Stay on or dismount...

[pansymouse]

My default position is to stay on because I can usually control a horse better from on top, I won't get my feet squashed and I can't get back on without a mounting block and a spooked horse isn't going to stand very still for you to balance on a gate or a mound and get on safely even after they have calmed down.

I will get off if I think placing myself between the horse and the (perceived) danger will help.

 

[LaurenBay]

My boy is an angel 99.9% of the time but the very odd occasion when something is just a bit too much for him, he is better if I get off and stand at his head.

My friends horse is a bit of a bugger at times and he works best with her staying on but me getting off and standing at his head

Once I accepted it was perfectly all right to get off, my confidence came on in leaps and bounds and I cant remember the last time I've had to get off!

My boy is an angel 99.9% of the time but the very odd occasion when something is just a bit too much for him, he is better if I get off and stand at his head.

My friends horse is a bit of a bugger at times and he works best with her staying on but me getting off and standing at his head

Once I accepted it was perfectly all right to get off, my confidence came on in leaps and bounds and I cant remember the last time I've had to get off!

That last bit makes perfect sense to me. I think the same. Because before I would be worried incase she would misbehave and then she would bolt (she has never ever bolted, but due to my accident I always think the worst!) but now I don't think about it because I know I can get off before it gets to that point. It makes me feel more secure and makes me relax which in turn relaxes Ruby.

 

[Briony&Anakin]

I got off my horse once thinking I would have more control and give him more confidence on the ground (going inbetween two fields of cows) but he buggered off and I couldn't hold him! Luckily he didn't get far but I will never do it again!!

 

[FfionWinnie]

I would stay on in all situations because in my opinion if you get off the horse has won.

That might be different for a less confident rider but at some point the battle will have to be won and the longer the horse wins the battle, the harder it will be for the rider to get past it.

Also if there was likely to be a "situation" with a horse, I would not be on a road with it in the first place, I would set it up in a controlled environment and sort it out.

 

[tinap]

Think it depends on the circumance & horse - ours, always on board!!!

 

[nikicb]

That might be different for a less confident rider but at some point the battle will have to be won and the longer the horse wins the battle, the harder it will be for the rider to get past it.

I don't think it's always a matter of confidence. If you have a horse that loses it in some situations it's not necessarily a matter of battling with it. Sometimes it works just to calm them down then they can deal with it.

Also if there was likely to be a "situation" with a horse, I would not be on a road with it in the first place, I would set it up in a controlled environment and sort it out.

But sometimes you can't predict what's going to happen and you can't constantly stay in a controlled environment just because something might.

 

[Pale Rider]

I don't think there is anything to be gained just staying on because someone says you should.
If a person is unconfident on a horse playing up and stays on when they are frightened and would rather get off then they should.
It makes a massive difference though if you are confident to stay on.
Horses playing up do it because they have lost confidence in the rider.
If it keeps happening, and you are not truly happy in the saddle, the horse knows and that's why it keeps happening.
Basically, you're better getting off if you're nervous, because they know.

 

[Jackson]

I've never dismounted out hacking.. not voluntarily anyway

I have walked out in-hand after box rest though, on our second longer walk, he spooked and pulled back/reared up a little and landed on my foot tearing some important stuff... I know where I'd rather have been!

 

[cheeryplatypus]

If its my horse I get off as he gets more comfort from me on the ground. My pony I stay on as if he is so worried that I think I should be getting off then he is well past seeing me on the ground and I'm safer and in more control on top.
I've done a lot of ground work with my horse compared to the pony and that probably is why they are different.

 

[wench]

My old horse was much better in some situations when you were on the ground... ie coming across a large double decker bus out hacking on our own. Queue me getting off, leading Henry into a handy drive way, and bus could go happily past me.

If I had tried staying on him in the drive he would have gone loopy... however he was happlily settled with me stood next to him.

Which is the best option, nice calm horse with person on ground, or histerical horse cantering down the road in a blind panic with rider on board???

