I feel so incompetent...

[Sara3789]

I've had this problem my whole life, but it has just recently been shined right in my face. I'm on the shorter scale of height, and am around 2-4 stones overweight(have no clue what my ideal weight is), and am a junior rider. I have NEVER been able to mount from the ground with any sort of ease, even on 13hh ponies. I have a large horse(15hh) and mounting her from anything but a mounting stool(or something similar) is almost impossible. I always feel like such a fool when I go to pony club meetings. While all the slimmer riders are galloping around and mounting and dismounting in seconds, I have to watch from the sidelines because I've bowed out from playing the games, to spare myself the embarassment. Does anyone else have this problem, or is it only me? Any exercises to help me(without actually doing it, I don't want to break my poor horses back)?

[knockaroo]

Never let others make you feel inadiquate, remeber they all have something thier not good at have you tried making your near side stirrup longer and as you get more confident at mounting this way then gradually take it up a whole at a time. you could try strenthening your legs by going up stairs 2 at atime then stretching to 3 ,those giant balls are good fun to bounce on aswell. chin up & enjoy all the things you can do .

[No_Angel]

i cant get on my horse either, shes 16.3 and im 5ft5, i ride in a jumping saddle so my stirrups are short and i just cant get my leg up that far! mounting from a block isnt easy either as she spins around me (still thinks shes a racehorse:rolleyes: ) so i have to get a leg up, the most embaressing thing was i was at a le trec training event, my dad came to watch and gave me a leg up (hes not horsey) he chucked me up, i had one leg over the horse and then i was hanging off the other side, my head was basically by my foot on the off side of the horse and my left leg was in the air, how embaressing:o

[The Flying Irishman]

Don't feel inadequate, there are lots of us that have trouble mounting from the ground:D Trick is to enjoy what you can do and just work on the things you can't

Good Luck
Kath x

[back.in.saddle]

Yes, don't worry, I'm short and useless at mounting from the ground! And anyway, it's kinder on your horse's back to get on from a mounting block ;)

[Harvey99]

Sara3789. It's horrid when you're young to feel "different" and left out of what's going on. As far as the mounting issue goes, I have not been able to mount any horse (or pony) from the ground since about age 17 due to major spinal surgery which has left me with nerve damage in my legs and no "bounce" (I can't even spring/jump up and down on the spot lol!!), I could probably manage to swing my leg over a fallabela, or a large dog :D :D. Anyway, I used to feel a bit silly and always had to explain myself ("but he's a really small pony, you MUST be able to get on him...." etc). Now I am older I don't care, and have also sourced a "stirrup extender" to help me mount when there is no convenient fence/mounting block.
Also remember that many people feel it is so much better for the horse or pony not to have their human mount from the ground (imaging the drag/weight on their left hand side every time).
None of this helps that you can't join in the pony club games though does it? But I do hope you feel better about having mounting difficulties (loads of people do), and 15hh is a big horse to get on from the ground you know!. As far as being able to join in goes, have you thought about going to a gym and getting some professional instruction on toning up those muscles and tendons that you need in order to be able to spring up into the saddle? You don't need to be slim/tall or particularly fit, possibly just able to exercise the correct technique for mounting. Worth a go if that's what you really want to do.

Oh and just a question really. Can you join/compete at pony club level with a 15hh horse? It's just that a friend of mines daughter was told she couldn't join the pony club as her horse was too big??

[Lora]

Oh no.. don't feel that way. I use a mounting block for a few reasons. (1) I tried not doing it from the mounting block once and the b@$tard would NOT stand for me to fix my stirrup once I was on. We're fighting a behavior issue about standing still so this becomes a problem adjusting it back.

2) he's an older horse and I'm of the same thought you are, that it's easier on their backs. (you'd be amazed how many folks never think about a big ol' swing of 150 something pounds and can't figure out why their horse is STIFF or evades so badly. I weigh 120 currently but would like to get that down to 115 soon. (HAH! wishful thinking)

[Sara3789]

Thanks everyone, you made me feel so much better. :)

Can you join/compete at pony club level with a 15hh horse?
It's not an actual pony club, just a large group of riders that get together a few times a month and do pony club type stuff. Just said pony club because it's close to what we do.

