Mounting and dismounting problems

OldandNew

OldandNew

Active Member
Mar 29, 2007
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London
I'm posting here as the most appropriate section, being a 66 year old who has been riding for 6 years only. Increasingly, my hip and knee joints are becoming stiffer and I'm finding it difficult to get on and off horses!

I'm quite tall and heavy and so can only ride the bigger horses. We have mounting blocks at the RS so getting my left foot into the stirrup is not a problem - the problem comes with swinging my right leg over the horse, because my hips just will not open up enough. It's really embarrassing and the more I worry about it, the worse it gets! (It doesn't help having some nubile little member of staff holding the horse and telling me I need to get on quickly, and me telling her "I can't!"). Similarly, dismounting can be a bit of a problem - again, swinging my right leg over the horse's back without getting embarrassingly stuck on the cantle!!!

Any tips or suggestions would be welcome and apologies to those with genuine disabilities.
 
If the horse will allow it, you could let the horse lower its head and swing your leg over the front of the saddle and the horse's neck and slide off facing forwards. Ziggy is good with this and my ex sharer, who was stiff like you, found it very much easier to get off that way.
 
Have you tried glucosamine with condroitin and fish-oil? I've been taking those for a couple of years now, and I'm still reasonably supple - although not in the least athletic. I can't help giving myself a little push with my foot on Hebe's bum when I'm dismounting, but she doesn't mind; a riding-school horse might object!

The other thing I've found helpful is to lean quite far over first - I make sure my head is on the far side of the horse, and sometimes I even hold the stirrup leather or the saddle flap on the far side. That helps a lot.

Getting off the 'cavalry' way, as Skib does, is something I only do if I'm feeling unusually stiff or fragile. It's difficult on a riding-school horse, because your boots could get stuck - that happened to me the first time I tried it, and I landed on my back under a very surprised horse. Luckily no-one was watching, but there were a few jokes all the same because of the mud on my back ...

By the way, I'm older than you Oldarider, but a bit younger than Skib, I think:unsure:
 
I use a mounting block level with the stirrup as my problem is back and forward hip mobility, not sideways ( stair climbing when tired is painful!), I find a couple of Ibroprufen on a bad ie cold/damp day makes all the difference.

A horse that stands as long as necessary where placed is essential so if the one the RS gives you cannot stand steady at the block explain your need to the Senior Instructor so they can choose a more suitable one.

Similarly I too use the cavalry style dismount and also use it for some of my RS riders. Again you must have an assistant at the horses head and a sensible horse that will not move.

Just to add having reread your description try mounting from a large block with your left stirrup quite short and someone holding the opposite stirrup for balance. RS should be able to advise on this, if not try one that also runs an RDA group as they will have trained horses to stand motionless at the block and should have met many different issues. If one leg is better than the other perhaps mount/dismount from the offside??
 
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my hubby has terrible hips and really really struggles to get on/off.

Luckily Moet is an absolute gem, will stand patiently at a block for as long as its needed as long as she gets a treat when the person is finally on. She wont walk on until asked either. My hubby has a really tall mounting block (same height as stirrup, if not a tad higher) so he really doesnt have to stretch too far.

Getting off my hubby cant get off in a normal way, he takes both feet out and swings his right leg forward over the horses neck and slides off onto the floor on his bum, if that makes sense? wouldnt recommend it with a horse that isnt sensible, but Moet just stands there waiting for him to get off, she really is a gem :) ah just read some replies - is this dismounting method 'cavalry style'?)

He also cannot ride without Diazipan (not sure how to spell it!) but its really strong stuff, he takes one 20 mins before riding.

I hope our daughter doesnt have his hip problems :( he is only 31 and due to have a hip resurface within the next two years, they reckon he will need hip replacements within 5-10 years :(
 
juliecwuk said:
:( he is only 31 and due to have a hip resurface within the next two years, they reckon he will need hip replacements within 5-10 years :(
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Aie Aie Aie!

You are lucky that Moet is so sweet for him. That's a great way to get off, it seems to be so much easier for stiff hips.
 
Well, I just failed to mount for sidesaddle at emls - though a local side saddle rider who I bumped into this afternoon thinks she might know a work round for the rigid elderly.

