Too stiff to dismount!

Dizzy Woo

Dizzy Woo

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2008
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:eek: How embarrasing, I started riding the begining of this year after a break of over 30 years, I have my own gorgeous Haffy called Daisy that I try to go out on a hack about 4 or 5 times per week and have been schooling once a week..... well, I must be getting old cos today I just couldn't get off her! My leg just wouldn't swing over and got caught on her bum, she put her head down to have a much and I nearly went over the front. Just managed to wiggle back into the saddle, had to dismount with one foot in the stirrup so my right leg could swing over - really embarrasing. I must be seizing up. :rolleyes:..has anyone else experienced this??
 
My riding buddy has painful hips and has to get off this way, not safe but not much choice. She also needs quite a flat saddle or her leg hits the cantle. I'll be interested ( for her) on your replies.
 
I too came back to riding after 20+ yrs, i have had 8 lessons, and I have suffered the same thing, after an hours hard work my legs are often dead, no energy in them, they have a mind of there own lol
last night we had mounted games, I was on/off like a yoyo, I was totally shattered at the end of all, and couldnt get my leg up the tack room step..:eek:
paying for it today, sore all over, I thought I was 14 last night (Im 41:D)
 
Clava said:
My riding buddy has painful hips and has to get off this way,
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I hadn't thought about it before but I think it is my hips rather than the legs.... if I go for a long slow ploddy hack they are particularly painful whereas if I am doing a fair bit of trotting/cantering/schooling I do not get so much pain as I am moving around a lot more. Gonna get some Seven Seas joint mobility stuff tomorrow - sound like my granny!:D
 
My mum can't get off the normal way either due to her hips. The only way she can do it is to swing the right leg over the pommel instead.
 
I can dismount slowly and carefully, slithering down my mare's side, as long as she keeps her head high so that I can lever myself round using my hands, arms and her neck.

On horses who might drop their heads, or which have a naturally-low headcarriage, I need to lean back in the saddle and carefully lift - I hesitate to say 'swing' - my leg over the front of the saddle, and slide down that way.

Unfortunately, when I slide down the latter way, I can't control my speed of descent as well as I can when I slither down the first way, and landing is usually uncomfortably painful for my feet, ankles and knees.
 
I have to do the "leg over the neck" way. And first of all, I have to put both my knees forward and hang them over the front of the saddle to unlock my hips:eek:
 
Leg over the neck, slide down the shoulder and land on good leg. All this on the wrong side. Getting on takes a mounting block or wall. Been doing it this way for years. So far he has not put his head up at an inappropriate time, as after a few kicks in the head the first week, he learnt to stay down till I say OK. Stops him walking off as well. His que is crop on the floor, feet out and "head down".
 
I can't get off normally any more either. Is rather...um... interesting.:D

Have been riding bareback as hippotherapy. I normally use a mounting block but some times when I get off... here's what I do.
Lean forward over her neck... like I am going to lay on her and slowly drag my right leg over..until I am off. Lucky she is round, well padded and short.
Might get brave enough to have DS to do a video short :eek:,,next time it isn't raining all day.

If your body is not happy, you might try riding fewer hours a week and find that sweet spot so to speak. Where you can ride and still get off fairly easily,,,and work from there. Have also been told of some Tai Chi for riders helps a lot.
Looked into it but haven't gotten any videos yet.

http://www.todayshorse.com/Articles/TaiChiforEquestrians.htm

http://www.shawtaichi.com/praise.aspx
 
you have a few options really.

Falling off that saves you swinging the leg, you could choose the out the side door or the slide out the front door.

Other idea is to use a mounting block to dismount onto the block using opposite side, did you try and get off on the right? There is no reson why you can't dismount that side if it's easier maybe for you.

It could be your body is not quite ready for the hours spend in the saddle, it is a really comfortable one, you could use a seat saver if your bottom has dozed off. there are hip savers on the market but i only know about the treeless ones.

I think it has to be whatever way is easiest for you, don't worry about what the correct way is, it's what works safely for you and your four legged friend.
 
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newforest said:
you have a few options really.




It could be your body is not quite ready for the hours spend in the saddle, it is a really comfortable one, you could use a seat saver if your bottom has dozed off.
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I don't really need a seat saver as I carry my own permenantly!:D
I am going to look into some ways of loosening up my hips before dismounting, maybe swinging my legs out of the stirrups for a while, and perhaps some sort of exercise to make me a bit more flexible.
I am not going to worry too much about how it looks (I can see I am not alone) but I dont want to get 'stuck' again:D
 
Hi! Another cr*ppy hips person here!:) Sometimes dismounting for me is a 3-man operation!! On a horse I totally trust (my lot) I either lift my right leg over the withers (physically, with my hands, lift the leg) and then slide down. I have to be caught then, as I can't stand initially! (Oh... I've been left in a heap in the sand school to get some feeling back in my hips before now!! :cool:

OR....I do what eml and some others do... keep the left foot in the stirrup and then once my right leg is over the cantle, I take my left foot out and slide down. Be careful...I've ripped 3 pairs of jods on 'peacock stirrups' doing this!! The little hook bit caught and ripped my joddies!! No more peacock stirrups!!

If I'm really bad, I 'park' my horse next to a large round hay-bale and I'm lifted off by my 'Mr-patience' Paul!! Being lifted off at a show was pretty embarrassing, but I had been jumping and trashed myself!! :rolleyes::D
 
Me too,,, bad hips, and back and feet,,, have had five ops on feet, so can,t land too hard,,, soooo lean right forward, manage to get right leg over cantle,,, it sometimes sticks as it is a bit high really,,, then lean more fwd, and as mare put head down,, whoops no neck to balance against,,, grab saddle flap with right hand, then slide down gently, until touching floor...
:D:D
last mare was really nice to me, as she always kept her head up,,,,
:)
 
i use the endurance stirrups as they flex with your foot. They are also meant to help with back, feet pain etc. i rode in normal stirrups the other day, gosh the jarring i felt was awful, i can't go back to those now.

wonder if those would help your lower leg and hips, just a thought
 
The endurance stirrups would help I reckon.

A lady at my old stables with 2 hip replacements always dismounted onto the yard gate.

Thankfully lovely Haffies are generally quite cooperative with such operations if they know theres a carrot arriving soon :)))
 
eml said:
I also have to dismount with my left foot still in the stirrup, once your right leg is over lean on saddle and kick foot free before decending to the ground.

Very few people notice the difference!
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ShariN said:
I can't get off normally any more either. Is rather...um... interesting.:D
<snip>
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lachlanandmarcu said:
The endurance stirrups would help I reckon.

A lady at my old stables with 2 hip replacements always dismounted onto the yard gate.

Thankfully lovely Haffies are generally quite cooperative with such operations if they know theres a carrot arriving soon :)))
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I'm in my sixties, and I find the more I ride the easier it gets, both mounting and dismounting ... Although it's still something of an undignified scramble, both ways, and sometimes the poor horse gets a kick on the bum.

But I think leg-over-the-back, left-foot-in-stirrup is quite dangerous. I tried it a couple of times when I was feeling stiff at the end of a ride, and my foot got stuck in the stirrup, and I ended up hopping on one leg with the other in the stirrup (quite impressed that I could do that without falling over - I never could mount from the ground!).

I admire you people who keep riding in spite of such physical problems:)
 
I have painful hips too and both my girls are wide. I tend to slide off and brace myself against their necks which they are both great about thank goodness. I try to take Omega oil when I remember :eek:.
 
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