Standing still whilst mounting

A

Amylouisec92

New User
Joined
17 September 2015
Messages
1
Visit site
Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone can help me? I've just bought a 5yo 17hh gelding and just can't get him to stand whilst I mount. He's too high for me to get on without a mounting block but when I try to use one he just moves away and gets himself all stressed and jogging on the spot and when I finally get on he just darts off. Any tips would be great? :)
 
You need to train this when you aren't going anywhere. Plenty of time. Teach him to stand beside it. If he moves, move him back. Or the other thing you can do is if he moves move the block with him and as soon as he stands still stop moving the block. Richard Maxwell has a good demo on YouTube of this method.
 
Ask someone to hold his head, they then take command while you mount and then they ask him to "walk on".
In time he should relax, but it is up to you to get on, and then to ask him to walk on with the minumum of fuss.
You should be prepared to speed up your reactions, and get going, even if the feet are not in the stirrups!!!!
You can lunge him for ten minutes before you mount, make this part of your daily routine, never hurry things. You must make sure this does not become a big issue.
Get a pressure release halter and go back to his basic training, which has not been instilled in him yet.
Take a few lessons with a senior instructor, she will help you on this and other issues, when you are talking to her in the school, you can train him to stand while you relax with your feet out of the stirrups, when you want to move on, you put feet in stirrups as you take up the reins.
Do take time with him as you are asking him to do something he has not been asked before......... though of course he might be taking the pixel, in which case your instructor will advise.
If you are on board and he darts off turn him round in a 10-15m circle, back to the mounting block, half halts before, after and so on, till he starts to listen to you. You can do figure of eights and so on, but not to the point both he and you are thoroughly fed up!
 
Last edited:
Put the mounting block 90cm away from a wall and then stand the horse in the gap. He won't be able to swing away. If necessary put a head collar over the bridle and use a rope looped through the head collar nose and and a tie ring ,or the fence. You can then pull the rope off and discard it whilst riding.
Have a piece of carrot in your pocket to feed him when you are on board.
Good luck. 😀
 
A couple of yanks on the stirrup before you put your foot in can help too and flex his neck so his nose comes to your boot both sides will relax him Wouldn't feed him tho just sat doing nothing is reward enough when he gets it right.
 
there are a few other threads on this but briefly I had the same problem with my mare and as I got less mobile myself it was very important she stood for me to mount, so I got a friend to hold her by clipping a lead rope to the bit so I still had the reins, friend gave her mints while I got on and once I was ready she unclipped the lead rope..it only took a couple of days for her to get the idea and friend was not needed and I gradually fed the polos and she now stands like a rock till she gets her polo...may not be the correct way but I got the result I wanted....
 
Absolutely agree that this is best tackled when you don't want to go anywhere. It is WELL worth teaching this fundamental basic from the start. I clicker-trained all my youngsters - and older ones too - to stand at the mounting block. We are now at the stage that they just wait patiently for us to get on and then they turn their heads to receive a hand-held treat from us in the saddle. Never have any problems.
 
My ex racer wouldn't stand to mount when I got him. I took him in the school, just a headcollar on and put the mounting block beside him. I then lent over him and gave him a polo on his off side. Repeated several times and put him away. Then did .it tacked up. Walk to mounting block, lean over and treat then repeat. Then advanced to getting on and as soon as I was in the saddle, big pats and treat. He now doesn't move a muscle until I have faffed about. It only took a few sessions. I know alot of people are against treating but I am on my own and I have to be able to get on safely.
 
I used to use a set of steps that I could move and put them in the middle of the yard. As soon as horse went to step off while I was trying to get on he was asked to walk in a little circle round me while I stayed on the steps and then stopped in the original position and tried again. repeat as necessary. From my experience it only takes a few little circles for them to get fed up of it and stand still.
 
Charlie007 said:
My ex racer wouldn't stand to mount when I got him. I took him in the school, just a headcollar on and put the mounting block beside him. I then lent over him and gave him a polo on his off side. Repeated several times and put him away. Then did .it tacked up. Walk to mounting block, lean over and treat then repeat. Then advanced to getting on and as soon as I was in the saddle, big pats and treat. He now doesn't move a muscle until I have faffed about. It only took a few sessions. I know alot of people are against treating but I am on my own and I have to be able to get on safely.
Click to expand...

Something like this would be my preferred method but I would teach "stand" more broadly and in all contexts as it's a useful command to have sorted out in other situations as well. So instead of mounting block/treating while leaning, I'd give the command "stand" EVERYWHERE at every opportunity, and when the horse listens, treat. Even leading out of the stable or between the field and stable or to the mounting block or randomly while schooling, on the lunge, out hacking etc etc. Don't need to treat every single time though - do it every third time or so at first and decrease over time and the others just give a scratch and let the horse be without asking for anything. Always say "good" when the horse has stood still just before you reward to mark the correct behaviour as well. Get the horse motivated to stand by lunging for a few minutes first (just the first session) so he actually wants to stop before you start the training. Otherwise he won't offer the behaviour and it'll take longer to teach.
 
