A WAY TO GET YOU HORSE TO STAND SO YOU CAN GET ON...And Why

One of the most important skills you can teach your horse is to have your horse stand while you mount. If the horse moves off as you swing over, not only is it hazardous in that moment, but it is one small step away from having your horse willing to run away with you. I think that a horse who won't stand, is capable of believing that it is desirable, or even mandatory, to move off when you are not centered or if you are "unbalanced" above him. If this is true when you are getting on, why wouldn't it be true at a dead run. This is hardly a good thing, especially if you are going fast and in danger of falling off. We've all heard stories about people's horses who get the heck outta Dodge, or even kick out, after a rider falls. I think that having the horse stand while you mount EVERY TIME, goes a long way to make him a safer horse when things get a little sticky.

BEFORE TEACHING HIM TO STAND

If a horse won't stand while you mount him, the first and most effective strategy you can employ is to find the root cause for why he doesn't stand. It is critical to eliminate back pain or flawed saddle fit. Then it is important to check yourself and determine if your approach causes the horse to feel the need to walk off as you mount. Ask yourself if the horse is standing square and he is prepared for your weight. Physically, do you "plop" down into the saddle, or do you settle softly onto the back of the horse? Mentally, do you plan on having the horse stand, or are you worried that he will walk off. If so, the horse will feel your intention of focusing on the very behavior you want to eliminate. Meter your thoughts and intentions accordingly. These issues must be accounted for before attempting to change the horse's behavior, or your training will not last.

Assuming that back pain or saddle fit is not the issue, if you are quiet, and focused and gentle and consistent, often it is simply a matter of the horse not knowing or not understanding your desire for him or her to stand. That is easy to fix.

But first, it is important to have a consistent method for mounting any horse; a method with comfort and safety foremost.

MOUNTING WITH THE HORSES COMFORT AND YOUR SAFETY IN MIND

There are a few things that I keep in mind when mounting a horse, regardless of whether I am riding western or english. These things are:

[] How do I stay out of range of his back feet if the horse has reason to cow-kick?

[] Where will the horse go if he has to move while I am mounting?

[] How do I know when it is safe to swing my leg over?

The answers to these questions are covered in:

ONE POSSIBLE METHOD FOR MOUNTING

This is the way I get on a horse, and it is by no means the only way. It is just what I have found to work for me. Please feel free to use all or part of it as you see fit.

[] Once the horse is standing, and the saddle is properly placed and cinched or girthed up, you stand next to the horse's shoulder, looking backwards, as though looking behind him. (This automatically puts you out of range of his back feet.)

[] Pick up the stirrup and rotate it 180 degrees, so the stirrup will be in the proper orientation once you are up. (Remember, you are facing backwards to start)

[] Take the slack out of the rein nearest you, tipping the horse's head slightly towards you. (With his head is tipped towards you, if he moves, he is likely to move his hindquarters away from you. If he stepped away from you and you fell down, you'd have the horse facing you, possibly with a quizzical expression upon his face. Conversely, if the horse stepped into you, you could end up under him if you lost your balance. Having the horse step away is the lesser of two evils.)

[] Lift and place the ball of your foot in the stirrup. While holding the slack out of the rein nearest you, grasp a handful of mane and the pommel [or horn] of the saddle. (Some folks grab the cantle of the saddle, but then they have to move their hand when they want to swing their leg over. I'd prefer to have both hands in contact at all times when I am mounting.)

[] Bend your knees and smoothly spring up, balancing your body across the back of the horse, with just one foot still in the stirrup. (Push! Don't pull! Think in terms of springing off your legs and pushing with your arms, in one fluid motion. Also be very careful that you don't inadvertently kick your horse with your stirrup foot as you rise. He's have every right to walk off if you did.)

[] Once up in one stirrup, reach across and pet the horse's neck opposite the side you are mounting. (This is the first time the horse will have seen you with his second eye. Stopping to stroke the horse's neck at this point will tell you how prepared the horse is to see your leg swinging over. If your hand in his opposite eye doesn't trouble him, then it is probably safe for you to swing over. I consider this the equivalent to asking the horse's permission to finish getting aboard.)

[] Finally, sit down gracefully and smoothly, allowing your "swinging" foot to find the stirrup immediately, so you are ready to ride the moment your seat touches the saddle. Breathe and collect your thoughts. Choose a direction and ride.

Well, that is all peachy keen if your horse will stand, but what if he won't? I have two favorite strategies that I use, which I have had success with, to get a horse to stand. I would encourage you to experiment with either or both, depending on you, your horse, or your situation.

Strategy #1) STANDING WHILE DISMOUNTING

If you have horse that has a hard time understanding your desire for him to stand to let you mount him, try going about it backwards. Teach him to stand while you dismount???and then remount.

To begin, go ahead and get on with the assistance of a helper (for safety) and go out and have a good ride. (This assumes your horse is ride-able.)

