Mounting issues

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Charlie007

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I collected my new horse on Thursday so he has been with me nearly 4 days. After initially being a bit unsettled he has started to settle nicely. His thing seems to be not being able to stand still for long!! ( ex race horse ). He really has improved from initially arriving so I'm hoping given another few weeks he will be even better.

A friend popped over this morning to keep an eye on me as this was my first ride on him. He won't stand next to the mounting stool that I have in the outdoor school. With me standing on stool ( he has no fear of the stool) my friend calmly kept walking him round until he stood long enough for me to hop on. Once on I couldn't have wished for a better ride. Again standing still to dismount isn't his strong point but he did stand nicely for a very short time so I dismounted. After my ride we then repeated the asking him to stand by the stool and again once still enough I mounted again, had a little walk then asked him to halt which he did better this time. MY friend has offered to come and help again tomorrow but I need to nip this in the bud as I'm usually on my own and of course it will probably be worse when we are away from home.

Any tried and tested ideas appreciated. He does nip a bit at the minute ( again this has improved greatly ) so I don't really want to go down the treat route if I can avoid it. Thank you.
 
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ex racer says alot. He will have probably been mounted from a leg up and not asked to stand still at a block before so you will have to teach him this.
 
Thanks spike123. Yes agree he will never have been taught, just asking for methods to start the process. MY helper did hold his head which I have since read perhaps isn't a good idea, ie restricting his forward movement. I understand it's going to take time and patience but this forum is fabulous for thinking outside the box and usually someone has a gem if an idea!!
 
Glad he is going well!
I don't know if it is outside the box, but i just repeatedly ask them to stand next to the mounting block - a bit like what you did with the helper but on my own (as always done without help).
If they move forward then i check them with the reins, if they move back then i tap them with the whip, if they stand still then they get lots of praise. Initially I keep a light contact on the outside rein to help them understand they don't move forward (then teach to stand on long rein later). I don't get on straight away when they are still, I just fiddle with stirrups and girth etc, and flap around until I am sure they stand. Longest a horse has taken has been 30-40 minutes the first time but i had to do it before riding it for the first time (me riding it, not its first ever ride LOL) and i didn't know how many days since last ridden.
I sometimes also shift mounting block so horses bum backed into corner (if it persists in moving back while learning), put head in corner (if persists in moving forward).
At the same time I would also be teaching the horse to stand still in other places when i am on the ground e.g. outside stable when it has finished a ride and just wants to get back inside, in arena at different spots, in its paddock before going through gateways. Lots of patience and repetition.
Usually takes a couple of weeks for them to go 'oh, i know what you want now' and stand at least for you to get on, though they may walk off and then need halting again if you want to adjust girth etc. (depends on how responsive they are to a contact and whether you need to train this too).
build up standing time e.g. count to 3; when he can do that then count to 10 etc.
Given the choice, i would ride first (get your friend to help), then teach the horse to stand next to the mounting block for you to get off; they pick this up a lot quicker than standing for you to get on!
Enjoy your new boy
 
Thanks w, very helpful. He gets himself in a slight tiz as he doesn't understand yet. I don't think at the minute I would risk tapping his bum with a whip!! We are already practising halting at different times in different places and he us grasping that very quickly. It was our first ride at home so not panicking just yet!! X
 
Charlie007 said:
Thanks w, very helpful. He gets himself in a slight tiz as he doesn't understand yet. I don't think at the minute I would risk tapping his bum with a whip!! We are already practising halting at different times in different places and he us grasping that very quickly. It was our first ride at home so not panicking just yet!! X
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Yes, it all takes time and you are being very wise in balancing what you want the horse to do with what he is capable of coping with at the moment.
 
Reinforcement training (think clicker without the clicker :) ) works well for this, and training him to stand by the mounting block without you getting on half a dozen times. Teach a command such as "stand" or "wait", just like teaching a dog to stay, and then use that, with a reward (treat, face rub, todays dinner, whatever). He'll soon learn, we have had a few like that.
 