Old and new, I was taught my dismount at a local BHS school after my second lesson but the detail is in the pony club handbook and you could discuss it with your own RI. Or go for a lesson at that school?

Mounting. A lot depends both on the height of a mounting block and the length of the stirrup leather. I am currently having lessons at a distant RS and found it hard to mount the first time, even though their block is higher. Mounting from a lower block (I think) means you have an upwards spring and it carries one over the horse.

The block at my new school is fixed. This makes a difference too. because the RI is likely to place the horse in their normal position. I personally mount as one did when I was young: standing at right angles to the horse, facing the tail of the horse. And I like the block to be quite forward. Contrast this where the modern pupil faces the horse at the girth. My RI told me the change came about because people found it hard to rotate. But for me the rotation is easier than lifting my left leg up straight in front of me and then finding a spring to elevate myself up and over the horse. I am careful by the way to land softly in the saddle.
It must be due to this added elevation in mounting that I find it easy to mount and clear the saddle with my right leg? Whereas impossible to get my right leg over when dismounting or, as on Monday, across the front of the saddle to ride side saddle with eml.
When you mount, the length of leather is also important. There is no need to have it in the hole in which you ride - though riding English I do. But if I need to mount from the ground, I may let the stirrups down. The worse experience is to mount from the ground Western with a long leather and then not be able to get my leg over the cantle of the saddle, or hurt myself doing so. So I may ask them to shorten the Western stirrup so I can mount.
I have worked out my own preferences to suit me at each school and for each horse. For years when hacking, I have used the fire escape so would not be a wonderful example.
 
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I have a similar problem getting off (though getting on is fine at the moment - touch wood!). My hips tend to seize up once they've had enough.

Linda's advice about leaning forward and right is good and helps to get your right leg higher to clear the cantle. You are using the saddle as a fulcrum and getting a bit of impetus into the swing by leaning forward. Also try just taking your feet out of the stirrups and swinging your legs to loosen before even trying to get off.

Can't give you getting on advice I'm afraid, but I've always found a bit a rescue remedy to be good if I know I'm going to get stressed about something - might be worth a try?

And don't let them rush you! You are the client and it is your needs that should be met. If they won't somewhere nicer will!
 
Just another thought - Is it a coincidence that this increasing difficulty comes in winter?

Early in my hacking life I was met at the yard by an Irish groom, an elderly man who told me to stand up in my stirrups two or three times, before dismounting. He told me people used to do that after hunting in Ireland in winter and it loosens the body. That same groom showed me how to scrunch up straw and put it over the horse under the rug, to soak up cold rain from the coat.

I was also told early on to be careful about dismounting in winter - to make sure there was circulation in my feet and to soften my landing on the ground. I was told that if your feet were rigid with cold you could break a bone in your foot.

I have amassed all this otherwise useless knowledge but may also be too old. I have outlived my horses - three gone already this winter.
 
juliecwuk said:
Getting off my hubby cant get off in a normal way, he takes both feet out and swings his right leg forward over the horses neck and slides off onto the floor on his bum, if that makes sense? wouldnt recommend it with a horse that isnt sensible, but Moet just stands there waiting for him to get off, she really is a gem :) ah just read some replies - is this dismounting method 'cavalry style'?)

H(
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Julie, the cavalry dismount is when you keep your left foot in the stirrup, swing your right leg over, then stand in the left stirrup for a moment with your weight over the saddle, and kick both your feet out and slide down to the ground. Skip posted a couple of nice videos of cavalry officers doing it; in one, they slapped the saddle on the far side before kicking the feet out; it looked very impressive, but I don't know if it's a necessary part of the process.

What you describe, swinging the right leg over in the front, is very easy on the hips, but it can be dangerous if you haven't got a reliable horse or someone to hold the horse. Your Moet is a gem, but if the horse decided to take a step forward, you could have a nasty fall and hit the back of your head.
 
LindaAd said:
Julie, the cavalry dismount is when you keep your left foot in the stirrup, swing your right leg over, then stand in the left stirrup for a moment with your weight over the saddle, and kick both your feet out and slide down to the ground. Skip posted a couple of nice videos of cavalry officers doing it; in one, they slapped the saddle on the far side before kicking the feet out; it looked very impressive, but I don't know if it's a necessary part of the process.

