# Mounting issues, is it related to my weight?



## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

Anyone experience mounting issues related to their weight? My TB won't stand still for me, but he will for my trainer or anyone else small when mounting. He's sound and is perfectly capable of holding my weight.. but it's concerning. 

I don't "plop" on his back either. 

Anyone else feel too big for their horse? I've tried everything.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I doubt you're too big for your horse. Do you use a mounting block, if not, I highly recommend it. It just easier for you, the horse's back & your tack. Doesn't matter who this horse stands for, he needs to stand for you. Make him stand.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Do you ride English or Western?


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

I do use a mounting block when I ride english. For western I don't because he dances too much anyways. It takes me at least 10 minutes if we're alone. 

Not because I physically can't. I'm limber enough to get on. He just won't stand still for it. And i'm questioning if that's because of my weight.

He's 16hh and probably 1,250lbs. I am 5.9" and 200lbs.
Does that fall within that stupid 20% rule?


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

bsms said:


> Do you ride English or Western?



Both. Western on the trails. English in the ring when we jump.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

It might help if you use a corner (I used to have similar issues with Cinny). Basically you want them to face the end of the arena whth a side rail going along your horses side. then you Sandwich them in with the mounting block. They can only move backwards. Try to think of making a mini pen with the rails of the arena and your mounting block. 

Then, patience. Let your horse know it is absolutely unacceptable to move. I used to back Cinny halfway across the arena quickly every time he would move while mounting. Then we would go back to the block and try again. After a while they start figuring out that it's more work to NOT stand still.

Just remember patience patience patience. It' best when you aren't in a rush to get on your horse. Try this out when you have time to kill, or go early so that you can create time to kill with this.


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

Our arena is a circle... :/


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

mselizabeth said:


> Our arena is a circle... :/


that makes it difficult.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Eliz,

No way are you too heavy for that horse. NO way. so that is not the issue.
However, you say he stands for the trainer to mount? If so, then I think it's more that your horse anticipates your way of riding him in a different way than he does either an unknown rider or your trainer, as a rider. 
Do your get on and then "gung ho" immediately? What is your relationship with him once in the saddle? Is he antsy under saddle, too?The mounting problem is something to address as an important training issue. There ares just scads of threads on mounting issues here, so take a look.


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

Cinnys Whinny said:


> that makes it difficult.



****, yes. He's such a little *** when it comes to mounting. If I hold him back, he'll back up. If I don't hold him back, he'll walk forward. If he doesn't go forward or backward, he'll side step. 

I'm at a loss.

So its in no way related to my weight?


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

tinyliny said:


> Eliz,
> 
> No way are you too heavy for that horse. NO way. so that is not the issue.
> However, you say he stands for the trainer to mount? If so, then I think it's more that your horse anticipates your way of riding him in a different way than he does either an unknown rider or your trainer, as a rider.
> Do your get on and then "gung ho" immediately? What is your relationship with him once in the saddle? Is he antsy under saddle, too?The mounting problem is something to address as an important training issue. There ares just scads of threads on mounting issues here, so take a look.



Thank you. I posted a thread a month or so ago asking for advice on the matter. (Before I thought it was my weight) And tried absolutely everything mentioned. 

I never give up with him. But its just not improving. Almost digressing.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Mselizabeth, are you looking for advice on how to get your horse to stand will being mounted?


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

waresbear said:


> Mselizabeth, are you looking for advice on how to get your horse to stand will being mounted?



Now that my weight has apparently been ruled out, yes I am.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Ok, here's how I train a horse to stand for mounting. Lead him up to the mounting block. If he dances around, moves, you move him back, do not attempt to mount him until he stands. Maybe take a while, but you get him to stand, right where you want him. Then when he is standing, get on the mounting block, if he moves away, get off the block & move him right back and he has to stand again. It continues on like this until he stands for the whole mounting process. Even if you put your foot in the stirrup & he move, get off & move him back. This process works. Training horses isn't difficult so much as it's time consuming, doing the same thing, over & over.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

I agree with tiny, you're not too heavy for him. I think he probably is anticipating the pull on his withers or girth, especially if you have to use the horn of the western saddle to help pull yourself up. (I'm short, old, no upper body strength and used to have a really tall horse, and this was our problem, too.) So, it may not be hurting him but he might not like it. He has to learn to stand still so that you can show him that mounting from the block is a good thing. With my former tall horse, after I finally got in the saddle she got a cookie if she stood still before & after mounting, and she eventually got better.

