Stay on or dismount...

Hi all,
this issue appears to be quite the popular and debated issue over several forums. I personally believe that remaining on board, where possible, is the best and safest option. dismounting could encourage bad habits and put the rider in unnecessary danger of being overpowered at ground level.
 
Jenna1406 said:
TBH - its up to how you feel but never think that dismounting means the horse has beaten you, never true! :)
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Tinypony said:
I really don't agree with this idea that horses are being clever and winning when in fact they are just scared or worried about something. Just do whatever works for that individual horse to help them through and they'll get better. For a hacking horse, it's about miles on the clock and gradual exposure to new experiences. You can't avoid outfacing them sometimes, but you just need to have your safe strategy to deal with it. I agree that the rider needs to be confident about being able to deal with the horse, but really don't think that means that the rider has to stay mounted to meet that criteria.
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^^^ my sentiments entirely, on both counts :)
 
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I generally stay on board. That said, one of mine used to come off the floor off all 4 feet, not put any down, body slam itself into the ground, then roll over the top of you. By hoping off before the temper tantrum started, leading her for a couple of minutes, then hoping back on, I managed to get her out of it. My instincts had always been to stay on board and belt it for messing around, but this is not always the most sensible option, either short or long term. These days, I can generally ride her through any issues, and she is pretty bombroof onher own, it was always company that was the problem. Her first time out on a racecourse, I had the clerk of the course bellowing at me to get off it, as it was trying to take out the entire running rail whilst flinging itself on the floor then back into the air!
My partner has 2 horses he gets off. They are both much calmer with him on the ground, and both just seem to take a deep breath and relax when they see him do it. He always gets back on once they have come off their cloud.
 
I'm sorry, I don't seem to be getting what I'm trying to say across very well.
I'm not saying never get off, there are times when it is the only course of action, and I have done
It my self on occasion. What I mean is if a rider is worried by a horse arguing, jogging and being strong or napping that they have to get off, and it is happening on a regar basis something is wrong and will only get worse.
If horse or rider is lacking in confidence I would think going out with confident groups, gaining confidence by taking the lead now and then past scary stuff with other horses and people around will slowly improve the situation.
I am aware it's not always roads that problems happen, and off road is the best place start to deal with the issue, away from traffic. Unfortunately I see all to often nervous riders on unsteady horses out alone getting in to a situation neither can deal with. So they get off and lead home. If there is confidence issues between horse and rider it is accident waiting to happen. As I said before, I know that's not always the reason, and sometimes it's just not possible to do anything else, but when the reason is about not passing bags or everyday things on a hack and the rider just accepts that getting off, possibly several times is the thing to do, I would still maintain you have the wrong rider on the wrong horse.
However I'm going to shut up now as my comments clearly aren't the ones required.
 
Personally, I stay on mine and always have done. At present, mine is ridden in a bitless Micklem and I feel I have more control on top. On the floor, I fear she could have that 'set neck, pony barge' type behaviour if worried.

My friend gets off hers as she knows he'll behave better in hand, than under saddle. Saying that, I've only known her get off once in 6 years, it's not a regular thing :)
 
Cortez said:
If I thought I couldn't ride it (i.e. had to get off), I wouldn't go out on the roads. Much easier / safer to stay on top.
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I was once riding the safest horse I've ever met. He only had one or two minor spooks in the years that I knew him. I was hacking him alone as I usually did, when suddenly he stopped and refused to go through a gateway. He had been through here hundreds of times and never once had an issue. He would not go. Nothing I did would make him go through.
I jumped off and lead him through and got back on. I made him walk back and forth a few times and he was fine. To this day I've no idea what was wrong with him, but had I not got off, I think I would have been there all night!!
I know I wasn't on the road, but had I been, I would have done the same thing. Even the best horses sometimes do odd things.
 
Ribbons, I for one see your point, yes you do see many people who give up and get off, and possibly have the wrong horse. There are a huge amount of people who are simply overhorsed, and the horse would be fine with someone else. However, emotions, as we all know often come into horse ownership, so it is never black and white. Over the years I have helped many nervous riders with their unsuitable horses, and I always try to get them to see the positive, every ride you both come back from in one piece is a good one.
 
The only time I have got off in this kind of situation was when I was younger and had a cheeky pony who was an angel to hack on roads except for a particular gateway on our route. Absolutely nothing I did while mounted could get him past! I used to dismount, lead him through and hop back on the other side. Problem solved.
However, now I am riding 16h plus, I generally feel I have more contol while mounted.
I do also think there is a big difference between a horse that is playing up because it is being naughty and a horse that is genuinely scared. A scared horse is far more dangerous while out on roads than one being a monkey and spooking at the odd drain cover (IMHO)
If a rider knows a horse well enough that they feel they have more control on the ground then this is obviously the right decision for them.
If you are dismounting because you are nervous (not because you can manage the situation better from the ground) then you should question why you put you and your horse in that situation.
 