[Guest]

Oh don't worry I have the shortest legs in the world and not the smallest bum.
Remember the world would be a very dull place if we looked the same.

[cloang]

This might make you feel better, my 8 year old super slim long legged daughter cannot mount her 12.1 pony from the ground:D not sure why but she will probably manage it one day:D

[eml]

I can't remember when I last mounted off the ground and need a larger mounting block each year!!

For Harvey99 Pony Club is for all. My daughter used to take her 16.3hh and he wasn't the biggest!

[Harvey99]

For Harvey99 Pony Club is for all. My daughter used to take her 16.3hh and he wasn't the biggest!

That's interesting. My friend was told her children couldn't compete/ride at a ponyclub in Norfolk on her 16hh horse. And the horse was a loan horse that has since gone back, whilst she looks for a pony her children can do ponyclub on:mad:. I will pass on the information to her..........

[Imp]

Awww, I'm a shorty too and until recently I was a tad (or two) over my ideal weight... I used to jump on from all directions as a young'un but now now as an adult (not saying how adult :p ). I watched my 16 year old daughter, 8 (ish) stone, legs as long as my entire height :rolleyes: (nothing like her mother:cool: ) trying to mount from the ground - she'll kill me if she reads this as she's a member but both me and my RI laughed our heads off as the top of her hat and her nose appeared, disappeared, appeared, disappeared over the back of the horse until then a boot, then ankle and leg managed to get a grip and she hauled herself up. I did feel for the poor horse but it wasn't her prefered method of mounting (and won't ever be now :eek: ) she was ordered to get on from the ground by her RI. I can truly see how even a lightweight like my daughter can pull on a horse/pony's back whilst mounting and fully advocate mounting from a block of some description.

It's not you, or your build, it's better for the horse or pony so don't worry about the pony club type stuff, are they riding their own ponies? I would be surprised if they treated their own like that, nobody at my yard would, we all use the block whatever we do :D

I'd go APE if somebody tried to mount my darling Megan from the ground - and I would fully expect her to go APE if I did!!!

[Scarlett 001]

I don't mount from the ground ever - have not had to do so as I ride in arena. It is better for Skeeter's back not to do unless necessary. In the end you will be helping preserve your horse's back if you don't do this. So there is a postive side to your issue. :)

[LadyYankee]

I can't mount from the ground either. the horse i ride is like 14 or so hh and i tried putting the struipps at the longest length and that didn't work. i'm a little under 5 ft and kinda overweight. like nearing 140. it's embarassing. my friend, same age, can mount from the ground onto the same horse. i hate it and know exactly how you feel. i might try the stair thing.

[ajhainey]

Don't give up! I am USELESS at mounting from the ground (and also about 4 stone overweight, it really doesn't help does it!), I don't think I've EVER managed to do it in a lesson, but today I managed to remount a 17.2hh horse while out on hack with only the aid of a 8" grass verge - there is hope for us all yet! aj xx

[nikkiandsharief]

i'm 5ft 8in and i can't get on from the ground - when my thryoid ain't playing up and i'm reasonable fit i can get on my 14.2hh

But look at it this way - you are helping your horse - your not putting excess pressure on her back :D

[stormandsummer]

Oh see your not alone, i am unable to mount from the ground, and although it may seem that everyone else can at your stables, but this thread is proof that many riders do not mount from the ground.

Think of it like this would a mounting block, stirrup extentions have been invented if there was not a need for it ;)

Try to be positive and enjoy the horses and being at the stables and riding too, i know you want to join in what seems like fun but all those poor horses/ponies having riders hopping on and off of them all the time, can't be fun for them :rolleyes:

[nikkiandsharief]

Oh see your not alone, i am unable to mount from the ground, and although it may seem that everyone else can at your stables, but this thread is proof that many riders do not mount from the ground.

Think of it like this would a mounting block, stirrup extentions have been invented if there was not a need for it ;)

Try to be positive and enjoy the horses and being at the stables and riding too, i know you want to join in what seems like fun but all those poor horses/ponies having riders hopping on and off of them all the time, can't be fun for them :rolleyes:


So so true!!