 

[Shantara]

Like I said in the other thread:

With group - stay on
Alone/walks with Mum - get off

My reasoning is that with the group, he usually doesn't get too fussed and if the other horses don't do anything, he won't do anything either.
If I'm alone with him, he is an angel in-hand. I can get him past anything and calm him right down, but if I'm on him he will turn into a lunatic!!
That said, I have never felt scared enough to get off. Yet!

 

[Cocorules]

Depends on the horse and for that horse the particular situation. I have no problem with doing either in principle.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

Depends on your horse & your riding. I used to get off as it was safer if my horse was napping/rearing. I'm now in a position where I am safer/more in control on board.

 

[Trix98]

I try to stay on but in certain circumstances I will get off, 2 occasions happened recently.
The first was with a nappy mare who I had no ridden before and I was hacking alone, she decided to throw a tantrum at a junction. I just felt it was too risky and dismounted- she was fine from then on!
Also my cob spooked at something the other day whilst in a very large stubble field, once brought bakc to me he was getting very full of himself and walking almost with his back end beneath him (As if he would rear or bolt off again) so I just felt safer and more in control off him. I remounted once we had past the field

 

[PolarSkye]

Very similar - my old girl's gone now bless her, but when she was younger she would get herself into such a state about something I think she forgot I was there. So I would jump off and she'd look at me as if to say 'where did you come from?'. She also had a wonderful (not!) habit of running backwards on roads when she was around 5 so the only safe thing I could do was jump off her. I wouldn't do it with my new boy as he's bigger and chunkier and I feel safer on top.

Sounds like my boy. When The GD loses the plot, his brain absolutely does leave the building and seeing me on the ground next to him reassures him so much. Once he's relaxed, I can hop back on and continue.

P

 

[fidleyspromise]

Depends on what the horse is doing.
If she is genuinely upset, I get off, lead her and get back on. She's calmer with me beside her.
If she's acting the fool, I'm safer onboard.

 

[swampdonkey]

I think in our partnership that if my horse is genuinely frightened of something then I am more than happy to get off and give him the support he needs.

I am a nervous hacker on the roads so am able to really give 100% support from the ground whereas on board I can try to pretend but he knows and I know I am scared so he probably only gets 50% support, if that makes sense.

Either way, you pass the object together, whether on board or on the ground, you are doing it together.

 

[LaurenBay]

I don't see it as "winning" afterall if I get off she is still made to go where I want too and behave herself. I'd rather that then her cantering sidewides down the road kicking out at passing cars in a temper. She couldv'e kicked a car and injured herself or the drivers. I would rather "lose" and get off if it meant keeping us both safe.

 

[charleysummer]

depends on circumstance, for example my mare will plant her feet and I will not get her moving if I get off and try to lead her! However a squeeze on the sides will get her going.

If possible I have a walker to help and I stay on board and have a walker on the side to help I used to send my mum over the jumps first to teach my spooky pony to jump!

 

[Tinypony]

Surely it depends on the situation, the horse, and the rider. Also level of expertise the person has in the saddle vs on the ground. Whether or not they have got their horse solidly trained for mounting, or if they will have problems getting on.
In my experience, if all of the above comes together, then getting off doesn't mean the horse "wins", it just gives them a bit more confidence to deal with something that is scaring them. Gradually as the horse gets more experienced and confident there is less need to get off and help them through.
Horses don't have a concept of "winning". That assumes they can forward-plan and I am sure is ascribing human reasoning and emotions to them.

 

[greymareg]

I think it depends on the horse. I HATE getting off if mine plays up, but as there are a few ditches around where I hack, I would rather get off than end up in one of them! But always then walk on by hand and then get back on again so she does not win!!!

 

[Fidgety]

I don't see it as "winning" afterall if I get off she is still made to go where I want too and behave herself. I'd rather that then her cantering sidewides down the road kicking out at passing cars in a temper. She couldv'e kicked a car and injured herself or the drivers. I would rather "lose" and get off if it meant keeping us both safe.

Totally agree. It's not about 'winning' or 'losing' it's about staying safe, not adding to the statistics and both of you keeping your confidence. I feel no shame if I feel my horse is more confident walking alongside me for 20 yards rather than me harassing her forwards past something that she's genuinely fearful of. I'd much rather her finish a hack happy and with good memories which can then be further built upon.

