Walking off when mounting

autumn rain · Foal

Walking off when mounting

Figarocubed · Advanced

First of all, I hope you were only using a turn of phrase when you wrote "when my butt hits the saddle"! Always sit down softly -- "plopping" down into the saddle could be causing the problem. Pulling oneself up into the saddle from the ground causes horses a lot of discomfort, too. Not saying you do that, just mentioning it. Walking off while being mounted is a common problem.

Here's what I did with my gelding. I use him occasionally for my Para student so he HAD to stand quietly while she mounted from her electric scooter. I ALWAYS use a mounting block, as Figgy's tall, I'm short (and getting shorter as time goes by!) and it's much, MUCH easier on the horse's back using a mounting block. He had a back injury severe enough to end his jumping career when I bought him as a dressage prospect -- so his back health is important to me. anyway, I'm glad to read that you do use one. If it's a two-step block, you might need a three-step to ease mounting.

To get Figaro to stand quietly for mounting, I started by feeding him small treats while standing by the mounting block. So standing by the block is a pleasant thing. I'd feed a treat, then mount while he's chewing, then giving him another treat from the saddle IF he stands still.

He's learned this routine so well, he WILL NOT move till he's gotten his treat! Some may say this is overkill, but I absolutely CANNOT have him shifting about while my Para is mounting. It's a small price to pay for a horse that's quiet to mount.

You might need a friend to stand at your mare's head, feeding her treats, till she gets the idea. Stand still = treats.

If you have no one who can help you, try these variations:

1. Mount her while facing into a corner of the arena, or towards a wall.
2. If she tries to take off with you, dismount immediately and back her up a few steps. Remount, If she takes off, dismount and back again a few steps. Repeat as necessary.
3. If she takes off BEFORE you're in the saddle, start by simply stepping into the stirrup and rewarding her when and if she stand still for that. As she changes her behavior, then you can proceed.
4. Have sufficient contact with the reins that you can establish control quickly if you need it. The "out-of-control laps" sound scary to me!

WHEN she DOES stand still, praise her to the skies and give her a treat! Make it pleasant to start slow!

autumn rain · Foal

Thanks for the suggestions, Figarocubed; I agree, poor choice of words (hit the saddle!); I know enough to sit down gently (hahaha); I'll try facing her into a corner and am not adverse to using treats to tackle this problem; you're right that the laps are not very pleasant, so I'll try mounting and remounting, using the treats, as needed. Thanks, again.

Barnmice Media · Well Schooled

Hi Autumn Rain!

This is a great question, I think a lot of people go through this situation at one time or another with a horse (young horse, school horse etc.). Figarocubed has some great advice, let us know how it works out for you and your horse! aww

knitty · Yearling

Hello,

These are just habits that need to be formed. My horse was very impatient at the box when I first got him. My coach taught me to just sit and passively wait until my horse waited for an aid from me. If he moved off I was to gently ask him to stop and go back to passive in my body until he stopped and waited too. The reward is going forward and walking away from the box.

This was not an easy task at the beginning but perseverance pays off. Reward the smallest of efforts.

If you are consistent you will see that over time your horse will go from waiting for a few seconds to waiting indefinitely for your aid to see what comes next.

Relaxation needs to start the minute you start working with a horse. If that is your expectation you will over time find yourself with a safe and willing partner.

Good luck!

MagsNMe · Advanced

My Maggie Mae used to occassionally walk off while I was in the air, never bothered me, but she did know how to stand when she was supposed to. My 'Loaner' horse was quite bad at the block, so out came the sugar. I think it was about a week before she stood perfectly. I didn't feed her while she was standing there, I went straight to insisting she stood still when I got on, when I was on, she got sugar. If she moved, she got backed up and repositioned. Doesnt take them long to figure it out!

Marlene · Advanced

My horse used to do this when I first got him. There were a number of issues going on, so making sure saddle fits (discomfort may make them walk on mounting). He just didn't like the mounting block, so you can train them with treats as mentioned, but I wanted a quicker fix and just started mounting from the ground, and he didn't walk off (go figure because theoretically the block makes it more comfy, but maybe I was just better at mounting from the ground). Also just while saddling, I treated if he stood still, because he would walk off on anything to do with saddling, so a bad habit perhaps from uncomfortable saddles in his history. I also made saddling as comfy as possible, slow girthing, and treat if he stood still. Gradually he just learned it wasn't going to be a bad process. If he does stand momentarily or until my signal on mounting, then he gets a little reward there too. You can gradually phase out the carrot treats if you don't like using them, but I do think they speed the learning process. He just acts more cooperative if he thinks I might be in a generous mood.

My goal is always to get him to accept whatever I am doing while he is at liberty (since he didn't tie either originally). so we have mostly accomplished that, I don't tie him for anything and rarely need even a halter and lead, including for hoof trimming and saddling. so lots of progress from flighty, nippy, PIA he used to be.

-- Edited by Marlene on Saturday 26th of January 2013 01:21:24 PM

barnfrog · Advanced

What figaro said is great. But i do not do treats. In addition to having the reins adjusted (contact) before mounting and facing the wall, only get on as far as the horse will stand. ie start to get on (partially get on), dismount BEFORE horse moves. And STAND after mounting for some time. This IS "Job ONE" with EVERY horse. Go no further (literally and figuratively) if this is not in order. And you can put the horse between the wall and the mounting block. Horses really have no likes/dislikes, it is merely what we allow or ignore.