Too stiff to dismount!

[carthorse]

I'm another who'll take feet out of stirrups to move ankles around and scrunch up toes, but no swinging or legs or standing in stirrups - with Luka that could solve the dismounting problem quickly and painfully . I'm afraid I'm too old school to trot in the last half mile home unless there's a desperate need, when I learned we were expected to bring horses home cool and with their breathing normal and we'd know about it if we didn't.

 

[Skib]

to trot in the last half mile home

I too was taught to walk home, but these days I trot 10 paces and then walk the last 20 yards. If we come in from the grass meadow, I may alternate 10 paces walk, 10 paces trot.
However, if walking home is the rule, (and it is true it is safer) one can ride rising walk. When I first rode Ella, that was what I did. But with an unexpected result. The YM said she wasnt sure she could ride in rising walk. Or walk standing in the sitirrups, so we tried both. When I was a beginner adult I had to ride walk standing. I am not sure that I could do it now.

 

[newforest]

I have been know to get off the last quarter home and lead.
But definitely walking, never trot.

You can rise in any pace and I will do that to get the feel of a new saddle, some stretching myself, or to reach the blackberries

 

[carthorse]

I too was taught to walk home, but these days I trot 10 paces and then walk the last 20 yards. If we come in from the grass meadow, I may alternate 10 paces walk, 10 paces trot.
However, if walking home is the rule, (and it is true it is safer) one can ride rising walk. When I first rode Ella, that was what I did. But with an unexpected result. The YM said she wasnt sure she could ride in rising walk. Or walk standing in the sitirrups, so we tried both. When I was a beginner adult I had to ride walk standing. I am not sure that I could do it now.

Nothing to do with safety and everything to do with horse welfare. It's the same as we were taught to tend to our horse's needs before our own on coming back to the yard, so no tying up or putting in a stable while we had a coffee or changed out of wet clothes, instead we untacked and did whatever was needed to make them comfortable and happy first.

 

[newforest]

Nothing to do with safety and everything to do with horse welfare. It's the same as we were taught to tend to our horse's needs before our own on coming back to the yard, so no tying up or putting in a stable while we had a coffee or changed out of wet clothes, instead we untacked and did whatever was needed to make them comfortable and happy first.

I deal with mine first as she's waiting to itch her head on me.
Its something I allow and she enjoys.
Trying to get her to wait until both boots are off can be more tricky, but she's getting there.