When you are on him, you should practice halting and actually use the voice command "stand" every time. You also need to make certain that you release your aids once he stands still so that he has to stand still by himself... So say "stand", apply aids for halt, keep them until he stands. Then instantly release. Doesn't matter if he walks off... Just keep repeating. Once he will easily stand off light aids without a battle to do so, start reinforcing the stand when he tries to walk off before you want him to. So say "stand", apply aids for halt, release as soon as he stands still. Then, if he starts shifting forwards, say "stand" again, re-apply halt aids and insist that he stays standing for an extra couple of seconds. Do this again and again every few strides out of a decent forward-going walk until he will stand still for a few seconds. Don't just stay around the edge of the school - do circles, serpentines etc. Forget there is a track at all. If he starts anticipating, change things up a bit. You want him to learn to stand under any circumstance - not just when you've been practicing for a while - so walk for a bit longer, do a little trot, then go back to the exercise.

If you are ok to give him treats, when he stands still, lean over and actually give him a treat. A horse that gets a treat when he is standing will be very happy to do so! Food rewards are the biggest motivator for horses according to research. A very forward stallion I'm currently retraining (also ex-racer) very quickly got that idea when a polo mint was offered every few times when he stood. You shouldn't reward with a treat every time so it isn't 'expected'. But often enough that it is a good reason to try the behaviour. Obviously, if he's nippy, you may want to take care with this.

Once he's figured it out with you on board, hop off and try the same thing on the lunge. If he has learned the voice command, he should start getting the idea that "stand" means he stops, stays still and he gets a treat sometimes. On the lunge, if he decides not to stand still, drive him around you a few times with energy and then relax and ask again. You need to be saying "stand", then give him a chance. If he's slowing down, be patient. If he doesn't change at all, make him move on and pick up the pace. Then relax, bring him back down and ask for the stand again. I like to couple the "stand" command from the ground with raising my lunging hand and lowering my whip hand so as to offer a more visible signal. Depending on what else I've taught the horse, I'll add stepping back and having the horse turn in - but this probably isn't relevant for you. If the horse refuses, you 'reprimand' by making them work. Then offer them another chance to stand.

The only reason to do these things in this order is that it's easier to get the message across to a forward horse when you can use all your aids. You then finish off with the lunge because that makes you rely on the visual and voice cues - which are really more what you need to mount. But, obviously, if you're alone, you can try long-reining or lunging instead... It'll take more patience but it'll work in time.

Once you've done this successfully, the next important thing is to be sure that when you mount, you don't immediately send the horse forward. Have him wait a few seconds - maybe even a couple of minutes. And vary the amount of time you make the horse wait after you mount. Reward him with a treat if you want to on occasion as well. This way the horse will get it in his head that the first thing that happens when you get on is that he waits and is rewarded for it.

It should also become a habit to ask for a stand and occasionally reward it in every context... I.e. even when you are just leading the horse around. A lot of people forget that everything a horse does influences its behaviour and is part of its training. You want to be reinforcing the good stuff all the time.
 
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Thank you, some great advice. The reason I didn't want to treat is because he is nippy but again tonight he has settled even more with minimal attempts at nipping so I think as long as I use them as a reward only then I am confident I can keep it under control. MY friend is popping over again tomorrow so we will try the treat thing. I started to treat my older horse years ago when he stood still and it worked brilliantly. I will let you know how we get on, thank you. X
 
I assume you are saying this horse has just recently been changed from a racehorse to your leisure horse, else this would have been sorted by now.
To me it is not a big deal, just get on him, put your feet in stirrups release reins and ride off, in time he will wait for your forward command but to me this is not a priority. With most racehorses the rider will take feet out of stirrups at the end of the exercise period, he will take up rein contact to stop the horse and he will dismount, pretty much in one go. Taking the feet out of the stirrups will generally relax a horse, so the opposite may be true from the horse's perspective, feet in stirrups move forward.
I don't think you should treat, ever, you can use verbal commands, teach him by long reining and when handling in a halter. "walk on ", good boy when he does it.
Steady, stand or whoa as appropriate. You can then use verbal commands when mounting, but if you make a big issue of it he will not relax and wait. A helper is a great thing, as you don't have to worry about him he will be used to a ground handler, and you can mount while she holds him still. Then you ask him to move forward, but do it quickly and don't try to hold him back if he is not rushing, you can walk on till he is relaxed and ask him to stop for a brief moment, walk on etc.
Some horse just want to get on with things and you may be used to RS types, so it might not really be his issue but yours :)
 
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