What you describe, swinging the right leg over in the front, is very easy on the hips, but it can be dangerous if you haven't got a reliable horse or someone to hold the horse. Your Moet is a gem, but if the horse decided to take a step forward, you could have a nasty fall and hit the back of your head.
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That's true. Ziggy will do it but he is a gem too, at least when it comes to letting people get off him!!!!
 
eml said:
Just to add having reread your description try mounting from a large block with your left stirrup quite short and someone holding the opposite stirrup for balance. RS should be able to advise on this, if not try one that also runs an RDA group as they will have trained horses to stand motionless at the block and should have met many different issues. If one leg is better than the other perhaps mount/dismount from the offside??
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I can second this - someone holding the opposite stirrup makes it sooo much easier!

I haven't tried shortening the near side stirrup, but I think that would make it easier to clear the saddle. I don't lengthen the stirrup because I've got short legs and that makes it harder to get the second leg over the back ..

Someone remind me again why we do this ...
 
A search on NR will bring you to my many descriptions of the cavalry dismount. I am too old to type it all again. However here at last is a video showing exactly how it is done. This is a long video and you will have to watch till the end. Or (for further viewing) pull the slider across
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=735bsh75s3c

If this was put on line by someone from the Household Cavalry following my request to them, my very great thanks. I didnt really believe I dismounted like a cavalry man, till I saw it with my own eyes. (corrected to say these are not cavalry but horse artillery)
Edited to make one thing clear.
Army drill requires the soldier to stand at attention with one foot in the stirrup. Then drop to the ground on command.

I dont pause any longer than I must. The aim is to get my right leg over the saddle. I then stand straight with both legs together, and immediately put some weight on my hands and shake my foot clear of the stirrup and drop to the ground.
I pride myself on doing this quickly - someone is holding my horse and sometimes holding the off side stirrup too. So the quicker I do it the better. But the idea of standing to attention with your knees straight is important. If you allow your left knee to bend with your foot still in the stirrup, you can be in trouble.
 
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Thank you for all tips and suggestions. I do keep the left stirrup really short (lengthening it again when I'm finally mounted) but I realised the other day that having it tooshort isn't helpful either, as it tends to tip you off balance at the top of the swing-over - if you know what I mean. I think the bottom line is that I need to relax about the whole thing, and the RS maybe needs to be a bit more understanding?

Last winter, another rider hurt her knee whilst skiing and they allowed her to mount from the table in the yard - in other words only needing to clamber across the horse from the table top. I might swallow my pride (and embarrassment!) and ask to do the same.
 
OldandNew said:
T I think the bottom line is that I need to relax about the whole thing, and the RS maybe needs to be a bit more understanding?
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This is so important. Usually staff at RS are young and active people who do not appreciate the ability of older/less able people to ride if simple adjustments are made. I once had all my teenage helpers build the blocks of our SJ wall into a long shallow staircase to enable someone to mount easily, they loved the challenge!!
 
I am a bit late to this thread and most very good advice has been given already. I am also very stiff and unyielding now but the very best help I have found is my custom made mounting block that is easily as high as my stirrup level. This helps hugely for getting on and off for me. I would think there is a good chance that if they allow you to mount and dismount from the old table that may well help.

I also agree with the advice that Skib was given to stand yourself up and down a few times in the stirrups before dismounting. If you walk the horse to cool down for the last bit of the ride or the schooling session, I find my old joints seize up just when I need them working well for the dismount.:frown:

Now I tend to just stand up in the stirrups a good few times on the last 750 yards or so home, it really does make a difference.
 
I don't have any advice unfortunately but am reading this thread with interest as I had an issue today so am going to post my shame :( I find it difficult mounting and especially dismounting and today got my right leg stuck on the cantle and then promptly fell off. Which from a 15hh cob was a bit of an ordeal. I landed on my right knee but luckily fell free of my right (bad) hip. So sat here feeling very embarassed and sore ( was trying a horse out for loan!). Some brilliant advice here though, think I just need to practice. Oh and get some freeze spray!
(sorry for hogging thread)
 
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