Remounting whilst out hacking

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Bangagin

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I use a pair of portable steps to mount at the yard and my mare leads up to them, stands parallel to them and stands perfectly still whilst I get on. Today out hacking a rogue bramble caught the removable bobble on my hat silk, and chucked it on the ground, and so I decided to dismount to retrieve it. I then had to find somewhere suitable to remount, as I'm in my 60's and definitely not agile any more!

There was a tree stump very close to a hedge, but she seemed confused (she's 7 and I've never dismounted before out hacking) and kept swinging her quarters out. So I walked a bit further until I found another stump in a clearing where she lined up perfectly and stood still whilst I remounted. But it has made me want to do some work lining her up to mount in different places. I see lots of lovely videos of horses that literally bring themselves over to the mounting block and get into position without the rider doing much at all. She's pretty clever at learning new things, but I have no idea how to start training this. Can anyone help please or direct me to some YouTube videos?
 
Hasnt she shown you that it isnt necessary? You have just taught her.

I am by the way a solo hacker who previousy rode with one escort. I have remounted from a bench and from a fallen tree. I bought a stirrup extender but didnt feel it was safe so have never used it and dont take it out with me.
 
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Mine will line up against anything. He understands the word ‘mount’ or ‘mounting’ and if he happens to swing his bum away I just say ‘bum in’ and he seems to understand.I think years ago I use to tap him on the bum and say ‘mounting’ if he moved out. I think everytime you mount just say the word so that she associates with that. Might work! I have the pleasure of soon breaking in my youngster so will have lost all the things I take for granted with my old boy!
 
Skib said:
Hasnt she shown you that it isnt necessary? You have just taught her.

I am by the way a solo hacker who previousy rode with one escort. I have remounted from a bench and from a fallen tree. I bought a stirrup extender but didnt feel it was safe so have never used it and dont take it out with me.
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I'm not sure what you mean? I can't see that I have taught her anything. I had to walk quite a bit further to find the other stump and I have an Achilles tendon problem which makes walking painful. So it would have been much better if she lined up nicely at the first tree stump. It was because we were doing something very different that confused her I think?
 
You could have lined her up again at the same stump. It is the repetition that matters, until the horse gets the idea and gets it right.
When I arrived at my lessons, plus horse, the RI was always busy with more exalted students. There was a mounting block by the gate and I was bored so I led the horse to the block and over succeeding weeks taught her to stand, take my weight in the left stirrup and eventually I mounted.
It was great for my confidence knowing that if I was obliged to dismount while out hacking alone (it did happen once due to Police cars with sirens), I was able to get back on her.
It is only now, long after, that I can see that leaving me to fend for myself was a true education. And very different from normal RS rules where clients may not handle horses on their own. I suppose I was supervised, but at a distance.
She never praised my riding but she did once say when I cantered back to her, Well, you're not afraid are you?
And I think that is the underlying truth. That I was taught as a toddler not to be afraid of the milk man's horse, nor afraid of riding donkeys on the beach on summer holiday. So thanks to my parents, being friends with horses and riding on them just felt natural and a treat.
 
As she is so good to mount at home from your steps, I think ypu need to start practicing mounting from varied objects at home where there is no pressue (e.g.traffic etc) so she gets used to lining upbto random objects. If you dont have a handy yard of things to climb on start by putting you steps in different places, slightly akward spots and get her used to that.

Then out hacking pick a few fairly straightforward things to line up against to get on from and practice with those first. But go with plenty of time and be prepared to spend 5-10min if nessecary lining her up, getting her to stand quietly etc before you can hop on. If you use treats at all take a couple for when it goes well.

Then hopefully she will get the idea of standing next what ever you line her up with to get on from.
 
There is a lovely old video at a clinic with a chestnut mare that headbuts the trainer repeatedly while trying to work it out.
I remember that one as nice horsemanship. Can't remember who tho so not super helpful - sorry

I would just practice at home with anything and anywhere you can find. Get on from the fence in the school, get on from the gate to the field, randomly put buckets or whatever you can - she'll get the idea quickly.
 
Tap on the off side quarter (or just lay the chip there), hold the right rein shorter so the quarters stay in, just as you do when a car approaches from behind when hacking. Teach a verbal cue. And mount from different heights.
 
I knock 3 times on the block to ask her to park herself. I knock 3 times on my portable steps.

If I forget to knock 3 times on the gate I want to mount from she lines up but doesn't stand!
 
Mine does it now if I am standing on something taller than him/put my hand up, but this was early days in training it so I also was overusing the vocal ask too.

He was an unbacked baby in this video, excuse my 1000 winter layers!

I was scratching him on the withers in the field and stopped and stepped back and he stepped towards me, so I capitalised on that and made it into an ask and that is how I taught it initially, with some of the below too to teach him to move the quarters.

