Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

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PaulaO
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Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby PaulaO » Mon Feb 20, 2023 2:14 am

Some red head has decided to forget her training. She will stand at the mounting block no problem until I start mounting. She walks away while my right leg isn’t in the stirrup. She’s very calm about. Sometimes I can stop before it progresses but sometimes I have to do the flying hunter mount. Last week my right leg got hung up on the cantle. Fortunately there were other people around to stop her and to dislodge my leg. The bruising is epic.

She’s fine if someone stands at her head while mounting but I can’t rely on someone being there, or being willing to help.

How do I fix this hole in her training?

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby heddylamar » Mon Feb 20, 2023 4:11 am

How are you asking her to stand? One of the things I do with youngsters (and walk-awayers, and all unfamiliar horses) is have a loose outside rein, and tight inside rein with the intention of forcing them to circle around me v. moving off.

My redheaded mare, Maia occasionally has a month or so of "I'm done here," and doesn't want to stand at the mounting block. So I make her stand longer. First I just stand on the ground. Then I step up on the block, and stand. When she moves off, I move her back, and then stand again. Eventually, I pull her nose around to my knee, and get on. Normally she's given up by then, but if she hasn't, we just stumble over the mounting block.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby exvet » Mon Feb 20, 2023 1:08 pm

This is a pet peeve of mine. I will remount a horse who even tries to walk off making sure they stand through the entire process. It's just too dangerous to accept anything else as you've noted. I continue to work on my balance and strength when off the horse so that I can mount while holding the reins in my left hand in such a way that they're not too taught but the moment my horse demonstrates the momentum to move forward I can halt them while swinging my leg over should they meditate a different direction. I will then dismount and remount to get the point across. Mine are all very good about standing for ME to mount. I have one who will try to take advantage if anyone else mounts them and they aren't prepared to be demanding like I am. If I have them insist on the horse (Ace) to stand still while mounting then he's absolutely fine. This is also a reason why I'm always the last one to mount when we trail ride. It doesn't matter who I am on and if the other horses are already leaving the yard. Whomever I'm mounting knows that they will stand still until I settle in the saddle and tell them they can move forward (sometimes it's then an exuberant forward to catch up with herd mates but that's actually rare now).

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby Chisamba » Mon Feb 20, 2023 4:17 pm

Two things to consider. Are you pushing her away when you step into the left stirrup. Once I step into the left stirrup I immediately remove all weight from my right. I will then if need be halt the horse . Back the horse up. Dismount remount. But I never stand with one foot on the mounting block and one foot in the stirrup. Well if I'm training a horse I do but I do not have weight in the stirrup foot.

I will mount and dismount 4 or five times until the horse stands patiently.

I actually took a video of me mounting a client horse because she was commodities that he always walks away from the block. Here you go. https://youtube.com/shorts/WLqQ07AziPA?feature=share

Possibly not helpful but how I mount.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby piedmontfields » Mon Feb 20, 2023 5:33 pm

Paula, usually with a trained horse this is pretty quick to resolve by insisting on perfection and repetition. Also, set them up for success with your positioning and theirs. I mount similarly to Chiasamba, with a tall block. I expect my horse not to move during mounting.

Most of the eventers around me do the flying mount (they are young)----I think it's an easy way to get hurt.

While I understand the circle approach, HL, I have used to opposite, too---to make sure the horse's body comes underneath me if they move. That's more useful in an open environment.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby Sue B » Mon Feb 20, 2023 11:20 pm

Great advice above. I will add that, I always make sure my horse is standing square before I mount. Mush less temptation to move off if feet are in their corners where they belong.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby Dapple Field » Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:06 am

My mare is a saint about standing when I'm mounting or dismounting which is GOOD as I'm now 74 and can't just swing up quickly. The motivation to her heart is a treat. Once I'm up she waits for her treat, one on each side. The same dismounting. No matter how long it takes me she just stands there till I'm on the ground and she gets her treat. She has her moments under saddle :) but is as reliable as can be mounting and dismounting. Husbands horse is the same. Waits for his treat .

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby Moutaineer » Tue Feb 21, 2023 5:31 pm

Yes, I treat-trained Walker to stand still at the mounting block. To the point that he absolutely wasn't going anywhere for anyone until he got that treat!