 

[Holly Hocks]

Definitely dismount with my first mare. She was borderline schizophrenic and the minute I was on the floor beside her it was like the crazy character inside her head had gone back to sleep!

(Plus she really knew how to get into a rhythm of almighty bucks which I don't think even the best rodeo rider could've handled!)

That's not to say that I'll be jumping off every horse I have in the future though if something starts to go pear-shaped. I've ridden other people's horses and felt that I can manage the situation from where I am in the saddle.

I think I may have one of your horse's relatives
You could be describing my mare. Once she starts rearing and spinning, the safest place to be is on the floor with her. She has no sense of self-preservation and has, when I was long-reining her one day fallen on her side, on the road just because she could. I wouldn't have liked to have been on top of her at that time.
Getting off her and going to her head gives her the confidence to deal with whatever it is she has seen or heard that is causing her to have brain meltdown. Thinking about it, I haven't had to get off for weeks now but I do stick to the same routes unless I am going out with someone else. I had a major breakthrough at weekend when I went out with a friend and rode her past a farm where she had previously nearly thrown me over a wall with a 20ft drop at the other side all because of a llama in a field. This weekend we came past the farm heading towards home and apart from lifting her head a bit she didn't even jog or snort. That's a massive achievement for me.

Getting off isn't failure if it prevents an incident of falling off. In the case of my horse, it's given her a lot of confidence. I'm not prepared to get hurt when it can so easily be avoided.

That said, if the horse wasn't a rearer then I would probably sit it out as long as I could.

 

[Sarah1]

I find this all very interesting. I wonder why some horses feel more confident with their rider walking along side than on board? What's the difference? Is it the flight thing? Do they forget who is in the saddle & think their rider is a monster?! Really interesting...

 

[Fidgety]

Do they forget who is in the saddle & think their rider is a monster?! Really interesting...

I'm quite sure my horse doesn't suddenly start to think I'm a monster , rather that her flight instinct over-rides her knowledge that I am on her back. Along side of me, she reverts back to being in a herd with me as herd leader.

 

[Shutterbug]

My horse listens better when Im in the saddle but there was one occasion where I had to get off and get between him and a dog cause he just about lost it. Think it depends on the situation - people know their horses and how to keep them calm so whatever works best for them I suppose

 

[thinkitwasjune]

Generally I would rather be on board if a horse is playing up, after having a chronic rearer who would go up both under saddle and in hand, but would also aim hooves at your head if you were leading him. It was much easier just to hold on tight in the saddle! Having said that, if I thought I was endangering myself by staying on, I wouldn't hesitate to get off (and have done in the past)!

 

[Spotsrock]

On board.

 

[Sparkles]

Generally, I'll stay on.

However, have gotten off a few times when I thought it was just too dangerous to stay on top. A previous horse I rode out hacking alone one day, was getting very antsy and fidgety trying to shut a gate at the top of a very steep field [ie, vertical drop banks/'steps' all the way back down to the bottom of the field other than the main track which ran through top to bottom.] Anyway..after 10 minutes of pratting around at this gate, I gave him a bit of a firm voice and kick to get him to stand as he was just being a **** really....at which point he got stung under the belly by a wasp And well, just exploded. Bronced sideways, ended up half falling/jumping down the first drop part which wasn't as steep luckily, and then landing and just was running backwards and rearing. Long story short, ended up teetering right on the edge of the next bank drop which was much steeper and had brambles below it, so I bailed and threw myself off just before he went to do his next rear. Led him forwards and jogged him back down the track inhand back to the yard. Not the most pleasant of experiences looking down a 40 acre field of banks!

 

[LaurenBay]

I think it has a lot to do with the riders confidence. If the rider is very confident the Horse will pick up on that. If their nervous they will pick up on that too. I do lots of groundwork with mine so she is used to me on the floor, when she was recovering from an injury I inhand hacked her for 3 months. So she is very used to it and I am always confident and relaxed. I hope one day I can be just as confident on board.