People need to get their head around getting off is not giving up.
If you are over horsed, that's a different matter. You should not be hacking out.
If the horse is poorly trained, you should not be hacking out.
Knowing when to get off is as important as wearing a good hat.
Only an idiot will stay on when they know they should get off, the horse is well aware of how you feel.
Teaching bad habits, or 'letting them win' is anthropomophic rubbish.
It's all about confidence, yours and your horse's in you.
 
Another scenario for y'all!
I was on a friends horse, who I'd seen ridden plenty of times, but never actually ridden myself. She had a real freak out at some cows in another feild. She was doing little rears and skipping around all over the place. My friend was yelling at me to get off. NO WAY! I was not getting off that horse. I knew I could stay on, so long as she didn't really flip out (she didn't) I told my friend to keep walking her other horse, as standing around by this field was NOT helping and I'm sure the one I was on would follow. She did! Problem solved and I remained on board! In a situation like that, I would always stay on, so long as my bum was still in the saddle (unexpected dismounts don't count!)
 
Pale Rider said:
People need to get their head around getting off is not giving up.
If you are over horsed, that's a different matter. You should not be hacking out.
If the horse is poorly trained, you should not be hacking out.
Knowing when to get off is as important as wearing a good hat.
Only an idiot will stay on when they know they should get off, the horse is well aware of how you feel.
Teaching bad habits, or 'letting them win' is anthropomophic rubbish.
It's all about confidence, yours and your horse's in you.
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Totally agree with you here. :)
 
Current horse I would definitely stay on board as he is too strong for me to hang on to on the ground if he freaked.

I did lead my old mare past something once but that was after we both ended up on the floor in the middle of the road! I decided to lead her past the offending vehicle (large cement lorry in a very narrow lane with high banks) before remounting.
 
I am not saying I jump off every 5 minutes. She has napped before, she has spun, she has planted, she has spooked, she has bucked. Each one I stayed on for as I didn't feel she was putting us or anyone else is any danger. However the situation I have explained already was completly different. She was kicking cars, she couldv'e injured herself or the driver. She was a danger to herself and anyone near her. I have never known her to do that before so couldn't prepare myself for what she was going to do. No ammount of staying in the school wouldv'e helped.

I have owned her just over a year and that is the only time I have dismounted. I got off and the sillyness stopped.
 
Pale Rider said:
People need to get their head around getting off is not giving up.
If you are over horsed, that's a different matter. You should not be hacking out.
If the horse is poorly trained, you should not be hacking out.
Knowing when to get off is as important as wearing a good hat.
Only an idiot will stay on when they know they should get off, the horse is well aware of how you feel.
Teaching bad habits, or 'letting them win' is anthropomophic rubbish.
It's all about confidence, yours and your horse's in you.
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Agreed.

Some people seem to relate confidence to being a good enough rider to stay on board. An alternative view is that confidence relates to being able to handle a horse adequately whether you are on the ground or in the saddle. Just because you choose to get off sometimes it doesn't mean you're not confident or experienced enough to venture beyond your yard gates. To me both riding and ground handling are an issue of proper training and preparation. For riding you have the right tack and training in place to be reasonably confident that you're going to be safe and there for the horse when they get worried. Ditto for being on the ground. When I get off I'm not hanging on to reins, I ride with my halter and 12ft line under the bridle, so that I can have the right equipment easily to hand to work through things on the ground if needed. If my horse gets away from me in that scenario then I can be fairly sure I'd be in dire straits if still on top.

It simply wouldn't occur to me that I'd have problems mounting up again. I put so much preparation and work into having my horses good to mount that honestly that isn't an issue. If I thought it would be, I'd fix it. If they won't stand still for my scrabbling then something's really wrong in their world and I need a re-think.

I think all this thread demonstrates is that there's no 100% answer to this question and no one answer is the right on. Or - maybe the only right answer is "it depends..." ?

p.s. I'm not saying I get off every 5 mins, but I am saying that if I was there would be a reason and I wouldn't see it as a problem. :-)
 
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Tinypony said:
Some people seem to relate confidence to being a good enough rider to stay on board. An alternative view is that confidence relates to being able to handle a horse adequately whether you are on the ground or in the saddle. Just because you choose to get off sometimes it doesn't mean you're not confident or experienced enough to venture beyond your yard gates. To me both riding and ground handling are an issue of proper training and preparation.
...........

It simply wouldn't occur to me that I'd have problems mounting up again. I put so much preparation and work into having my horses good to mount that honestly that isn't an issue. If I thought it would be, I'd fix it. If they won't stand still for my scrabbling then something's really wrong in their world and I need a re-think.

I think all this thread demonstrates is that there's no 100% answer to this question and no one answer is the right on. Or - maybe the only right answer is "it depends..." ?

p.s. I'm not saying I get off every 5 mins, but I am saying that if I was there would be a reason and I wouldn't see it as a problem. :-)
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Tinypony -
 
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