Mounting help

[muddybay]

I've got a rising seven year old who's not the best at mounting normally have to sandwich him between two blocks! He's a lot better now and I mounted him unaided the other day but I'm worried about when he starts to go out if this will big a bigger issue.

 

[DressageCob]

One of mine was tricky to mount. He's Irish, and I think they just used to vault on when breaking him in...alas I am not so nimble! It has taken work but he is great now. I've found that with establishing standing for mounting at home, he doesn't think about doing anything different when out. At competitions I sometimes forget to take a block or stool and use the back of the lorry, verges, or whatever I can find and he's impeccable.

Persevere! You can do it.

 

[bluehorse]

I got round this by giving my horse a treat as soon as I was seated in the saddle. I know a lot wouldn’t approve of this method but it worked really well along with massive perseverance and repeatedly putting him back by the mounting block each time he moved. I don’t think he was taught to stand for mounting, I think the riders were just legged up whilst he walked off...

To start with I only ever mounted him in the arena so that I could stand him between the mounting block and the fence, with his head in the corner so he couldn’t go sideways or forwards. I left just enough room to walk away once onboard. It did work and he still gets a treat now as soon as I get on, a deal’s a deal after all!

 

[muddybay]

One of mine was tricky to mount. He's Irish, and I think they just used to vault on when breaking him in...alas I am not so nimble! It has taken work but he is great now. I've found that with establishing standing for mounting at home, he doesn't think about doing anything different when out. At competitions I sometimes forget to take a block or stool and use the back of the lorry, verges, or whatever I can find and he's impeccable.

Persevere! You can do it.

Mines Irish as well! We're getting there I was just worried about him looking around while I mount because there's more to look at!
It doesn't help I've only just recently started working on it again but now I'm trying every ride he's really improving

 

[muddybay]

I got round this by giving my horse a treat as soon as I was seated in the saddle. I know a lot wouldn’t approve of this method but it worked really well along with massive perseverance and repeatedly putting him back by the mounting block each time he moved. I don’t think he was taught to stand for mounting, I think the riders were just legged up whilst he walked off...

To start with I only ever mounted him in the arena so that I could stand him between the mounting block and the fence, with his head in the corner so he couldn’t go sideways or forwards. I left just enough room to walk away once onboard. It did work and he still gets a treat now as soon as I get on, a deal’s a deal after all!

I give a pony nut from the saddle every time I get on and that's really helped! I'll keep trying

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Another Irish owner here who had trouble with mounting block. I did same as blue horse and sandwiched her then lots of praise once I was on. She stands still as anything if getting on from the ground so definitely think it’s a case of not being taught over in Ireland!

 

[muddybay]

Another Irish owner here who had trouble with mounting block. I did same as blue horse and sandwiched her then lots of praise once I was on. She stands still as anything if getting on from the ground so definitely think it’s a case of not being taught over in Ireland!

I think they all came over from Ireland with problems mounting! When I went to try him the dealing yard he was at had built a concrete mounting block sandwiched between the stables so I didn't realise it was an issue until a few weeks later.

 

[jnb]

My cob was taught by the breaker to come to me no matter what I was getting on from.
You "kiss" to him & tap his bum gently and he comes towards the block. It even worked when I fell off him (my fault totally, wool-gathering with washing line reins and a pheasant flew out & I fell off at 0.0000001mph!) and had to get back on off a bank.

He always gets a pony nut once I'm on and settled. He stands like a rock. I used to have issues getting on (nasty accident mounting my old horse) I used to shake like a leaf and take ages to get on. No more!

 

[bluehorse]

I give a pony nut from the saddle every time I get on and that's really helped! I'll keep trying

Try something more ‘valuable’ like a polo or a bit of carrot and don’t ever give him that treat anywhere else. I started mine on polos. Also vary the side that you give the treat from so he’s not sure where it’s coming from. Mine now gets a pony nut and that’s enough but to begin with I wanted him to be more interested in the treat than he was in moving off. It got to the point where he wouldn’t actually move off unless he’d had his treat. Sometimes I forget now and he gets quite offended - oh the guilt!!! ?‍

Also, don’t pressure yourself to achieve the aims of your ride, whether that’s schooling or hacking. The first aim has to be him learning to be mounted. That might take your whole riding time. I remember once (pre polo treat days) it took me nearly half an hour to get on him correctly. I didn’t then have time to ride, so I walked him round the school and got off, giving him lots of praise but no treat. He was only a 4yo then and his lesson for the day was learning to be mounted.

 

[horses99]

Time and patience, groundwork, look online YouTube etc lots of good groundwork videos on mounting I taught mine that tickling with a long whip/ later on my fingers I can touch his side and he will come up to me so I can mount him when initially he could be tricky!