If I was doing it from scratch I'd teach her to move shoulders and quarters with a light touch on each probably with a dressage or long whip, then once that was established I'd move to standing on something tall and tapping the offside lightly as she should then in theory still step away from that pressure as you have taught but toward you this time. Then once you have that just keep asking and treat/scratch once she is lined up. Rinse and repeat, I also sometimes stand him the wrong way intentionally so he has to do a full turn in case we have to mount from somewhere tricky out and about
 
If she was perfect for the second one, perhaps the first was off putting for some reason.
- not enough room?
- rotten?

Our lot generally won’t stand still if the girth isn’t tight enough or the saddle not quite right or the mounting implement not safe (water container, log, rock…).

On the training if you type in ‘draw to mounting block’ or similar in YouTube there are plenty of videos.
 
I'm not sure it's a very official training technique but I have always given mine a treat once lined up at the mounting block, then another one once I'm on. I can line him up pretty much anywhere now and give him a treat and he'll stand and wait until I'm on board for his next sweetie delivery 🤣

He was a bit sharp to get on when he arrived and wanted to set off as soon as your bum hit the saddle, but he's a greedy pig so will now stand at the mounting block reins swinging while I walk around and flap around with stirrups etc. before getting on. If I take too long he does demand a second sweetie payment though :oops:
 
I've seen a few people who do clicker type training to teach the horse to swings its quarters round, if you hold your hand up! it starts with a few taps of the bum to push them over, and slowly moves to you just needing to put your hand up! though I had a friend who had a horse that could do that but then she struggled to lunge her as every time she tried to send her away, she'd use her hands and the horse would spin towards her!

I would like to try and teach my horses this though, but I'm rubbish at actually practicing things! so always tend to take a leap of faith from some interesting angles
 
kerrieberry2 said:
I've seen a few people who do clicker type training to teach the horse to swings its quarters round, if you hold your hand up! it starts with a few taps of the bum to push them over, and slowly moves to you just needing to put your hand up! though I had a friend who had a horse that could do that but then she struggled to lunge her as every time she tried to send her away, she'd use her hands and the horse would spin towards her!

I would like to try and teach my horses this though, but I'm rubbish at actually practicing things! so always tend to take a leap of faith from some interesting angles
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I think the "move quarters to me" with the hand up is the way a lot of people teach it but I had already taught a "move quarters away" with a hand signal that I tried to reprogram but my mare was getting frustrated so I gave up 😂 Finding a way that works for what the horse already knows is more important than doing it the "right way" or the way everyone else does it, I think. I may come back to it at some point for flexibility.

We just did a combo of turn on the forehand (quarters away) to line up and "stand please". I have another ask for moving the shoulders over if I need it. I added a knock on the block for clarity as I move the quarters and the shoulders around fairly often and if she doesn't know this is for mounting, she will be looking for the next ask instead of just chilling out until I stop faffing and get on
 
YourValentine said:
As she is so good to mount at home from your steps, I think ypu need to start practicing mounting from varied objects at home where there is no pressue (e.g.traffic etc) so she gets used to lining upbto random objects. If you dont have a handy yard of things to climb on start by putting you steps in different places, slightly akward spots and get her used to that.

Then out hacking pick a few fairly straightforward things to line up against to get on from and practice with those first. But go with plenty of time and be prepared to spend 5-10min if nessecary lining her up, getting her to stand quietly etc before you can hop on. If you use treats at all take a couple for when it goes well.

Then hopefully she will get the idea of standing next what ever you line her up with to get on from.
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Thanks I'll try that. Yesterday I had to get home by a deadline as my grocery shopping was being delivered, and my friend was riding an antsy Arab who was dancing all over the place (as she hadn't been ridden for a few weeks) so it wasn't the right environment to practice.
 
maya2008 said:
If she was perfect for the second one, perhaps the first was off putting for some reason.
- not enough room?
- rotten?

Our lot generally won’t stand still if the girth isn’t tight enough or the saddle not quite right or the mounting implement not safe (water container, log, rock…).

On the training if you type in ‘draw to mounting block’ or similar in YouTube there are plenty of videos.
Click to expand...
Yes I think it was tucked in very close to a tall hedge and for some reason she didn't want to stand with her head in the hedge.
 
I had this just this week. Old horse would literally stand at absolutely anything. I used to clamber on dodgy falling down walls and once a wheelie bin (can’t actually think how or why but he allowed it)
New mare is out of racing and although will stand at the block not for long, it’s getting better but I do tend to walk her up as I hop on. This has done me no favours! I had a fairly long walk to find something safe that she would stand by, the main thing being me clambering into too high dry stone walls really wasn’t helping, she’d moved by the time I was precariously balanced. 🤣
Will be practicing that incase!
 
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