mounting issues pls help

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ldlp111

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basically my horse is becoming a nightmare to mount.:(
teeth checked, back done and have just got a different saddle although only used this once :) so she may improve but thought id post in here to get some help.

i use a mounting block:)
but as soon as put weight in stirrup and am about to mount she shoots forward so im there with one foot in stirrup :( normally i have to jump back down to attempt it again :( this results in her having abit of a tantrum :( sometimes however i can manage to mount even with the shooting forward :) but she is normally alittle unsettled but soon calms down after walking around for abit :)

so any help or tips would be appreciated thanks :)
 
Have you tried just standing on the mounting block admiring the scenery? With Lil it was a question of teaching her to stand nicely by the mounting block and once that was established I moved on to actually getting on.

Until I know that a horse will stand quietly I always mount with someone holding them to be on the safe side so that standing still rather than running off becomes the norm.
 
another thing to try which is what we have done with my youngster is get on in a stable. less room for them to move about and when she will stand in there then move outside and have someone hold her. If it takes a week of you just getting off and on her then so be it.
 
Someone on here offered some really good advice on this a few weeks back... (might have been a couple of months though :o).

From what I remember, it was pretty much as DWI says :). Retrain her, quietly and calmly to stand at the mounting block.
 
This might sound daft but do you mount facing the horse the way you are going or away from it? My mounting block at my last yard (actually the side of a ramp going to the muck heap so I couldn't move it) faced away but when I turned the horse facing the way out of the yard and mounted from the off side, he stood still! Plus when I first bought him he wouldn't stand still at all and would go round and round in circles if I was on my own and trying to mount from the ground so in the end I had a lesson where all I did was get on and off for an hour! It did the trick.
 
Try moving the block so that the horse is facing the corner and between the wall and the mounting block (obviously with enough space to walk the horse out when you are on!) this worked with mine when he decided that it might be a fun new game!!
 
Ok this I am an expert on (never normally feel I am able to help posters)!

Ollie in sig was a nightmare to mount and I always have to use a block due to arthritis. I had an American groom/rider come over to help us a few summers ago, her parents have a therapy farm. They have to get horse's to stand quietly at a block to be mounted and stay there until rider is ready to move off.

Ollie use to just take off mid me getting on, this is what she did with us to stop him:

Make the block his best friend, feed him treats there fuss him and make him feel the most loved horse in the world when he stands still standing in right position.

When he is used of just standing there then go on the block and still fuss him, feed him when he is perfectly still put pressure on the stirrup. If he doesn't move continue the fuss, if he moves even slightly then rush him away from the block and make him run around you (hold reins) and be very aggressive in your body language, once you see him looking sheepish calmly take him back and begin the whole procedure again. Eventually work up to leaning over him across the saddle, once that is ok, then the mounting itself.

Every time he moves when he should be still rush him away from the block and be aggressive in your body language and make him run around you (holding reins).

It took 50+ attempts with Ols (very difficult horse) for him to get it and eventually he would stand still against anything even outside the school until I was on, with Anna my old horse not even 10 times. Basically the principle is the block (standing still in correct position) is the best place they can be with you, they learn when they move as you try and get on they 1, have to run around 2, get you pissed visually then they learn when at the block standing perfectly whilst you check girth, get on they will be loved, praised and fussed over.

Takes time but has worked with every horse I have done this with, I even do it ridden to get off as I get off at the block also when in the school. If they do not stand perfectly for me to get off cowgirl style then I stay on or swing my leg back over saddle and go trot them away from the block in a very harsh manner with sharp turns, I stop when I see sheepishness then I try again to go to the block once they stand quietly they get a massive fuss.

Sharron my groom from the US taught me the most amazing stuff, after 31 yrs riding and owning I never thought I could learn so much from anyone. I am really thankful to her for spending so much time and effort to make riding stressfree!
 
I use the treat method. A friend on our yard had a young mare that would bugger off when being mounted. Well, I went to help with treats in my pocket and fed them to her while she mounted. I said if she fed her a treat as soon as she got on, the mare would wait for the treat. I helped a few more times until she waited for her treat and now shes fine.
 
We have had to block them in in the past. I always have some-one hold the horse until I am sure that it will stand still at the mounting block for as long as I need to adjust girth/stirrups/gloves etc. I give a treat from the saddle before moving off.
 
For me keeping mine at home and having a liking for riding at early o'clock a friend/hubby holding was not an option. I think it is important your own personal horse should have manners and learn to stand still until you are on and sorted out. I really dislike horses moving of before the rider has even sat down. I just think it is bad manners personally.
 
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