# Teaching a horse to bow or lay for getting on bareback?



## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

Have no idea but that horse in your avatar has a mane to die for!


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## SarahandDallas (May 28, 2013)

I know! I found it somewhere on Tumblr awhile back <3


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Learn to stand by his shoulder, grab a handful of mane and swing your hips up. There's a mental barrier you have to get past as most will impede the swing just before the legs span the horse's back. I've watched a 5'2" gal swing up on a 16.3hh this way. Lots of videos on youtube. The biggest drawback to learning to mount this way is getting the giggles.


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## BarrelRace4Life (Aug 15, 2010)

Well, I'd say it'd probably be faster for you to learn how to jump like Saddlebag described than to teach your horse to bow, so I'd suggest going with that. 

As for the bowing however, how I've been teaching my horse to is by first asking her to bring her head as far down to her chest and between her legs as you can with a treat. Then when they're good at that, pick up their foot and ask for the same thing. Gradually ask them to go farther and farther back until they start to lean back on their one foot, and reward them right away whenever they try or do something right. 

There are lots of ways to teach the bow though. I do it this way because my horse responds to treats much better than me pulling at her with ropes. Otherwise she gets frustrated and upset. There are lots of youtube videos on this though so you can see for yourself how some people do it!


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## SarahandDallas (May 28, 2013)

I would try that,but if I try to feed him more than one treat he gets nippy :/ He even tried to nip at some little kids with apples last night and I didn't want them to think he would bite them on purpose,mainly because one little girl was scared of horses,so I told them he just lost his weight and I don't want him getting fat again,which is true


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I have heard this so do not know if it is fact or not: With a horse in bowing or laying down position (so the rider can mount) it is difficult for the horse to get back up with the extra weight on its back. 

I agree with Saddlebag -- if you're at all athletically inclined and/or limber you can learn to swing yourself up fairly easily. Alternatively, if that is not doable, I have heard of people teaching horses to lower their necks then the rider leans over the neck (close to the shoulder) and then the horse raises it neck and the rider wiggles into place on the back. I have know idea if this would be hard on the horse or not and, at the risk of being blunt, would not suggest this method for a heavier person because of potential strain on the horses neck. I wonder if anyone on this forum has tried this method and can comment on it????


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I don't know about this but I have wiggled back into the saddle from somewhere close to a horses ears on more than one occasion - not there intentionally though - more of a human catapult situation!!!


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

I plan on teaching my mare to bow, just to make it easier to get on WITH a saddle, lol. I feel terrible flinging my fat butt up on her on trails when I lose my phone/cigarettes and figured the upward strain would be much better than a sideways strain.

My friend and I taught his gelding to bow by using treats and a soft rope around the leg he was to lay down. He started out doing carrot stretches (he could STRETCH! lol), and we just added the lifting and laying of the one leg.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## JaphyJaphy (Nov 15, 2012)

I've taught a couple of horses to bow and/or lie down, and it's fairly simple, especially if the horse is particularly motivated by food. 

However, a word of caution: I'd be very hesitant to teach a horse any trick where an unsuspecting/inexperienced person might accidentally cue the horse to perform the trick, in case either party is injured. Because of this, I try to make my cues complex, and I also refrain from trick training any horse that might not have a forever home with me. 

Teaching a horse to bow and lay down is dangerous. Have fun, but please consider the implications and be careful!


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## blackdieselpony (Feb 26, 2012)

Hello! Boy oh boy I just made this video yesterday 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kt922X_abQ

let me know if you have any questions


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## GamingGrrl (Jan 16, 2013)

Wouldn't this lead to them trying to lay down when you pick up a hoof??
It just seems like it could backfire really easily and seems pretty unnecessary to teach.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## blackdieselpony (Feb 26, 2012)

GamingGrrl said:


> Wouldn't this lead to them trying to lay down when you pick up a hoof??
> It just seems like it could backfire really easily and seems pretty unnecessary to teach.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Yeah I can see your concerns but so far it hasn't back fired I'm going to work In a que now that he does it  picking up cookies today
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I found out someone had trained something in one horse. I was asking for a hoof, tapped his upper leg and his head went down between his front legs. He didn't try to bow but I have to tie his head up to get a hoof up. He's seems to know the difference when the farrier comes - just with me.


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## Katiepie123 (Sep 16, 2012)

It's fairly easy to vault on like someone mentioned, but even easier to get on by just jumping so you're lying across his/her back then sort of swinging one leg over! I do this to get onto my 14.2 pony and i've managed to do this onto much bigger horses  Takes a bit of practice though and some touchy horses don't like it much when you swing your leg over!


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## SarahandDallas (May 28, 2013)

I did it on my friends paint gelding a few days ago without any help or bowing yay! He's much thinner than my ol' Dallas though


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I think my biggest concern is that he would roll right over instead of getting back up


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## SarahandDallas (May 28, 2013)

Update: I can get on Dallas bareback all by myself now! Yay! I am still yet to teach him to bow though


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Chevaux said:


> I have heard this so do not know if it is fact or not: With a horse in bowing or laying down position (so the rider can mount) it is difficult for the horse to get back up with the extra weight on its back.
> 
> I agree with Saddlebag -- if you're at all athletically inclined and/or limber you can learn to swing yourself up fairly easily. Alternatively, if that is not doable, I have heard of people teaching horses to lower their necks then the rider leans over the neck (close to the shoulder) and then the horse raises it neck and the rider wiggles into place on the back. I have know idea if this would be hard on the horse or not and, at the risk of being blunt, would not suggest this method for a heavier person because of potential strain on the horses neck. I wonder if anyone on this forum has tried this method and can comment on it????


 Just watch a horse get up with out a rider. It is not that easy for them.


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## Ninamebo (May 25, 2013)

Teaching a horse to bow can take months to years, and if done wrong can hurt the horse's legs, and even though a horse can get up with a rider on their back, the strain from pulling their mane sideways to swing up is much much less than that on their hocks and knees from standing up with another hundred plus ponds on their back. I'm 5 foot and learned to swing up to my 16 hand horse. Fences and tree stumps are your friends as well. Good luck!


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## henia (Jul 31, 2011)

Hello  I had a long break in reading forum, but I'm back now and this is an interesting topic. My mare is too tall and I cannot mount on her bareback without chair or piece of wood or something. She knew how to lay on signal and few month ago, when I couldn't find anything to use for mounting, I decided to lay her down. I was quite suprised because it wasn't hard to get on her this way  For her safety she didn't have anything on her. No saddle, no halter. 
For me it is a usefull ability. I don't use this technique often but my friend used to do this to get on his horse.
I taught her to lay without ropes also for her safety. Also I used situations when she want to roll. I gave her a signal to lay and after some time she connected those two things. The signal for her is when I take her leg and clap her on her shoulder. I don't think it is possible for her to lay when I don't want her to lay because it is a group of signal and she understand my intention.
For getting off I just jump, because she don't know how to lay when I'm on her


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## showmeheaven77 (Jul 9, 2013)

*Video`s on how to teach ur horse to bow!*

This video is how I taught my mare to bow & used the bow to push her over to lay down. Let me know what u think! First link is part 1 & second link is part 2.
Enjoy

Part1: 




Part 2:


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## SarahandDallas (May 28, 2013)

I love Heidi Herriott! This Saturday I'll have all day to work with him,no little kids running around,yelling,leaning on the round pen panels (he gets distracted easily if someone else is nearby) and asking to pet the blonde horsey  Sooooo excited! I'm going to teach him to say yes and no,to bow,and maybe I'll find a few other cute tricks.


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