One is so vulnerable getting on and off that I think this a really essential bit of training that you have to be insistent about. I've had to instil into the young and athletic man who rides Potters that there can be no sloppiness about this.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby blob » Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:34 pm

a lot of good advice here. I know a lot of people who have treat-trained around the mounting block. But I am not a fan of using treats. I don't like teaching my horses to expect treats for any basic thing. What if I need to mount up and don't have a treat?

Like others above, I do insist on good mounting block behavior, I will mount multiple times to make a point. I do also sometimes do a half mount--where I will put one foot in the stirrup or lean across without any intention of actually mounting the way you would with a young horse when first starting them.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby PaulaO » Wed Feb 22, 2023 12:19 am

Today I worked with an instructor at the barn.  We worked on Ariel’s issues and by the sixth time of me mounting from the mounting block, she was very good and still. I’m sure it will be a work in progress but I’m happy with how far we came. I needed somebody to teach us.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby PaulaO » Wed Feb 22, 2023 2:35 pm

Summary of lesson. E. is the instructor who helped.

She walked away the first time I mounted. E. then got on her. She rooted and got a pop from the bit. She started walking away and E. made her back up and stand. Then I mounted and dismounted 6 times and she was almost perfect. She got a treat once I was mounted and she was still. No treat if she moved. If she moved, she had to back up. If she wasn’t in the proper position at the mounting block, I circled her by hand until she lined up exactly where I wanted her. We have some finishing touches to work on but I’m happy with the progress.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby chantal » Tue Feb 28, 2023 4:14 pm

exvet wrote:This is a pet peeve of mine. I will remount a horse who even tries to walk off making sure they stand through the entire process. It's just too dangerous to accept anything else as you've noted. I continue to work on my balance and strength when off the horse so that I can mount while holding the reins in my left hand in such a way that they're not too taught but the moment my horse demonstrates the momentum to move forward I can halt them while swinging my leg over should they meditate a different direction. I will then dismount and remount to get the point across. Mine are all very good about standing for ME to mount. I have one who will try to take advantage if anyone else mounts them and they aren't prepared to be demanding like I am. If I have them insist on the horse (Ace) to stand still while mounting then he's absolutely fine. This is also a reason why I'm always the last one to mount when we trail ride. It doesn't matter who I am on and if the other horses are already leaving the yard. Whomever I'm mounting knows that they will stand still until I settle in the saddle and tell them they can move forward (sometimes it's then an exuberant forward to catch up with herd mates but that's actually rare now).


All of this. Very much a pet peeve of mine. Too dangerous imo for them not to stand all the time.

I do the same thing, if the horse walks off, i dismount and remount until they stand.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby MsM » Tue Feb 28, 2023 5:12 pm

I have always insisted on standing still. It has rewarded me now that I am old and my leg sometimes has trouble getting over the cantle!

With current horse we have a tall mounting block. Once I convinced him that he didnt need to climb it (pervious "liberty" training!) I taught him to line up and stand. During the learning process the block was positioned so that he faced a wall to reduce temptation. Once on, he must stand until I pat his neck. I have found this release cue very helpful. I have used treats but dont need them now.

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby texsuze » Tue Feb 28, 2023 6:25 pm

All good points and perspectives above. I was lucky with my heart horse--he had excellent ground manners. Once in the saddle, I'd sometimes take a deep breath and sit there with loose reins, to reinforce a 'please don't anticipate' mindset at the mounting block. Maybe I'd like to sit here for a minute, maybe we'll walk off soon as I gather the reins, maybe I'll just get off and remount--my point being, the decision was mine and my guy needed to stand in place until I would say "OK", which was my cue. With him--under various circumstances-- I could stand on a log, an overturned bucket, the slope of a hill (many times) or flat ground to mount!

With other horses any remedial work was very similar to most folks here, albeit with no treats involved. I've also placed a landscape log or long 2x4 parallel to the "horse lane". If horse jigged it was cumbersome to step over/on the log and served as a wake up of sorts.

Something else to consider, although it might not apply to your situation in general. You may someday need to dismount somewhere then remount, no mounting block in sight. Once Miss A 'gets with the program', you could think about practicing mounting at a different location, with your instructor standing by. Glad your mounting sessions are now going well!

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Re: Walking away from mounting block with one leg not in stirrup

Postby PaulaO » Mon Mar 06, 2023 1:13 am

Update. Yesterday was the first day I’ve ridden since our training session with E. Miss A stood at the mounting block but walked off before my butt was in the saddle. We did a bit of backing and turning, then I dismounted and went back to the mounting block. Bingo. She was good as gold. She knows, she just needs reminders. Constantly.


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