[Skib]

I am not sure if I can still mount from the ground. It is some time since i fell off. But a stirrup extender is a good idea (or letting down the near side stirrup leather.
It may be that you simply will never be able to mount from the ground (I cant dimount the normal way) but I think it is worth investigating further.
Could you ask one of your "pony group" friends to help you look at the question? Then at once you have an ally on your side.
Then analise where your difficulty is.
For instance can you get your foot in the stirrup? And if not how much lower would it need to be?
Dont strain your horse and saddle trying to mount from the ground, but perhaps stand on a lower step of the mounting block to work out the best position for you.
I can't get my elderly foot in the stirrup if I am standing alongside the girth. I have to be standing sideways on to the horse, alongside its shoulder.
The reason (I thhk) is that it is easier to lift and stretch one's leg forward and up (as when walking) than it is to lift it upwards on the verticle right close to one's body.
If you get your foot in the stirrup do you then have a problem jumping up, pushing off from your right foot?
Or are you able, holding the saddle perhaos, to get up against the horse and then have difficulty swinging your right leg over?
A good way to practise this last part is to imagine you are going to ride bare back. When one hasnt got a stirrup or saddle to help one, one gets on from a fence, and facing the head of the horse. All once has to do then is to lift one's leg over. Again you will need someone to hold your horse. But if your problem is out in the field this may be a way to find a solution?

Once you have a clear ida of which bits you find hard and which (if any you find easier, I would pretend you know nothing at all about riding and ask an experienced instructor to give you a lesson in mounting and dismounting.
If you learned to ride a long time ago when you were tiny, it is likely that you have forgotten your earliest lesson.
Whereas those of us who started riding late in life have been taught the "text book" way, and have also been shown how to adapt the rules, to make it possible for us personally in spite of our physical limitations.
It may be that you will find that in the end you could get on from the ground or a low bank or a log in an emergency (many of us discover that we can) but that isnt important.
What is important, is that you should enjoy riding and sort out the things that make it miserable for you. Mounting and dismounting are both hazardous elements in riding. They deserve to be learned seriously. And having this one small gap in your riding education, shouldnt be stopping you from playing games and having fun with your horse.
Why dont you go off and investigate further and then report back to us here?

[bsjajumper]

to be honest, i never get on my horse off the ground, my chrioparctor informed me that people who do get on off the ground are constantly twisting their horses spines! think about it, it makes sense, you mount, all your weight is on one side of the horse, and usually you will end up not getting on quite right the first time! I havent mounted off the floor for years! if anyone asks, you tell them that mounting off a mounting block, is the kindest way to get on your horse, everyone should think about their horses backs.
dont give up, sometimes the horse world can get slightly horrible, but usually people are just jealous of you. enjoy what you do and dont worry about others opinions. good luck with the riding.
x

[Wally]

A lot of riding schools etc. will not have their horses mounted from the ground, so, nothing to be ashamed of.

Who cares, anyway, how you get up there? it's what you do once you are aboard!

[Purple Hugs]

Ahh honey, I know how you feel, when I first rode, a couple of lessons in my teens and a couple of hacks. The thing that scared me was mounting.

The lessons tried getting me to jump off, pick up a bean bag and jump back on... well after a couple of these embarrassing lessons I'll be honest. I was pretty down in the mouth and my mum was glad as the money really wasn't there for my lessons.

Now, many years later, I'm 6 months into lessons - a life long dream being realised at last.

And I know now, that riding is an individual thing. We don't all need to be pony club types.
We're all different. As long as you enjoy your horsey experiences then don't feel bad.

Perhaps there is other activities you could take part in that don't involve hoping up or down.

Also, have you looked at the stirup extension on Robinsons site? it helps you mount without a block.. haven't tried it myself but it may help. ;)

Remember how positive riding is for you and that it is also keeping you fit - because believe me it is! ;)

Huge hugs, Jane x

[Est]

Just to echo what everyone else is saying, loads of people can't get on from the ground... and it often has nothing to do with height or weight. I can't mount from the ground and I'm 5'8. Just can't do it - it becomes a horrible scramble that takes about 5 minutes and is seriously embarassing if other people are around. So pony club games would be out for me too (even if I wasn't too old ;)). It's much better for the horse's back and saddle to mount using a block anyway.
Could you suggest doing other stuff together, like jumping, trec, flatwork to music, a ridden obstacle course, etc? Anything that doesn't involve dismounting (at least not voluntarily :D)