Someone reassure me that we will get there!!

Regan

Regan

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Hi all

Feeling a bit disheartened tonight. I have a 12y/o Irish cob who is a nightmare to mount. We think he's been badly beaten in the past and had his tongue twitched by someone trying to get on him.

He won't stand near a block for anyone to get on. OH and I have a routine and he usually gives me a leg up- which works quite well most of the time and avoids Finns shuffling.

Trouble is it's not ideal not being able to mount from the ground incase I fall off or need to open a gate etc. So i know its something we need to work on. Last night he let me mount from the ground perfectly and was a real superstar. Tonight we were back to shuffling backwards and spinning round and generally being a pain. Some days he's so good and other days I feel like we're back at square 1.

Please someone tell me we'll get there in the end!! Any tips greatly received!!

R
 
ok as previous post check his back sadlle mouth everything - rule out pain - then step back and breath - when re breaking my girl i read an article - michael peace i think - about preparing a horse to back - ok you lad is older so was my mare - bounce up and down by side let them get used to that - take it slow with lots of reassurance - i started with low slow bounces and built up - it prepares them for you getting aboard - and hey my girl was so good - may not help and sure you will get more help on here but he does it for a reason - try and work out why - my lasses reason was her eyes failing - dont put up with it but quietly and calmly deal with it - monty and michael peace are brill for understanding horses minds :) good luck darling and having bought a " dangerous unrideable" beautiful kind mare pm me anytime :) xxx ps micheal peace is my hero lol xx
 
A lot of Irish horses are never taught to stand at a mounting block.Riders are just flung up on their backs .These horses come over here and havent a clue what is expected of them,the result is a vicious circle of negative behaviour by both horse AND RIDER.Some of the mounting blocks I have seen are frankly a disaster too,they confuse aa young horse. You leed the horse forward and start climbing up a step,the horse wonders what you are up to and turns to look ,moving away from the block.(My own somewhat Speshul ,Irish cob went round the block and tried to climb up too bless him). Have a block thats away from the wall and lead the horse through the gap. When you get on ,Keep rein contact as if you were riding. If he swings or walks forward ,use the reins individualy to signal to him to stop or swing back. It can only be achieved with calm commonsense and never violence.
 
Hi

Thanks for your replies

Yes back checked a few weeks ago, saddler out last night and teeth done not long ago.

Unfortunately I think it's a deep rooted problem. It's almost as though he has to 'accept' that your going to get on and once he does he's stands still and is good as gold. Somedays this is straight away, somedays it takes half an hour of back and forth and round in a circle. If you try and push him too quickly then he'll spin and take off. He's a real sensitive sort and u can always tell how worried he is by how much his bottom lip wobbles.

It's just frustrating as there always has to be someone around to help me! Even tho we've made progress in the year I've had him, I'm just not sure how to take it forward ...
 
We had a racehorse that came to the yard that would rear and throw its self over backwards if you tried to mount from the ground which was why it was such a bargain. It took us a couple of weeks to realise that you just needed a leg up and it turned out to be a fab horse,and it was sold to a lovelly lady who 6 months later could mount from the ground with a bit or perserverance and reassurance.
 
Mike007, please dont paint all us Irish with the one brush, it saddens me to think that everybody thinks that the Irish do all these horrible things to their horses. I would love to have a national tv campain to sort this out, but obviously, our gorvernment wouldn't dream of it. There are an element of Irish, minority in group, that use terrible methods to sort out "problem" horses, personally, it makes me sick. I have phoned the garda station so many times, no joy!! All of the people I know look after their horses better than their family, yes, there are methods here that are not in uk, and unfortunately, some horses are abused, hence, not wanting to be backed, but we are not all like that, believe me. I love my horses, and at times, they get their feed, while we have beans on toast, so please dont think that we are all the same!! Come over for a visit, you will see far more well loked after horse than you'll see starved or abused!!!
 
I have an ISH that was a nightmare to get on when I first got him, we have worked on him and he will stand still mostly now, he has his moments but he is a lot better.

He is also funny about his ears being touched, he stands scared if you try and touch his ears or clip him, he won't move except to 'grow' taller & get wild eyes (17hh as it is!) he is just scared, he must have been ear twitched.:(

Something has happened to him in Ireland before he came to me .... but it's not just Irish horses, they can be teated badly anywhere.
 