I still think you could try Cinny's idea with the round arena rail on one side and the block on the other side...at least he couldn't move away sidepassing and all you'd have to do is forward and backward control.


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

waresbear said:


> Ok, here's how I train a horse to stand for mounting. Lead him up to the mounting block. If he dances around, moves, you move him back, do not attempt to mount him until he stands. Maybe take a while, but you get him to stand, right where you want him. Then when he is standing, get on the mounting block, if he moves away, get off the block & move him right back and he has to stand again. It continues on like this until he stands for the whole mounting process. Even if you put your foot in the stirrup & he move, get off & move him back. This process works. Training horses isn't difficult so much as it's time consuming, doing the same thing, over & over.


I've spent over 20 minutes doing exactly what you've said. The more I do it, the more worked up he gets. Usually by that time someone realizes my distress and holds him. I'm about ready to hire an animal behaviorist or something ridiculous like that.


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## mselizabeth (Oct 29, 2011)

Ladytrails said:


> I agree with tiny, you're not too heavy for him. I think he probably is anticipating the pull on his withers or girth, especially if you have to use the horn of the western saddle to help pull yourself up. (I'm short, old, no upper body strength and used to have a really tall horse, and this was our problem, too.) So, it may not be hurting him but he might not like it. He has to learn to stand still so that you can show him that mounting from the block is a good thing. With my former tall horse, after I finally got in the saddle she got a cookie if she stood still before & after mounting, and she eventually got better.
> 
> I still think you could try Cinny's idea with the round arena rail on one side and the block on the other side...at least he couldn't move away sidepassing and all you'd have to do is forward and backward control.



I don't use the saddle horn, as I am used to english. I do pull on his mane, if i mount from the ground though. I suppose I should probably stop that (but what else am I supposed to pull with?) 

I'm apprehensive about using treats. Because 1. he is pushy. he will knock me down for a treat. 2. I don't want him to chip his teeth on the bit


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

If he is getting more worked up, something is wrong, either with the horse or yourself. Get someone else to work with him for a bit.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

mselizabeth said:


> I don't use the saddle horn, as I am used to english. I do pull on his mane, if i mount from the ground though. I suppose I should probably stop that (but what else am I supposed to pull with?)
> 
> I'm apprehensive about using treats. Because 1. he is pushy. he will knock me down for a treat. 2. I don't want him to chip his teeth on the bit


I don't blame you about the treats decision. So your choices are to give him a positive reward if he stands still at the block, or to make him work if he doesn't stand still. I haven't read all the ideas at the other thread. However, I'll throw one last idea out here. The positive reward might be that you leave him alone if he stands still...just let him know he's good, then be quiet and stand there and let him be. Or, you can do something he likes, like scratch his favorite place. I think it depends on the horse and what motivates him.

My young gelding came out of training with an attitude from some pain issues across his withers and didn't like being mounted as a result, even after he was healed. I just stood on the block and when he stood still I scratched his rump and under his mane, both places that he adores being scratched. Sometimes that's all I did, sometimes I actually got in the saddle and kept on scratching after mounting. But...to get to that point, we had to start over on the standing-to-be-mounted-at-the-block lesson.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

Hell, I'm 5'2'' and 103lbs and my horse shies away from me when I'm mounting because I'm the only one who ever actually makes him get off his fat butt and work  And for the record, I can't mount worth a ****, due to my vertically challenged-ness (I can't jump xD) and even though I don't "Plop" either, I'm not a little feather by any means.

I highly doubt your horse is having trouble with you. I've seen tiny little ponies carry a lot more weight than what your TB is carrying - Which isn't even THAT bad. ;D


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

I'm 130 lbs, and my gelding is about 14 hands and built like a TANK. He could easily carry three times my weight. And he will still try to jig around when I get into the saddle, western or english. So does my 15 hand gelding, so does my mom's (EXTREMELY undisciplined and rude) mare. All of them are good, strong, stocky horses who could easily pack 300 lbs. I've only ever seen one horse that looks weak enough to not be able to carry more than 150 lbs, and that was just being safe because of a VERY weak body type.
I know my horses are healthy, etc. They do that because I spoil them, and it doesn't really bother me because when I want them to quit, they listen.
What do you do when you get on? I think this is just him misbehaving for you.
I would analyze what YOU do, then what your trainer, who he stands for, does. See if there's a difference, because I think that's it. He's being spunky with you.


