Getting horse to stand still

[Shadowfox]

Hello, I am leasing a 16.3 horse who hasn't been ridden for awhile and he has some problems I'm trying to work out. First, he moves his butt away when I get on. How can I correct this? I wedge him between a wall and the mounting block so his butt bumps the wall and then he stands still, but I want him to stand still in the middle of the arena too. Should I use a crop on his far side to keep him from moving?

[ANDY]

Hi Shadow fox

I dont know if this is the same problem that you are having but when I tried to mount my horse he use to move his butt away almost as if he was going do a left turn in a circle away from me.

I found if I held the offside rein shorter and applied slight pressure as if I was trying to make him turn to the right he wouldnt move away when I mounted. I feel he was doing this to try me out but after a while he knew it wasnt working and now he is ok.
Regards ANDY

[Kerry's Partner!!]

My horse responded better to me keep turning her back round to the mounting block. In other words when her antics did not result in me having to reorganise myself but when she learned that I was definitely going to get on - in an orderly manner. She gives up her games after about the second time around. If you shorten the outside rein and your horse moves it will move away from you. Mounting I think should be comfortable for both of you so I myself wouldn't go for an answer which shortens the rein (inside) rein so far as to cause discomfort. Hope this helps.

[Shadowfox]

I should also mention that he's blind in his left eye. But his owner mounts on the left side of him just like other horses. He walks in a circle around the mounting block. He stands still after I wedge him into the wall and after a few tries but I look like a big bumbling idiot hopping around on the block.

Another thing, he drops his head to the ground when I trot him which pulls the reins away from me. I usually ride western so I wouldn't mind this with long reins but it's annoying with those short english reins. I pull him up and seesaw the reins but it doesn't help. Does he just need more time with me? He's 13 and wasn't ridden for 6months before I got him.

[Katie_85]

You don't want to seesaw on the reins, this pulls on the horse's mouth. Opening and closing fingers yes. I'm not sure which you meant, it's hard to get the point across on a message board!:rolleyes: :)

[ANDY]

Just relized what i wrote may not have been too clear.

When I tried to mount Andy he would move his but to the right and his head to the left as if he was going to make a tight left hand circle

When I said shorten the rein I meant just enough so that when he tried to move his head to the left there was no give in the rein.

Of course if you apply too much pressure he will turn to the right but as I said the trick it to use very light pressure and just enough to stop him turning to the left.

This method worked for me and once he realised I was going to mount him no matter what he was okay.

Another theory I was told to try was when he moved to the left just walk in a circle and make him stand where you want to mount even if it is repeated several times just keep doing it until he gets bored with it.

Regards ANDY

[Maci]

If you're mounting him on his left side, and his left eye is blind, he's probably swinging his butt away, because he's not sure what's happening, and he wants to see. He's probably used to and 100% trusts his owner, which is why she/he can mount him easier. He just needs to become more comfortable around you, and know that when you plan to mount him, he can trust you, and know that you won't hurt him. Praise, patience and time (bonding) helps.

Like Katie_85 said, you don't seesaw the reins, which is probably why he is trying to pull away from your hand- he is trying to protect his mouth. Make sure you ride him with a light contact, and you're using more leg and seat than hand. Hands are there to guide them not pull them.

Good Luck Shadowfox!
Maci :)

[Wally]

Some horses feel restricted by rein pressure and they get a bit panicky. We try to train ours to be mounted with a loose rein, baggy and slack.

Giving a scatter of nuts in a bucket can help, Just a handfull of grain or something thrown into the bottom of a bucket can help. Make it smaller bits each time, and a reward while mounted for the first few attempts if they stand still can help.

[msp]

Its probably heresy, but have you considered just trying mounting from the right where he can see you? After all the mounting on the left thing is just so you don't get tangled up with your sword, and I doubt you carry one anyway:)

Of course, only do this if the horse is comfortable with it. Take it slow because he will be used to people mounting from the left, but he may be happier if a less known person mounts from where he can see them.

Good Luck

[FRED]

Hello Shadowfox, where I ride the horses understand the command "stand",so they can be asked "stand!" said firmly,but not shouting.This is also very usefull when dismounting.
Maybe you could teach your horse to understand the command "stand!" by asking and rewarding his behaviour,it may take a while,but could do the trick with patience and a gentle approach so that things don't turn into a battle of will.
Communication.
You will find horse that respond to this make life so much easier,like when doing other tasks such as adjusting your stirrups or tightening the girth strap.

Best wishes from Fred.

[floppy]

how about trying to mount him from the right instead? - just a thought.

as for head pulling down whilst trotting..
the horse i part lease did this too, (i also ride her western)
There are 2 ways i resolved this

1- i rode out with a whip and taped her on the shoulder every time she dropped her head! and at the same time bought her head up.