Barnacle,yes that's how I taught him initially to stand. Missed that bit out!! We stand at least 3 times on way back from the field, when I open gates etc I give the stand command. Even on hacks I ask him to stand several times on the way home. Sometimes he gets a pat, sometimes a treat but I always treat him when mounting x
 
Amylouisec92 said:
Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone can help me? I've just bought a 5yo 17hh gelding and just can't get him to stand whilst I mount. He's too high for me to get on without a mounting block but when I try to use one he just moves away and gets himself all stressed and jogging on the spot and when I finally get on he just darts off. Any tips would be great? :)
Click to expand...
i am going this with my new 5 yo id mare .

Get someone to help you and if he moves walk him round again. Only mount and reward when he stands still
 
Amylouisec92 said:
when I try to use one he just moves away and gets himself all stressed and jogging on the spot and when I finally get on he just darts off. Any tips would be great? :)
Click to expand...

It would be worth checking that the saddle fits correctly and that he's not sore in his back. Especially given his age, they can change shape so quickly one month the saddle is a perfect fit, next month its pinching.
It could be a reason that he finds it very stressful and darts off once you're in the saddle. If you can rule out the saddle fit or pain then there's some really good suggestions here to teach him to stand and wait.
 
I recently sort out Michael Peace's help with my new horse who kept moving when I was trying to mount. Before I had him out I spent ages rewarding him for standing quietly at the block, then rewarding for standing still when I picked up the reins etc etc - I broke it down into small steps but I still couldn't crack the issue. Michael Peace sorted it for me within 10minutes and the very next day it took me 30seconds to get my boy standing quietly for me to get on - since then he stands perfectly still almost every time and on occasions when he does move, I can sort it under a minute.

Michael taught me the most important thing was that I never got off the mounting block - if my horse moved I just had to move him back until he was in the right place. Getting off the block and either moving towards him or using my hands to move him back towards the block had just taught him the game that if he moved, I always got off the block. Instead if he walks forwards or swings his quarters away from me, I just use the rein nearest me to make him back up all the way back past the block and then walk him towards it again (whilst I always stay on the block in the same place). As soon as he moves towards the block I am quiet and don't hassle him - he only gets hassled if he has moved from the block. My horse now makes a conscious effort to line himself up perfectly with the block as he knows if he hasn't he'll just be asked to move backwards and line himself up again - life is simpler if he does it right first time.
 
Sprig said:
I used to use a set of steps that I could move and put them in the middle of the yard. As soon as horse went to step off while I was trying to get on he was asked to walk in a little circle round me while I stayed on the steps and then stopped in the original position and tried again. repeat as necessary. From my experience it only takes a few little circles for them to get fed up of it and stand still.
Click to expand...

this has worked a treat for my gelding! And the carrot when im on board. To his credit as soon as my foot is in the stirrup he never moves, but getting him to stand still long enough to do that was the problem.!
 
One of the things we do when schooling is repeat, repeat, repeat - but often mounting is something that is done so little that the horse never truly learns that he needs to stand still and wait.

I suggest that for the next week all you are going to do is mount, get off, mount, get off until your horse learns and understands what is expected of him.
 
Tnavas said:
One of the things we do when schooling is repeat, repeat, repeat - but often mounting is something that is done so little that the horse never truly learns that he needs to stand still and wait.

I suggest that for the next week all you are going to do is mount, get off, mount, get off until your horse learns and understands what is expected of him.
Click to expand...

Agree and it's also something that needs constant work - if you let the behaviour slide then you are back to square one.

Train the horse, don't find ways round the behaviour, in the long term it's always worth doing right.
 
I've had a couple of bad falls when mounting from a previous horse. I still stress about mounting and will not throw my leg unless I am 100% the horse won't move a centimetre. My current horse is good and doesn't react when mounting but sometimes will faff about getting up. I always worried that I would cause him to be anxious when mounting. I used to use a hard plastic steps thing but last year a carpenter advertised mounting blocks to measure from decking wood. It is 2 steps or 3 if you wanted and it is brilliant. Because he can faff a bit and I don't have to move the steps as I can access him from 3 sides he doesn't bother faffing around anymore. I get up on him now 1st go 99% of the time
 
So glad this subject came up! My tall, young, horse was fairly OK to get on, if a bit jittery, but got worse and worse, swinging away all the time. Although my saddle fitted, it transpired the style didn't suit him and was giving him a lot of pain behind the wither, to the point that he completely stuck his toes in when on a ride. It has taken a lot of physio, plus a few weeks at livery getting back into work, to get him riding again. Like many, I have to deal with him on my own. I have found a treat for just standing doesn't work, he takes the treat then swings away. I have been getting more stressed and I know he has, as he started grinding his teeth when I went to get on. He now has a different saddle, plus he has been ridden out for a couple of weeks with others, but having dislocated and broken my ankle when I failed to get on last year, it is so important he stands still. He doesn't like being hemmed in between a plastic block and the fence, but he did manage to stand on the 'open' side of the block today. It does seem to help if you stay on the block and can walk them round. I have tried the getting off and pushing them back again technique - he has swung round again before I even got partway onto the block. Also, with tall horses, always make sure you are on a high enough block. I broke my ankle getting on in a hurry from a low block, failed to swing my leg high enough and kicked him hard on the bum. Needless to say when he is away at holiday camp, he stands like a donkey. Think I may be begging for a leg up at competitions!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top