Mounting Skills & Drills
Start to develop good habits for safety sake:
Prepare. Always do a pre-flight check.
Mounting
- Prepare your horse for riding: use the 7 Games, especially Games 4,5,6 & 7.
- Make sure your horse is balanced and steady, in a good position for you to get on. If you rock the pommel or saddle arm from side to side and try to unbalance your horse, he’ll spread his feet until you can’t unbalance him. Now he is ready.
- Put your back to your horse’s head, facing his tail. Reach for the stirrup and put your foot in it. Your other hand should hold a handful of mane and one rein only, the closest on to you, short but without tension or bending the horse’s neck. if you bend his neck, he’ll be inclined to move his back feet around as you try to step up.
- With your foot in the stirrup, hand in the mane and on the rein, take a hold of the pommel or horn and hop around until you are beside your horse and looking him in the eye, read his state.
- Bounce a couple of times then step up in the stirrup and wait there a moment. Lock your hips forward so your bely button is pointing squarely at your horse’s ears, this is a very secure position. You are testing you cinch and you are watching for your horse’s reaction. If his eye gets frightened and rimmend with white, go no further. Step down and be Friendly then start again. if all’s well, each over and rub his shoulder to ask permission and settle sweetly into the saddle. Find your other stirrup without looking if possible.
- Sit there! Be Friendly, Dont go anywhere. Teach your horse to be still and polite with this habit of yours.
Rock your horse so he’s balanced and braced with his feet.
Hold the mane and the rein, but don’t bend his head.
Look him in the eye before stepping up so you can read his feelings.
Always ask permission. Don’t just ride off!
Teach your horse to stand there after you’ve mounted.
Dismounting
- Arrange your reins, hold just one rein on the same side you plan to get off.
- Drop you foot out of the stirrup (or both stirrups if you prefer)
- Hesitate to make sure your horse is settled and ready
- Step off without fuss, smoothly and cleanly
The dismounting drill is just as important from a safety point of view.
Success Tips
Learn to mount like an athlete without pulling your horse off balance.
Don’t just saddle up and get on! Prepare your horse first.
Learn to mount equally well from both sides.
- Saddling and mounting is a form of the Friendly Game.
- Prepare your horse with the Games to make sure he’s ready to accept the saddle and then to be mounted.
- Rock your horse from side to side until his feet are spread and balanced.
- Be athletic when you mount. Dont drag yourself up, spring up and try to be weightless
- Hesitate before you swing your leg over. Ask permission.When your on, just sit there. Dont move off straight aways, you’ll teach your horse a bad habit.
- You’ll then ask for lateral flexion (lesson 9)
- Prepare your horse and yourself for dismounting, don’t just jump off
- Learn to mount and dismount equally well form both sides!
Be considerate when mounting and dismounting so you can stay safe.
Pitfalls
- Just saddling up and getting on! This is asking for trouble one day.
- Tying your horse up for saddling.
- Approaching grizzly-bear style with your saddle held up in front of you
- Tightening your cinch or girth in one fell swoop
- Unbalancing your horse when you mount
- A tight rein and a bent head while mounting
- Flopping into the saddle when you mount and just jumping off to dismount.
Troubleshooting
Your horse tries to bite you
When a horse tries to bite you he is either defending himself or showing a lack of respect for you.
Don’t slap the horse, earn his respect.
This a a self defensive move. chances are he was impolitely handled at this first and subsequent addling and its an unpleasant experience. There are two things you can do:
- Be more polite, follow the procedure in this lesson and it will cure a lot.
- Use reverse psychology. Instead of slapping him for it (not advisable, he’ll turn it into a game of how quickly he can get in, bite and got out of the way!)pet him orprsent him with carrot when he swings hisheadaround! Pretty soon his attitue will change.
He won’t stand still to saddle or to mount
If a horse won’t stand still for you to saddle or mount he needs more preparation.
This means he needs more preparation: respect (from the 7 Games) and desensitisation (from the 7 Games) especially.
The 7 Games is the way to prepare a horse mentally, emotionally and physically.
Here are some examples of desensitisation: for saddling preparation use a lot of repetitive simulations such as tossing the rope over his back, doing the drill with your hand from nose to back, flopping the saddle pad on and off, rubbing him with the saddle pad, sending the horse to the saddle via the Driving Game, etc. Do it until you exhaust the nervous behaviour you horse is showing. You just have to be more persistent than him. If you take the perspective that you’ve never seen it take longer than two days, if it takes as long as ten or twenty minutes, it will seem short.
Desensitisation is often an important aspect.
Use this to get a horse used to putting your foot in the stirrup and hopping up and down.
Desensitising the horse to mounting: there are a couple of stages. One is where the horse may feel threatened when you go to put your foot in the stirrup and he won’t let you. The other is where you want to bounce a couple of times in readiness to spring up. Think about the movement that is upsetting the horse and them do a bunch of them. For example, lifting your foot toward the stirrup – pick it up and down over and over and over until it ceases to bother the horse. Same with bouncing with your foot in the stirrup (make sure you are fit enough for this!) You need to be able to hop around with the horse until it doesn’t bother him anymore. As soon as he stops, you stop, take your foot out and pet him. Then start again. Take the time it takes to do the job properly the first couple of times and it will probably never happen again.
Are you athletically fit enough for mounting a horse smoothly?
You have trouble mounting
Get fitter for your horse through simulation.
Big horse, short legs or un-fit!
Focus on being light and springy.
Big horse and / or short legs: you can learn to do this without a mounting block. But you have to focus on ultimately getting rid of that block. The secret is to simulate (see unfit piece below) to improve your athletic ability and to gradually use lower and lower blocks. A PNH instructor could also help you to teach your horse to spread himself so the stirrup gets lower!
Mentally project you body toward the sky!
Unfit: Get fit! Practice mounting a fence or a chair, make sure you can hold on to something. Build strength in both you legs. Give yourself greater and greater challenges to improve you ability. Pay attention to your thoughts and focus when you mount. Do you think “I am weightless” or do you think negatively anticipating a struggle? Where is your focus when you mount – on the ground, eyes down looking at the saddle or your leg… or is it up in the sky. Even though we advise you to watch your horse’s eye when you mount you can be mentally projecting your body toward the sky! Give a couple of good bounces before you fly. Learn to put a little weight in the stirrup as possible, this will also help with fat, round horses that promote saddle slip and spin no matter how tight the cinch!