Something has happened to him in Ireland before he came to me .... but it's not just Irish horses, they can be teated badly anywhere.[/QUOTE]

Dead right Molli, it can happen anywhere, but the attitude towards irish stinks on this forum in some posts. As for ear or tongue twitching, I've never ever seen it done, but tying the tongue down with a pair of nylon tights, i've seen that done. didnt hurt the horse, as it was so soft, but stopped them from putting tongue over bit. As for moving away from you while mounting, nost horses in ireland are hunted, and it would br totally acceptable for a horse to be trotting down the road whilst getting on, it's just what people do when hunting, they dont excpect the horse to stand totally still. Unfortunately, when said horse arrives to uk, is expected to stand at a mounting block, totaly alien to irish hunting horse!!!
Could people not get up without a mounting block to start with, and work from there.
Without sounding horrible, would most people not be able to get up without mounting blocks. What happened to vaulting??
 
Do you treat when you get on?

I know it can be tempting to just (finally) get on with riding when it has take you a while to get up but it can really help to
- treat and/or reward with heaps of praise
- get on and off in the middle and at the end of a schooling session (so mounting doesn't always mean the beginning of work)
- practice baby steps (e.g. lead past a mounting block, loads of praise... pause for a moment next to block and lead on by, loads more praise... increase the pause by a few seconds... you get the idea!)
- also if he is good ridden you can try approaching a block that way too, again praise/treat like mad when he will stand next to it.
 
Agree with all Tickles posted. My cob from Ireland ,within a day of being treated when I mounted, now stands like a rock. Previous to that he shuffled round and figited at the block, and if I dismounted on a ride I was walking home. I am in my 50 s and cant vault on.
 
I would get him used to a mounting block like you would a youngster.

First off just lead past it and pat him when he's by it, even halt for a tiny bit then walk on again. Might be worth carrying some titbits with you as praise. Keep repeating but gradually make him stand for longer and longer.

When he stands like a rock get someone to lead and you stand on the block but not as your going to get on just pat him and make a fuss. When he settles consider getting on and huge praise if he does, then go for a little walk and do it again.

You'll get there you just have to take lots and lots of baby steps. :)
 
Nothing to add really but wanted to let you know you are not alone with an awkward to get on horse. Mine can be a real pain. If i have a leg up she is fine but I can't always have someone there to do this so have been working on getting her to stand next to the mounting block long enough for me to get on. She will stand but as soon as I move to put my foot in the stirrup she will move again so we are back to circling round the block etc. Every time she stands she is praised and when I get on she is given lavish praise. I don't lose patience with her but it has been known to take an hour to get on like this depending on her mood :p






Before anyone asks - yes, her back tack and teeth are fine :) She is a Sec D x TB and it depends which head she has on as to how she behaves :p :D
 
I can see why Fitz is feeling a little offended:eek:

We have a 4 yr old who is very head shy, it's a often as battle putting his bridle on , he grows a couple hands and hates his ears being touched, its a very vulnerable area for a horse, if we hadn't had him from a baby we would swear he had been ear twitched etc.

As a 5 yr old hes now perfect with it and also good for mounting, he used to very impatient to get on with the job.

To the OP I am sure if you are kind and patient and not in a rush you will get there :) sounds like you have already made a difference :-)
 
We bough an ISH a few months ago for my mum. He was just the same when mounting!

As mentioned above, we did the treat thing. Worked "like a treat"!!

All we did was lead him to the mounting block and reward for standing still with a few pony cubes. Then once my mum had mounted, rewarded again with a few pony cubes and pats. Then mum would have a few cubes in her hand and ask him to bend to her leg and give him a couple!!

It didn't take long for him to twig that when he stood like a good boy, he got rewarded. We soon minimised the amount we were giving him, then eliminated the cubes altogether. He's a different horse now. He'll happily stand for a good pat on the neck now!!

Good luck, hope it works out!! :)
 
Does he like his food? If so try clicker training, worked wonders for my lad and our mounting problems (cold backed!!). I would get someone experienced in clicker training horses out to help you, I wouldn't like to try to explain it in writing. I didn't use it for anything else and to be honest wouldn't usually bother with these sorts of training methods but I was at the end of my tether and a friend offered to help so as I'm sure you understand you'll try anything!!! Luckily it worked for me and now he's a saint!!:D
 
I have a mare with some funny behaviour's that seem irrational to me, but probably not to her. Fear of vets, being led by bridle (when reins over her head, on neck), fear of strangers, fear of someone approaching quickly, fear of strange smells. But all these things have improved or vanished (except the vet thing).

