Mounting- another slightly random post...

Are you planning to keep the foal?

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I rarely get on from the ground as I rarely have to, always a mounting block/ handy tree/ bank about. I can get on from the ground though, even onto my horse with my short legs! But I would always seek out something to stand on first. One of my pet hates is horses who don't stand still when being mounted, fair enough if they have a real issue with a block but otherwise I find it's just plain bad manners!
 
I always get a leg up or vault on from a mounting block. When I bust my left ankle it left me with limited movement (lost an inch both ways), so it is impossible for me to put it in the stirrup from the ground.
Before the break I used to be able to vault on any size horse, nowadays I dont even have the bounce in it to get up on a 14hh pony.
I did try to teach myself to vault from the other side (so using my right, less busted ankle to bounce off) - it was very funny!
 
I normally get on from a block as I feel this is better for the horse. However, I am quite capable of getting on from the ground is necessary.
 
I can get on my 16:3 hh from the ground but my physio has advised against it because it is extremely bad for the sacro iliac joints (mine) and I think that using a mounting block whenever possible is also better for the horse's back.
 
I get on from the ground, Used to use wall to get on but decided I needed to get on from floor as if I ever fell off at show or anywhere I might not have the luxury of a wall or anyone to leg me up.
 
I usually use a mounting block due to having knackered hips. I can remember a time in my now long distant youth when springing up onto a 17hh horse was no problem at all......
 
I can't actually mount up from the ground onto anything bigger than about 14hh because my knee just gives out andi end up in a heap on the floor (plus my riding horses are 17hh and 17.1hh so I don't think I'd even be able to get a foot in the stirrup
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I will either use a mountingblock, get leg up, a fence or anything else bit which I can stand on
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another one who cant mount from the ground. I used to be able to get on Royale from the ground - 15.1hh - but I cant even get my foot in the stirrup on Georige - 16.3hh
 
I always use a mounting block too as I worry about the stress to Ellie's already poorly bakc (IE whether her scars would take me pulling on her)
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Plus she is 16.3 so not easy to mount from the ground when your back, hips and sciatica are all damaged
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However if I REALLY have to I can manage.
 
God how annoying is it? Ty still does this after nearly a year!

I found that if I lead him up to it, with me on the opposite side I can push him in to the block - then I whizz up and on!

Does PF walk up and just swing his back end out so he's just that little bit too far for you to get up on?
 
Being 5'2 and my horses 16.2hh and 16.3hh my short little legs and short stirrups make getting on difficult from the ground difficult for me. Normaaly my dad gives me a leg up but i sometimes i use the mounting block. Anything around 15.2hh I can get on from the ground but I would prefer not too.
 
I can get on from the ground on anything up to 16.2hh (never tried anything bigger tho), but I tend to climb on from the fence as I'm the only person at the yard so I think it saves the horses back and reduces the chance of me landing in a heap if the saddle slips!
 
I always use a mounting block to save the saddle & the horse's back from being wrenched. Don't worry about needing to dismount out hacking as I have o/h with me on his mountain bike!!
 
I can mount most horses from the ground, and normally do until about 16hh. When they're bigger I think it's better on their back to use a mounting block.

Oh yes, I am tall—almost 5' 9"—with long legs!
 
I'm perfectly capable of mounting from the ground from either side but I nearly always find something to stand on to save the horse's back and the saddle. If the horse I'm riding isn't my own then I am more inclined to mount from the ground unless the owner asks otherwise, which I suppose is bad really but most people are more fussy when dealing with their own horse.
 
I can mount pretty much anything from the ground but then I am young and fit and flexible.
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The more mature ladies at the yard watch in envy when I spring up and always say 'oh, I could do that in my youth...' so I reckon this 'mounting from the ground' thing has a shelf life.
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I generally prefer to use mounting blocks/leg ups though because I think it is kinder on the horse's back.
 
I generally use a mounting block as my girly is not keen on anyone getting on form the ground. I do mount from the ground on occasion, just to prove I can still do it!
 
i always get a leg up or use the mounting block or fence, i cant mount from the ground! (im only 22!) i haven't been to the gym for ages and im not very flexible! i also think that its better for me to use a block so i dont pull his back out of place! and i dont want to stress the saddle xx
 
Sorry you take a step out riding with you how do you manage to do that ?

Because it would be very handy for me to do the same but cant think how I would carry a step !
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Have to use a mounting bloc. Nothing I ride is small enough to get on from the floor. Or am I just getting old???
 
I always use a mounting block, fence, whatever as I feel it is way better for the horse, but I can get on pretty much anything from the ground (nice having long legs!)
 
I ALWAYS always use a mounting block, gate, fence anything but using the stirrup. I've read and heard about the damage it does to a horses back especially if you're not very flexible and have short legs (i.e. me, lol).
 
If I am schooling / hacking there are mounting blocks about so I use those - even though I my mare is only 15.2hh.

If my OH is about and I am feeling brave I might TRY a leg up - still havent perfected that
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I can get on from the ground, and in the past have rather too enthusiastically, the horse moved and I went straight over and ate some hedge/dirt lol.

If I am out hacking and have to hop off, I will always try and find a slope to stand on to get on from.

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I tend to get a leg up unless I know the horse 100% because I was half on from the mounting block when my old mare jumped sideways which made my saddle slip with my foot caught and she buggered off- luckily my foot came free quite quickly but it put the fear of God in me and now I am really wary mounting.
 
Taking a step out riding - There's a webbing thing, can't rem exactly what it's called, 'step up'? 'Leg up?' Anyway, it's basically a square of strong webbing with 2 sides opposite each other containing something hard so they're rigid. Like 2 steps of a rope ladder. You thread one of the rigid sides thru the stirrup, then the other rigid side hangs about 6" below your stirrup and parallel to it, so you put your foot in that instead of the stirrup, then when you're on, pull it out & put it in your pocket.

I used one with my warmblood but couldn't with Cat as he disapproved of people mounting from the ground.
 
I used to be able to mount 16.1 from the ground - I am 5' with short legs. now the most I can do is 14.2.

I always prefer to use something and am expert at leaping from cars, gates, buckets, walls..... Two reasons - better for the horse and easier for me - not as agile as I was at 20.

One of the first things I taught Chancer was to stand by a block for mounting - long before I even sat on him. He has been mounted from a milk crate, stool, chair and block to get him used to all sorts of temporary mounting blocks. I have mounted him from the ground twice to let him experience it and have also given my cousin a leg up on him.
 
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