Dismounting Help

[GreyGelding]

Hi All! I am in need of advice on some dismount techniques. I have an older gentleman riding my very well behaved, retired event horse. They are a great pair for the light hacking about they do.

The challenge is the dismount. By the time he is done riding, his knees and ankles are stiff/sore and don’t support his body weight while dismounting and so he has slipped and fallen a couple of times, which leads into a dicey situation of him being on the ground under the horse.

We are at a lovely antique farm, so use a little stone wall or mounting block to mount. He has tried to dismount and land back on the block, but that wasn’t very successful either and I don’t think it is stable enough.

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!

[mswillie]

[QUOTE=GreyGelding;8433846]
Hi All! I am in need of advice on some dismount techniques. I have an older gentleman riding my very well behaved, retired event horse. They are a great pair for the light hacking about they do.

The challenge is the dismount. By the time he is done riding, his knees and ankles are stiff/sore and don’t support his body weight while dismounting and so he has slipped and fallen a couple of times, which leads into a dicey situation of him being on the ground under the horse.

We are at a lovely antique farm, so use a little stone wall or mounting block to mount. He has tried to dismount and land back on the block, but that wasn’t very successful either and I don’t think it is stable enough.

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]

Could you builder a taller, more solid mounting block? I wrecked my right knee a couple of years ago and I dismount onto a block or onto a “park bench” type bench. The bench actually works really well, it’s about a foot drop off the horse and very stable.

[Flying_Hill]

One of my students who has similar issues found that dismounting onto a sturdy picnic table worked.

[ThreeHorseNight]

Before a windstorm tore it apart, I had a large, very sturdy platform type mounting block. A carpenter built it for me out of MDF. I loved it for mounting and dismounting as the older I get the higher up the horse seems to get. It was rectangular, and had steps on either end of the rectangle that led up to the platform. It was big enough that you could safely stand on the platform and if you discounted on to it and lost your balance you wouldn’t fall off. It was great for the horses too as it really minimize the pulling on their backs as we mounted or dismounted. I had it near my outdoor arena and would sit on it to watch friends ride.

[mjs8]

Is the gentleman always riding when there is no one around? What about someone just spotting him and guiding him down when he’s ready? People can catch the edge of a large block with their heel and still be in trouble by falling under the horse. I think for safety, maybe a person there to guide when it’s time to dismount might be your best option?

[Jackie_Cochran]

I do not know if this would work for this gentleman.

Occasionally I have big problems dismounting, like I can’t get myself to stand in the stirrups.

What REALLY helps is if a person on the ground presses my left knee into the saddle. Then I can usually stand in the stirrups and dismount normally.

The first time I could not get down I was on a 18.2 hand horse. That was interesting, to say the least.

[Piney_Woods]

Mobile home steps are wider than those on a mount block and sometimes they have a little porch at the top. Check Craigslist for prices.

[SonnysMom]

DH made this for my trainer.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200130985423492&set=a.10200130984103459.1073741829.1416383062&type=3&theater

How about if he drops his stirrups and stretches a bit before he dismounts? I am thinking toe circles, grab the ankle with hand and pull towards butt, pull knee up towards chest. Maybe if he can loosen up before he dismounts that would help.

[walkers]

Is he riding a English saddle? I hate western but love the horn for dismounting as I have a busted ankle and knee. Maybe a cheater strap( if english) would be helpful so he could use his arms . Be careful with dismounting on those blocks some have posted thats a great way to have a serious accident .better to slid down and hit the ground than those wood steps. Of course if you could build something very big and square that might be safe depending on the horse.

I have seen people teach the horse to bow down so they can get off safely.
Apparently not a hard trick to teach using rewards.

Those mounting blocks remind me of the accident rate of people any age coming down ladders. Its the bread and butter for orthopedic surgeons so be careful.

[GreyGelding]

Thank you for the responses. He does occasionally ride solo and more often with his wife, who is not really equip to dismount then help him, while holding her pony. And if she put the pony away first, my mare gets unsettled and less patient.

The larger mounting/dismounting platform would be ok, that’s what we are working with now, but I am still concerned about him getting his feet down underneath him and on the platform. This is an English saddle, so I was thinking perhaps a neck strap or breastplate strap to hold while dismounting might be helpful.

I don’t think he is flexible enough to do some of the those stretches SonnysMom.

[walktrot]

Try either a neck strap or a bucking/panic strap (whatever you want to call it) on the saddle itself. I have some nerve damage in my right arm and can’t dismount without a bucking strap to hang on to with my left hand.

[SonnysMom]

[QUOTE=GreyGelding;8443272]
Thank you for the responses. He does occasionally ride solo and more often with his wife, who is not really equip to dismount then help him, while holding her pony. And if she put the pony away first, my mare gets unsettled and less patient.

The larger mounting/dismounting platform would be ok, that’s what we are working with now, but I am still concerned about him getting his feet down underneath him and on the platform. This is an English saddle, so I was thinking perhaps a neck strap or breastplate strap to hold while dismounting might be helpful.

I don’t think he is flexible enough to do some of the those stretches SonnysMom. :)[/QUOTE]

How about the last couple minutes of the ride, drop the stirrups and flex his ankles and swing his legs as much as he is able to restore some blood flow and flexibility?
For a strap I prefer breastplate. A fear a neck strap wouldn’t be as stable as it can spin around. The breastplate is more stable as it is connected to the saddle.

[RPM]

Can you teach your mare to park out, the way some gaited horses do for mounting? It would decrease his distance to the ground by maybe a hand?

[Simbalism]

My friend( 70yo) and I have taught our horses to let us hang on the side of them and slide off. When we get back from a ride, we take our feet out of the stirrups, stretch our legs, maybe move our ankles around a little. Then we stand in stirrups and swing leg over, keeping our bodies over the saddle. I either hold the right side of my western saddle pad or on English saddle my “oh sh** strap” and slide down my horse slowly.

[Nadia]

I have nerve damage and balance problems, so stepping off on a mounting block is scary … I di best if the block is next to a gate,or fence, so I can grab it to stabilize me from behind…