If you are really quiet and relaxed and spend time to desenitising your horse to you standing next to her while saddled and hopping around on one leg, and then hanvind someone legging you up (while you are justing hopping and not actually getting on) and so on (that is break the whole process down into phases or parts and get her used to each one, when she is used to one, move on to 1 plus the next. You have the rest of your life with her, so not a race. Just take the time it takes. It works.
 
Get on and off until he is bored to tears. Put some time aside in anticipation of his shuffling. Then get on fron the block, praise, get off, then get on.
He has to realise your not about to kill him!! Repetition is the key with horses. If its repetatively a good experience he will eventually stand.
 
Just to give you a bit of a boost I thought I would let you know how it went today with my hard to mount mare.


On Sunday when I wanted to get on she was an absolute cow. Fidgeting, stepping backwards, stepping forwards and doing everything to evade having me get on board. Finally manged to bore her enough to get on after an hour. Got off and called it a day. Gave her a nice treat and a scratch to say well done.


Today I was expecting another battle of wills. What I got was a statue at the mounting block after 15/20 minutes. Normally she is off as soon as me bum hits the saddle but not today :eek: She waited for me to find my other stirrup and tell her to walk on. She got loads of praise and we did about 10 minutes of walk and trot with a bit of leg yield thrown in. Gave her a handful of grub and a scratch and turned her out

Needless to say I was :D :D


Hang on in there. It does get better :D
 
Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I intend to start again with him over the weekend with really tiny baby steps. We have a good mounting block that we can walk around so I will keep at it in tiny increments!

He's such a lovely lad in every other way I'd be made up if we cracked this. At least I know we're not alone! :D
 
I'm quaking to even post this, but standing by the block is something you could clicker train **ducks**

Start off just leading him up, asking him to stand for literally a couple of seconds, click and treat (or reward in whatever way suits you) then walk away without mounting, then build up the time you spend there gradually.
 
My mum used to ride a 5 yo cob who was an absolute swine to mount - my poor mum hadn't ridden for 30 odd years and we found this monster for her! :p - he would spin, walk off, swing his bum out...he wasn't ill treated, just evasive and naughty.
We just persevered I'd hold him, so my mum could concentrate getting on and give him a treat as she did and by the time she stopped riding him, he was an angel :)
I share what was a "dangerous unrideable 'must-be-PTS'" mare, who is now a loving, kind, albeit quirky character, so I know where you're coming from! You will get there though, perseverance, baby steps, positive reinforcement.
K x
 
Regan said:
Hi all

Feeling a bit disheartened tonight. I have a 12y/o Irish cob who is a nightmare to mount. We think he's been badly beaten in the past and had his tongue twitched by someone trying to get on him.

He won't stand near a block for anyone to get on. OH and I have a routine and he usually gives me a leg up- which works quite well most of the time and avoids Finns shuffling.

Trouble is it's not ideal not being able to mount from the ground incase I fall off or need to open a gate etc. So i know its something we need to work on. Last night he let me mount from the ground perfectly and was a real superstar. Tonight we were back to shuffling backwards and spinning round and generally being a pain. Some days he's so good and other days I feel like we're back at square 1.

Please someone tell me we'll get there in the end!! Any tips greatly received!!

R
Click to expand...

Personally I would try using a #clicker# to get him to stand still. I have an abused horse and he picked up the clicker in minutes. The #click# is the cue to REWARD - yes that#s what I wanted and you treat with food or a rub etc intially. I am very novice to using a clicker, but for a given command I have found it fabulous and it gives no mixed or inconsistent messages. Good Luck!
 
Spudlet said:
I'm quaking to even post this, but standing by the block is something you could clicker train **ducks**

Start off just leading him up, asking him to stand for literally a couple of seconds, click and treat (or reward in whatever way suits you) then walk away without mounting, then build up the time you spend there gradually.
Click to expand...

oh yes Spudlet - sorry I hadn't read your post. I completely agree with you!! God I wish folk on this forum were a little more open-minded you shouldn't quake to post!
 
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