Teaching a Horse to Stand Still at the Mounting Block

How can I encourage my horse to stand still during mounting?
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

How to Teach a Horse to Stand While Mounting
Horses with back pain often display resistance to a rider's weight. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse
Cory Kieschnick, MS, assistant professor and chair of the Delaware Valley University Department of Equine Science and Management, contributed to this article.

Q: My horse won’t stand still at the mounting block while I’m getting on. My balance isn’t great, so I’m afraid I’m going to get hurt when he walks off with just my foot in the stirrup. How can I encourage him to stand still during mounting?

via email

A: This is a common problem that riders experience with horses. Most of the time, we try to teach the horse to stand still by using pressure coming from the bit, the rein, or a whip. When we put one foot into the stirrup from the mounting block, there is typically a gap in or release of that pressure. The horse uses that opportunity to walk forward away from the mounting block

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

Written by:

Angelo Telatin, MS, is assistant professor at Delaware Valley College Equine Science and Management department in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and a British Horse Society fellow. This qualification is only awarded to those considered to be reliable ambassadors of the sport. His master’s thesis in equine behavior compared equine training techniques and the psychology of learning. Find out more at www.angelotelatin.com.

Leave a Reply

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!