[] Stop and stand after the horse has worked a bit, while he has a real interest in stopping to rest.

[] While he is standing there enjoying this quiet time, swing your leg over (as though to get off) and stand briefly in one stirrup, with your weight balanced over the center of the saddle. Get back on before the horse moves, and make much of your horse, praising him for standing while you???started to get off, but didn't. Do this a few times, making sure to stay centered over the middle of the saddle so the horse doesn't feel the need to have to take a step to catch him-self at this stage of the game.

[] Once this part is solid, and you know that the horse is not likely to move, swing your leg over yet again, but this time bend the knee of your leg in the stirrup, as though you were preparing to step down. But don't step down! Go only halfway down and get right back on again. Assuming that the horse stood for you, praise him or simply be peaceful. (Often a horse will welcome peace and quiet as much, or even more than lavish praise). If he does step forward or backwards, just halt him and go back to the earlier exercise, where he did stand. Get that earlier part even more solid before proceeding.

[] Next, do a "touch and go." Swing your leg over, touch one foot to the ground, and then get right back on.

[] When the "touch and go" is good, get all the way down with both feet and get right back on again. Be prepared to do this entire routine from both sides. Having access to the horse from both sides has lots of hidden benefits for both you and the horse.

[] Finally, the advanced version of this exercise would be to swing your leg over while the horse is walking. Stay centered over the saddle until the horse stops. Then get right back on and rest for a moment. Walk off and repeat. Expect the horse to treat this motion as a "whoa" request.

The horse will eventually learn to stop at any gait, when you prepare to get off, or in the unlikely event of an unplanned dirt landing. Often, a couple sessions of standing while dismounting is enough to make it clear to the horse that you'd like him to stand for the mounting as well.

Strategy #2) PERSISTENCE

Another way to get a horse to stand is to be persistent and consistent in your requests.

[] Line up the horse next to a mounting block and praise him for simply standing at the block. For this exercise, I work from a mounting block in order to target me to one spot.

[] Step down from the block and back up again. If the horse moves forward while you are stepping onto and off of the block, simply and softly back him into place. If he backs up, bring him forward.

[] Do not circle him because he will think that you want him to circle when you go to mount. That is NOT the objective of this lesson. Treat every back up or move forward by the horse as another opportunity for you to ask him to stand at the block. Patience is paramount here.

[] When he will stand for you as you move on and off the mounting block, lift one foot and put it briefly in and out of the stirrup. Lift your foot up and down smoothly, and breathe while you are doing it, but lift the foot with authority and expect the horse to stand. Praise him for standing or simply move him back if he moves off and try again.

[] Once that is good, you might try bouncing halfway up and back to the block. Praise the horse.

[] Go all the way up to balancing in one stirrup and back down. Praise the horse.

[] When you feel that the horse is ready, swing you leg over and settle softly onto his back. If he needs to leave at that point, you might let him or you might ask him to stop. Experience will tell you which is right for that situation. Either way, it is important that he is stopped when you get off, unless of course you have trained him to stop when you dismount, using strategy #1.

Common questions:

Q: How do I get the horse prepared with his feet squared?

A: When the horse is in position, gently pull the withers toward you, then push them away, then back toward you, inviting the horse to shift his front feet and brace up a bit. This is about the only time you'd want a horse to brace or stiffen. If he steps off, move him back and push on his withers again until he is square. Praise him.

Q: What do I do if my horse reaches around and tries to bite me when I go to get on?

A: I'd go back to checking saddle fit or look for evidence of past or present back pain. That needs to be resolved before you have a shot at changing his opinion about mounting. If the biting ends up being the residual effect of a past experience and the root cause of the biting has been resolved, there are a number of things that can help the horse through biting issues, but that is a subject for another article.

Q: What do I do if the horse moves when I am up, but my leg is not over? Do I just jump down?

A: You'd always want to set the horse up to succeed. You do that, first of all, by mounting correctly, and then by dismounting correctly as well. If you are up in one stirrup and the horse starts to move, invite his head around towards your leg, which will tend to allow his hindquarters to move the opposite direction. The horse will generally only move a few steps sideways before stopping. Then you can dismount "or" finish getting on, depending on what fits you and the horse best in that moment. The key is to always dismount or mount when the horse is still. That should be consistent.

It seems to me that mounting and dismounting is literally and figuratively the link between a horse and riders mounted skills and ground manners. I had a good friend, who is an extremely accomplished horsewoman; tell me that from the moment she goes near a horse, every thing she does is with the intention of building her ride.

Never underestimate the power and importance of the little things that you do on the ground. The horse learns from EVERYTHING that we do when we are in their presence, especially when we go to get on for a ride. And for many of us, that why we go the horse in the first place, so we may as well make it the best ride possible.

Rik Larsen
Claybank Stables
Marshfield, MA