

Also the time when he was best was when I used food and a helper to administer it, he was perfect for a while and maybe just needs a refresher!
 
Have you tried massaging his back before you tack up? My horse was sold to me as cOld backed, recently he has been broncing when I walk him over to the mounting block, he is sensitive to the saddle at first or if the numnah is slightly creased. Pain has been ruled out and the conclusion is he's a sensitive soul. Also a ex racer. It's worth a try.
 
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