mounting from the ground...?

M

Megibo

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 April 2011
Messages
4,233
Location
usually on my bum ...
Visit site
without going into any detail i'm going to have to mount from the ground later today. i'll have no mounting block or anyone to hold the stirrup on the other side-i have huuge mental block about doing so as worried the saddle will get pulled over the side as i get on :o
usually i use a block to mount and someone else holds the stirrup, so any tips for mounting from the ground without pulling saddle over or similar?
horse i'm mounting is 13.3 and i'm 5ft 4 so her wither comes up to my chest if that's relevant. don't know if that'll make it easier to get on from ground or not?!

yes this is a serious question i'd appreciate help! :p:p
 
Left hand in the mane, and make sure right hand is well over to far side of saddle to put weight down far side as soon as possible. :)
 
A gate is always useful, my mare is well trained to stand parallel to gates :).

If no gate and the ground isn't level, make sure pony is stood on lower ground than you.
 
you could almost vault from that height... failing that tight girth... and lots of spring.. u might have to jiggle the saddle a tad when you are up! I am also a fan of clambering up gates and hopping on minus stirrups x
 
I can mount from the ground if required but always train mine to stand in to a large rock at the end of the yard that is used as a mounting block and from the time they are backed they learn to stand in to gates, banks and anything that gives a bit of height. Also at hunts and shows they have learned to stand in to the mudguard of the horse box or the front bumper of the 4x4:eek::D. If your lad is willing to stand at a mounting block, the chances are he will be willing to stand at anything raised off the ground.
 
thanks all-so basically get a lot of bounce!
I think there is a bank at the end of the drive that I could stand on.

My other problem is:
Pony will usually stand still for mounting if i'm higher up-
however she hasn't been hacked out for a while for various reasons and as such she's very much the I-can't-stand-still-for-more-than-a-second! when she goes out hacking if not been for a while. I rode her yesterday in for a little while and she was really pleased to be doing some 'work' and halts were non existent :rolleyes:

Any further advice if she won't stand still?

Oh and in regards to a gate-I could use one however she's a sod in the Welsh (;)) way that means she can stand there, and she knows she can, but she isn't going to just because a speck of dirt on the gate WILL eat her if i dare take her near it!
 
if she is a bugger for standing still, find a rock or bank to stand on and when you get her near enough, jump up and lie over the saddle then you can squirm around to get your leg over the back( easiest if its all done in one fairly fluid motion). it doesnt matter this way if she moves off or not then as you dont use your stirrups and cant get caught in them. Worst case scenario is you have to slide off and do it again.
 
I should just use it as a session to teach her to stand still when mounting and then stand still for a while once you're on,if you get to ride that's a bonus but the real bonus is she will have learnt a new usful game.
Otherwise,one trick Ive heard but never tried is The Saddle Anchor ( a leather strap to hold your saddle in place while you mount. Unclip it when you are comfortably seated, and can hang from a "d" ring or placed into a saddle bag. ) I can't find the website anymore but bascically its a strap with a clip on each end.You clip one end to the D ring on your saddle the opposite side from which you are mounting and then bring it down and round the front leg and back to the saddle.This acts rather like someone holding the saddle the other side.
As I said I've never seen or used one but it should be easy to improvize,I just stand on something and Malaga comes up and places himself sideways to me but that needs patience and training.
 
dont wast your bounces up and down 5 times before the 'big one' -= Just bounce once and UP! :)
Let your stirrup down for those extra helpful inches,
Try and clamber on something - and bear in mind if they are used to or not used to mouting from the 'wrong side'

I do spend a while with the babies mouting off various things near and off side exactly for this reason!!
 
aintgotnohay said:
easy-this is from the old school-lengthen your stirrup from the side you are mounting from 3-4 holes and then when mounted put them back to normal length.!!
Click to expand...

This is the way to do it if you need to to. However, I personally think that mounting from the ground is bad for the horses back & for the saddle tree. I use gates, banks , logs, anything handy. Plus I admit, plays havoc with my hip. !
 