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## EighteenHands (Sep 12, 2011)

It doesnt sound like your weight, it sounds like your horses is testing you because he/she know thecan get away with it.

Try to be much more firm with your horse at the mounting block. When you tell the horse to stand, they have NO other choice but to stand quietly!!!!!!!

xoxo

Lizzy


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Here's an exercise that WILL teach anybody to mount correctly. You will need a wooden rail fence. Mount the fence. Do it over and over. If you're mounting the fence wrong you will pull yourself up every time with your arms. If you're doing it correctly, you will position your hip close to the fence, step onto the 2nd rail with your left foot, REALLY bend your left knee, bounce 3 times and be able to stand with both feet together before you swing your leg over the top rail and sit gently.
You see your trajectory is wrong, and that's the problem. You think you are looking to put your body on the horse's body by stepping up and over hiim. Instead, you have to _launch _your body, using the left knee as your spring, to go 2:00 to the horse's 12:00--it's a 30 degree angle.
BTW, the fence is VERY forgiving! lol


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

The thing that finally taught my mare to stand for mounting (she used to pretty much freak out anytime someone tried to get one) was I left her halter+lead rope on under her bridle, then hooked the reins on the saddle horn, took her to where I was going to mount at, and tried to get on.
If (when) she moved, I immediately set her away from me at a super fast trot, encouraging her on with my right hand and holding the lead rope with my left hand. Then, I'd ask her to stop. 
If she stopped immediately, I tried to get on again (really, at first, all it took was me bouncing on the ground to get her to move off), and repeated this whole procedure if she moved when I went to get on again.
If she didn't stop immediately when I told her to, I'd keep pushing her on until she stopped as soon as I told her to.

At first, I tried this just out in her field but it made no impression on her. Then, I tried it on a gravel road and almost immediately she was like "Oh shoot, girl! Don't make me run on this gravel!" and she learned very quickly to stay put for mounting. I didn't stop having her halter (once I got on I liked to unclip the lead rope and leave it over the fence or whatever) on her for mounting until she was 100% at standing to be mounted. Now that she has this skill, I can get on from anywhere and expected her to be still but it was definitely a work in progress for a while!

I found that with Lacey, forcing her to stand still just got her more worked up and frantic about the whole situation. Making her move was what she wanted so I just made what she thought she wanted, not what she really wanted. :lol:


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

I'm thinking you are making too much of a big deal out of it and taking to long.
I have seen people do this:
Slowely working way back to the side of horse, flinching every time the horse moves, slowly putting one foot in stirrup, standing there and looking up with one foot in stirrup looking at horse seeing if he is gonna move, dance around with foot in stirrup and one on ground when horse does move, or pull it out and start over. The instant my foot hits the stirrup I am pretty much up and over.
Oh and stop giving him treats until you have established leadership. He doesnt look at it as you gave him treats, he sees it as he took them from you.


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## steff (May 4, 2008)

I have a new horse had her nearly 2 weeks has taken me this long that I can now mount her from the block without her cantering off!! just keep persisting to start with had someone hold her for me it just took a while for her to settle in about 5 days ago was excited could quickly get on with her cantering off as I got on but got on without her being held for me.. probably not the same situation but if you persist with the situation it will get better I promise xx


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm 5'7", 220lbs and ride a 15.2h mare..I'm the only one she'll stand for to mount. So, I'm going to say it has absolutely nothing to do with your weight. 

But, I did two different things when working on her standing, because she got away with spinning circles and taking off as soon as your foot was in the stirrup.
The first thing I started with, was just getting her to stand and let me drop her lead/reins. Then we progressed to dropping the reins/lead and walking around her body close enough to rub my hand as I went. Then I started gradually moving outward to the point of where I'd take a lap around the arena with her standing in the middle. Then the mounting process started. It went rather quickly from putting foot in stirrup, leaning across the saddle, swinging all the way up and sitting, and then swinging off the other side (or back down on that side). I (and Drew for the first while where he was helping me with her) did a lot of "jumping" over her basically.

