Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

standing for mounting

From: Leanne

Hi Jessica, Firstly, I would like to say thank you for providing such an excellent resource! As a new (and first time) horse owner, I am finding the information on the horse-sense list to be invaluable!

I am writing to you for some advice. I have recently bought a pinto - Danny, who is about 14 years old. Although I have had the good fortune to speak to Danny's previous owners (two in fact) who reassure me that he is a "rock", I am finding him to be quite the opposite at the moment!

For example, Danny will move off when I am trying to mount him. We end up playing a game of "try if you can", and as I am not as nimble as I used to be, simply getting into the saddle is exhausting. Could you advise me on how to solve this problem?

In addition, Danny and I have only been a team for about four weeks, and I only get the chance to ride on the weekends. I am finding each ride to be a challenge, as he has a tendency to stop at various points along a trail and decide that he has had enough! My friends have said that he is testing his new owner, to see what he can get away with. Would this be correct? I am keen for our time together to be a partnership, rather than a fight every step of the way. Any advice you can offer would be most appreciated!

Thanks

Leanne

Hi Leanne

I like your attitude -- you're right, your relationship with your horse should be a partnership. Give it time to develop, though -- the relationship doesn't automatically get transferred along with the ownership papers. It takes time for a horse to get to know and trust you, and for you to get to know and trust him.

Standing for mounting seems like a simple thing to do, but horses must be taught to do it, and there are several components to it.

First, the horse must be comfortable -- this means that the saddle shouldn't pinch, and that the rider should get on from a mounting block, to spare the saddle, the horse's back, and her own back. Some saddles "fit" just fine until the rider is in them! Check yours -- if the saddle is too tight, or it digs into the horse's shoulders because it's placed too far forward (this is VERY common), the horse will anticipate pain whenever you are ready to mount, and will want to walk away. And who can blame it!

Another comfort component is the rider's toe -- be sure that you turn it into the girth when you get on, because if you don't, you may be giving him a dig in the belly while you mount! Again, a normal horse's response to this will be to try to avoid the discomfort, and that means that he will swing away or move forward.

One very important component is whether the horse is trained to listen to the rider's leg. If your horse moves off while you are still adjusting your reins, the problem is NOT anything to do with the reins. The problem is that the horse is not trained to the leg, and is not waiting for your leg to say "Okay, GO." He's just going, on his own. Many novice riders tend to think that a horse like this needs a jerk in the mouth, but that's wrong for two reasons. Reason one is that you never, ever use the BIT to punish a horse. Reason two is that the horse is not disobeying or ignoring the bit -- what he's doing is ignoring the rider's LEGS. And he may be doing this because he has no idea that he's expected to wait around for a signal to go. You'll have to teach him!

You can use verbal commands to reinforce your aids from the saddle. If your horse is used to being longed or long-lined or free-schooled, he will know what "Whoa" and "Walk on" mean, and you will be able to teach him what your seat and leg aids mean by reinforcing them with the words.

Some horses are allowed to walk off while the rider is mounting -- racehorses in particular are not made to stand still -- and sometimes it's the third or fourth owner who needs the horse to stand, and who has to teach it to do so. But remember that you need to TEACH the horse to stand, not frighten him into temporary paralysis. You want him to stand for mounting, not just for two seconds next to your mounting block, but for as long as you like, wherever you like, including next to a fence or a rock or a fire hydrant -- anything you might need to use as a mounting block, at home or on a trail-ride. You want to be able to get on the horse, adjust your position, adjust your stirrups if need be, adjust your reins, drop them, pick them up, adjust them again, zip up your jacket, and THEN ask the horse to move off... And if you are patient and teach the horse gently, taking your time, you will get there.

The same is true when he stops to look at things on trails -- he's ignoring the leg signal that tells him "Okay, you've looked at it, now MOVE ALONG."

My suggestion is that you arrange to take a few lessons with a good instructor in your area, so that you can get a dispassionate evaluation of Danny's training and your own riding, and so that you can get some help to create the relationship and trust that you want.

There is always someone who will tell you "Punish that horse -- don't let him get away with that!" I say Don't do it. Wait and find out what he can do, what he knows, and how well you two are communicating -- don't punish him for what may be a misunderstanding.

But, you are wondering, if the horse does something I don't want it to do, or doesn't do something I do want it to do, should I punish him or not? How do I know?

Here's my checklist!

is the horse physically able to do what I'm asking?
does the horse understand what I'm asking and know the response that I want and expect?
did I ask correctly?
did I ask at the right moment, so that it was physically possible for the horse to respond appropriately?
did I stay out of the horse's way so that he could respond?
did I give him TIME to respond?

If you can say NO to any of these, or if you are less than absolutely sure of ALL of these, then it's not appropriate to punish.

If I get all the way to 6 and I'm still saying YES, then it MAY be appropriate to punish, but I probably won't because I'd rather try again, be clearer, and not set up an adversarial relationship with the horse. I never lose sight of the fact that I am, at least in theory, the educator and the "adult" in this relationship, and that punishment has no place here.

There's an enormous difference between a horse "trying to get away with something" and a horse genuinely not understanding what you are asking, either because you are unclear or because he hasn't been taught all the things that you think he already knows. And the quickest way to ruin a relationship with any horse (or a human) is to punish when punishment isn't appropriate. You're Danny's teacher now -- your job is to educate him so that he understands what you want and is able to do it when you ask. This may take some time, and some help, but the effort will be worth it in the end. Be patient, get a little help to start you off correctly, and have fun!

Jessica

Materials from Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE, The Newsletter of Holistic Horsemanship® may be distributed and copied for personal, non-commercial use provided that all authorship and copyright information, including this notice, is retained. Materials may not be republished in any form without express permission of the author.

Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE is a free, subscriber-supported electronic Q&A email newsletter which deals with all aspects of horses, their management, riding, and training. For more information, please visit www.horse-sense.org

Please visit Jessica Jahiel: Holistic Horsemanship® [www.jessicajahiel.com] for more information on Jessica Jahiel's clinics, video lessons, phone consultations, books, articles, columns, and expert witness and litigation consultant services.