Hahaa, your Welsh 13.3 sounds like my Welsh 13.3!
I often get on from the ground, he's nice and small and his saddle is a really good fit so it rarely slips. :)

Big bounce and jump up, if she is one for dancing about and moving forwards, keep the reins short and keep the rein furthest from you tighter than the other one. That way, if she does move then she'll be inclined to go towards you rather than away.
 
thanks all, will bear in mind for future. luckily someone else came up yard so they held me stirrup whilst i got on :)

i never normally mount on the ground with no one holding stirrup and my most preferred method is to get on the mounting block and just put my leg over. do it with all of em, but it's harder with the 15.3! :rolleyes:
 
Give the shoulders a bit of a shove/pull, so the front feet brace, sometimes works if they have a habit of moving as soon as they feel your weight
 
aintgotnohay said:
mounting from the ground is sometimes necessary and we should all know how to do it-basic horsemanship!!!
Click to expand...

my 17 hander is level with my chest when i am ON the mounting block (big three step mounting block btw). there is literally NO way i could mount him from the ground.

So me getting on him from a mounting block is basically the same as OP getting on her 13'3 from the ground.
 
gosh how did you all manage before it was considered 'proper' to use a mounting block, :eek: we never used them when we were kids, foot in stirrup and up and over easy peasy, i'm 40 and about 5'5'' and i can still get on my 17hh moo from the ground if i need to:p I don't do it out of choice because i know it's better for her that i don't but if i do need to i don't even think twice about it!
I i used a mounting block for a 13hh pony i'd probably end up gong straight over the other side:eek::D
 
Ive always used a mounting block

But then i do have quite a few skeletal problems that prevent me from doing things such as mounting from the ground.

If i come off on a hack and cant find a wall or anything then im walking home! :)
 
I always use a mounting block, but I know I should really be able to mount from the ground in case of emergencies. There are usually plenty of logs, gates etc on hacks round here, though.

Was interested to note that they really don't use them in France (I ride there while on holiday) and YO was fascinated to hear about mounting blocks and how it is better for the horse's back etc. Took me ages to get on and in the end we found a hole for the horse to stand in! ;) The following year she had got me a little step ladder :D

Amazed to see my (6') 14 year old son just 'step' onto a 16hh from the ground and swing his leg over, in one smooth movement (a couple of years ago - doesn't ride so much now :( )!
 
Of course it's basic horsemanship to KNOW how to mount from the ground. But as you get older, a gap appears between knowing how and actually being able to do it.....

I'm 5' 2", Mollie is 14.2 and I can get on from the ground, with much heaving and grunting and she freaks me out by always walking away. I'm getting my OH to make me a mounting block as my technique isn't good for Mollie's back, the saddle or my nerves.
 
I knackered my leg last year when my saddle slipped round when I got on. I was like halfway over his back and kind of quickly jumped down taking all the weight on my right leg (the horse was about 14.1 or 2). i couldn't walk for 3 weeks, and had to use a stick for months!! Before that, I always got on from the ground! I don't know what happened that day - maybe the girth had stretched or something. Anyway, best bet is as soon as you have your foot in the stirrup, bounce up really athletically, as quickly as you can!
 
I'm glad you managed ok! :D I manage to get on my 16.1hh Mare with the 'Ikea step stool' by myself (a few deep breaths and a handful of mane!) I am riding a 17.2hh horse in a few weeks and a have a bog standard 2 step plastic mounting block to use - do you think there will be a big difference??

xx
 
I always mount from the ground and my horse is 15hh. At the livery yard I used to keeep the horses we all got on from the ground and the mounting block was never used. My method - I grab the mane with my left hand and just bounce up.

Recently I got friends horse who was 17.2hh from the ground. I got up no bother although I did lengthen the stirrup. Was quite pleased with myself I hadn't got on a horse who was that height in about 10 years.
 
I mount my 16.2 from the ground and I'm only 5'3 just get him on a lower bit of ground and I let the stirrup down about 4 holes to make it easier too (but you won't need that for a pony), left hand in the mane get a good 1,2,3 bounce and then quickly up. The Reason I let my stirrup down is so I can flick my leg over quickly so less time 'hanging' from the saddle and less chance of twisting.

Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top