Occasionally we'll have some mounting issues, and we'll just do the same exercise more fast-paced. If she has a particularly horrid attitude that day, the dressage whip will come out and we'll just work on standing in-hand for the first bit until she can manage that. If she moved, the leg she moved got whacked with the whip. Another leg moved, she got whacked on that one. After she stood for a decent amount of time with that, I'd go back to the first, "nicer" way of working with her on it.
We rarely have to have a "Come to God" meeting anymore. I think the last time we did was when someone else rode her and let her fidget around. I'm glad we don't have too many of those anymore, because they seem to be time consuming, lol.


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## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

My gelding has gotten into the habit of trying to walk off when I put a foot in the stirrup. I thought it was just me until my trainer got on him from the mounting block too and he did the same thing. She is tall and slender. He doesnt do it if someone mounts from the ground . Anyway what works for him is to hustle his butt around ( send him in a lunging circle at a fast trot) or make him back up fast. on the ground. He realized that it was too much work and standing still at the mounting block was a better idea. Maybe that would work for you as well.


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## Bellasmom (Jun 22, 2011)

My mare did this when I got her, I mount from a block....I'm "fluffy" and have bad knees. Once I got on, we stand until I say go. The issue for her (and many horses) is that she was allowed to move off immediately after the rider got on, I started making her stand after mounting until I cued her to move off. In the beginning it was a bit of a fight, but no matter what, she was not allowed to "leave" until she was still. She finally got it & will now stand to be mounted and stand quietly as long as I want until she gets permission to move.


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## sierrams1123 (Jul 8, 2011)

I have not looked through all of the comments so forgive me if I am repeating something someone already said.

I do not think it has to do with you weight, although a smaller person can mount incorrectly and not bother the horse as much as someone bigger would.

I did notice a comment above recommending a mounting block and I also recommend that. It may just be the way you are mounting him that is the problem not the weight that is mounting him. Ask your trainer to watch you and see if she can give you any tips.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Several people have given you the suggestion that works for me 100% of the time. Make the right thing easy. ALWAYS. So, if your horse MOVES AT ALL when you try to mount-fine. MAKE HIM MOVE. Now and fast. do a few cicles around you, then try to mount again. Same drill over and over until he gets it. It is easier to stand than to have to run his butt off. And after you are on-take your time and make him stand until you are ready.
Sounds to me like this horse respects the trainer, and not you, which is why he stands for the trainer.


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## loveduffy (Dec 22, 2011)

I am 5'2 and ride a daft horse so mounting is a problem I tort my guy to stand buy he gets a sugar cube after I get in the saddle so he waits for it now. You are NOT your weight he just needs to stand


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Your horse needs to be taught to stand ON THE GROUND. Since winter interferes with so many of our riding plans, I suggest that you ground train him for the next month to "halt" and to ground tie. MY gelding has issues, too, and it stems from my nervousness--I was recovering from being thrown by other horses, so I've been nervous about it. EVERYTHING ELSE that I've trained my gelding to do on the ground has stuck. YOU must be the authority. Your horse doesn't care if you are the authority on his back or on the ground--your authority, or lack of it means the SAME to the horse. Train him to be the benevolant authority figure in his life. It is AMAZING how much more time has to be spent retraining your horse, than is spent training correctly in the first place. In my case, I didn't start the problem, BUT I've exascerbated it. If I really love my horse, it is up to me to spend the time to fix it. =D


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

Since I have a disability and a balance issue 
I need a safe way to mount a horse


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Country Woman said:


> Since I have a disability and a balance issue
> I need a safe way to mount a horse



Are you asking or are you commenting? =o

If you're asking, they have those big ol' mounting steps which are about 4-5 feet off of the ground. The thing is teaching your horse to park next to it. That or a good ol leg up, carefully of course.


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

thank you for the advice


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

You're welcome  Happy to help!


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

When I was younger and in better shape I use to mount 
from the ground id the horse was saddled and bareback 
I needed a boost or mounting block


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Country Woman said:


> When I was younger and in better shape I use to mount
> from the ground id the horse was saddled and bareback
> I needed a boost or mounting block


See I'm a youngin' and I can barely manage that myself xD so you were in really good shape! I need to learn to stretch more lol


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