2- rode her more forwards and pulled her head up- same as above but without the whip :D

She rarely does it now...but i ride out with a whip anyway because she is so sluggish and just incase i need to get her fat bum moving quicker. So if she does pull down i tap her with the whip and urge her on with my legs and i usually say somethign to her too as im correcting her pulled down head...but i cant think what it is that i say :rolleyes: ..just make sure it doesnt sound like the voice command you give your horse to stop. (if you give one)
Anyway, now my horse trots with ears and head perked forward :)

[Shadowfox]

His owner actually has the same problem, but it doesn't bother her. The trouble with him is that he gets away with everything because young kids with little experience bring him in. He'll walk all over you, move away from the saddle, the bridle, the brush, the farrier, and he backs up when he's annoyed at you. I now lead him on a chain (which he respects a great deal) and carry a crop.
I'm also working on getting him to canter without him a. running into the wall (on purpose!) and b. having to hit him six times with the crop. He just needs some tough love :)

I was voted to hold him for the farrier because he doesn't tie and we had to put a chain around him because he kept moving away from the farrier and trying to bite him. After one yank he stood rock still.

I just need to be more aggresive with getting him to do what I want. after the initial beating ;) with the crop to canter he canters on a leg cue after that, methinks he'll get better with time.

[floppy]

i hear you on this subject :)
I also had problems with getting 'my' horse to canter from leg cues..but after a lot of trial and error she now does it perfectly, and not only from trot but from walk to! i have now found a crop that works on her...and i have tried 6 different ones, and the one i use now is the only one that gets her moving her fat bum!
the next mission is to get her to canter for longer stretches, she still brings her head down when she wants to slow down!
I also foudn that western style spurs work wonders on her but i only use them in lessons as she is really a horse for the owners children but they are still too smalla dn young to ride her properly!

[Kathrin]

I am bemused by references to tough love and beatings on the bum to induce a leg response to canter.

Perhaps a bit of lungeing, a touch of Parelli and being a bit lighter with the crop would be of benefit. Your horse should respond to your leg because he trusts you, is well trained by you and has a desire to work with you.

Not because you paddle his arse with a crop to paper over failings in his elementary training or your own riding skills.

[floppy]

well, what can i say?
'my' horse is used for driving, she is a heavy haflinger, and i dont just sit there beating her up with my whip to get her moving (she hoenstly really does have a fat bum!) , i also hate having to justify what i mean by tapping with the whip. And that as soon as someone mentions the use of a whip people automatically think you are beating the horse up.:( :(

Because my horse is used for coach driving she was trained NOT to break into canter at any point, so it has taken alot of work from both me and the owner to get her to canter from the leg aids because she purely didnt understand what was being ask of her. - its not a question of me maybe being inexpereinced I may not know the answers to everything, but that doesnt make me inexperienced! She will actually, canter from just a voice command now!

I ask her to do something and if she doesnt repsonds after i have asked her a few times i back up my legs with my whip. I have tried different whips only because most of them functioned only if you were to give a hard whack with them and being a person that would rather ride without i would prefer to use a whip that actually works and gets the message through with a small tap !

I ride her rarely with spurs because she is a horse that is ridden by small children the idea is to get her going without the use of spurs and preferably without a whip. (yes, i do have control over my legs to be able to ride with spurs)

As for the tap on the shoulder when the horse drops it head, I woudl rather inforce somethign with a light tap of a whip than to yank the horse unnecessarily by the mouth. If she tries to drop her head a small tap is all it takes to get her head back up.

the only form of lunging i can do with her is long reining, but I only do it with the owner so we can both see how she is doing etc. but the owner is a very busy person. The horse wont go on a single lunge line.

Parelli, i have never considered doing this with this horse because she responds to my voice, she follows me like a lamb and trusts me - Just last week we had discovered that a bridge we usually ride over has been covered in copper and with the sun shining on it it makes it really bright and glary, I went riding with a friend and i was riding the owners other haflinger and my friend was riding the one i lease and she would not walk over the bridge, no matter what my friend did to encourage her she would not budge, i dismounted, swoped horses and got on my anika and asked her to walk on, she hesitated, but went over the bridge contiously looking from side to side, alarmed at the brightness but she went over for me! She absolutely refused to go over for my friend. :):)
Sorry this is a long reply, I hope i havent offended anyone because it really wasnt the intention. :)

[Shadowfox]

I don't mean to imply that I beat him on a regular basis as a substitute for lighter aids. He is capable of feeling my very light leg on his side. I know this because he will twitch his ears and bring his head around to the outside wall (he's come within inches of smashing his head into it) He'll then crow hop and dive toward the inside of the ring. After the initial wacking (a light tap will start it all over), frustrated yells, people scattering out of the way, getting him against the wall, he'll canter beautifully.

If I ask for the canter again in the same day he'll do it after the slightest leg pressure. He is very used to getting his way with people because he is so big and people let him do whatever he wants. After I tell him that he needs to stop acting like a jerk he is the most perfectly behaved horse. I think he uses the ducking into the wall and bucking as a way to scare people off of him.

[Shadowfox]

I am working on mounting him following my trainers advice. I will put my foot up, when he moves, I will tug on the right rein and hit him in the chest with the crop (he will always walk right through a light tap). Only then will he stand still. I have tried lungeing him, backing him, praising him when I get on, and feeding him. He tests you every single time you get on, and every single time you lead him.

Does anyone else have a horse like this? Do they eventually stop testing you every second of the day? He has done this for three years with his owner. Only she doesn't have to hit him with the crop to make him stand, she justs pulls the right rein (i'm depressed that this is as far as she's gotten)