A few weeks ago my 10 yr old Lusitano got frightened at the sight of a new, higher mounting block. He would not stand still to mount but swing his haunches outward when I stepped in the saddle. This is a horse that was rock solid for over a year that I’ve owned him. Through ground work I am now able to mount him quietly and he stands in place again. However, when dismounting as soon as I swing my leg over he scrambles backward about 5 to 6 steps away from me. I am at a loss over how to correct this. Any ideas out there? Thank you for your help.
Does your saddle fit? That would be one of the first things I’d consider.
I’d also make sure he is truly and really comfortable with this new mounting block.
These horses can be quite sensitive and he’s trying to tell you something.
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My first thought on reading the title of the thread was saddle fit, particularly in the pommel. So I agree with cantering carrot on the first thought. The different height of the block may mean you are putting weight into the saddle in a different fashion and level of pressure.
Some horses are funny with new things in their life and this one may need to start back at step one with a mounting block. The other possibility is to reposition the mounting block so it can be met from another direction . Horses are odd about that issue as well, Things accepted from one direction are totally scary from the other
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I practice mounting block behavior at the beginning of every session. And with my unbroken wild ones, it is as integral a. part of our training sessions as halter-lead training. It is a cornerstone of my process.
If i have to spend 10 minutes getting a good steady mounting from the mounting block, i will do that. Even when i’ve hauled r/t 3 hours and paying lots of $ for a 50 minute lesson!~.
If you have to, you can position the block in a corner, so there is a wall at your horses right side and a wall in front of him/her. I don’t ‘call-it’ until the horse can-do a free standing mount, but i will do this first on a horse that is fresh to being mounted. And once the horse is steady and quiet, i praise, maybe give a treat and dismount, reposition the mounting block allowing a bit more freedom and try again in the new spot and go again. Until the horse is quiet, still, and doesn’t move off until i ask, we keep at it. Never get mad~that’s my rule. No matter what, keep calm and friendly and compassionate. Help the horse work-through his/her issue.
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Thank you to each of you for your help. The saddle is new and custom made to him. My saddle fitter is coming back out on Tuesday. My vet was out last Friday and did a thorough exam of his back and neck. He couldn’t find any soreness. Once in the saddle he performs very well, wtc and lateral work. It’s just the dismount.
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are you strong enough to hang there mid-dismount and swing back up over?
How about returning to the mounting block for your dismount (now that you have him standing for a mount).
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We thought of returning to the mounting block but we’re concerned that we might interfere with the mounting which he is doing well now. I’m afraid I am not strong enough to get back on once my leg is over. I’m an older, slight rider who has been riding for many years. I’m frustrated because up until 3 weeks ago he was perfect! Thank you for your suggestions. My trainer might try the mounting block dismount.
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If the only problem is he is moving back halt with the fence behind him.
My next question is how are you dismounting?
Both feet out of the stirrups? Swing up and over and land at shoulder facing backwards. No where near the mounting block.
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We haven’t tried dismounting with the wall behind us. Not sure if he’ll respect it or not.
On dismounting I had been keeping my left toe in the stirrup as I lean forward to swing my right leg over to steady myself for a quieter dismount. We have dismounted away from the mounting block.
There’s your problem. You can’t keep your left foot in the stirrup while you swing your right leg over. You have to kick both feet out and vault off. I say this as an older rider who much prefers to keep my left foot in. It makes my mare pissy. Way too much pressure on the right withers. It really does hurt them.
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Either yourself or someone physically able needs to hang onto that one side while dismounting and then swing back up into the saddle and ride off. It sounds like he has a learned response to an unpleasant experience and it’s now habit so you need to retrain it to no longer be habit.
A friend of mine once fell off her horse when he backed up while she was mounting. She developed fear issues and the horse learned if he ran backwards when she got up to mount he didn’t get ridden. She wasn’t physically able to hang on.
I solved it as a more agile person by mounting him, then clinging to one side like a monkey as he backed himself the entire length of the arena and around a corner. Several rounds of this and he decided standing was just fine.
It sounds like your issue is in reverse
While I think that a vaulting dismount is MUCH safer I don’t think your dismount style or saddle fit are the root of the problem since you mentioned the new mounting block.
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I worry that you are at risk for getting your foot hung in the stirrup if he’s scrambling backwards while you’re dismounting. For safety until you resolve the problem, I would take both feet out of the stirrups before swinging a leg over. (Actually I think you should always take both feet out before dismounting, but certainly in this situation).
Have you tried mounting and then immediately dismounting? Or mounting/dismounting multiple times? Does he start going backwards as soon as you start moving your right leg, or only when it goes over his back? What does he do if you move other objects over his back? Perhaps some desensitization to objects moving around and over his back would be useful?
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If you have your previous saddle still, try it (even though it might not be a ‘perfect’ fit) to see if you get the same reaction. I have a small amount of loose change that says maybe he won’t.
If you have also changed girths, pads, inserts, change back to see if there is any change in behaviour.
I mention this as the last time I shopped for a new girth, I couldn’t get the same kind as I had before. Decided to try one of the $$ specially shaped, specially padded girths before just buying ‘joe girth’ in hopes that maybe a fancy girth would make my horse more comfortable. Horse was fine for being girthed up. However, once I was on her back and asked her to move off I immediately wondered how in hell I was going to get back off without an explosion. Her opinion was strong. Managed to get off as carefully as possible, changed girths back to ‘joe girth’ that was worn and in need of replacement and ponypants was absolutely back her normal self. Saved myself several hundred bucks with that little experiment. So thankful for trial girths!
Glad your fitter is coming back out again. If they happen to have a few different saddles with them, try a couple to see what happens when mounting and dismounting in different saddles.
I am betting this has very little to do with the higher mounting block and a lot to do with something poking/grabbing/pinching/irritating.
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indeed!
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I fixed this problem with my young mare. She had always been fine w/mounting and dismounting and then one windy day something spooked her when I was getting off and she started backing up when I tried to dismount. Here is how I eliminated this problem.
I brought her to a halt at the end of the ride, patted her and prepared to swing my leg over. When she started to back up, I brought my leg back, and settled back into the saddle. I repeated this until I got to the point where I was able to swing my leg over. but she would start backing up before I could drop to the ground. So I laid there with my tummy over the saddle like a sack of potatoes until she stopped. Then I slid down - had her stand still and gave her a pat and a peppermint. Then I got back on and repeated the process. After about three days - she stopped backing up and went back to standing still for dismounting.
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I will say if it is a new saddle and the fitter is coming out for the first flock, it maybe the saddle. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t it doesn’t fit. Flocking compress a lot within the first 20 to 30 hours of riding. Depending on how sensitive your horse is it could be that is saddle is rocking a little when you dismount. A touch up flock should fix that issues.
However, please always take both feet out of the stirrups before dismounting. I have known a couple of people who have gotten seriously hurt because they didn’t.
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My saddle fitter/chiro vet is coming on Tuesday to check him. I’ll certainly give your suggestion a try. Thats how I used to do it.
Thank you so much for responding.
Thank you. I will certainly try this and see what happens. It sounds doable. Thank you so much!
I hope you’re right. As for the two feet, that’s how I’ve done it my whole life until three weeks ago. But your concern about the right wither pressure makes sense especially if the saddle is slightly slipping. Thank you.
My thoughts as well. I haven’t changed girth. I use the Total Saddle Fit with the sheepskin cover. I use the Le Mieux sheep skin pad which I’ve been using since last fall. Unfortunately, I sold my saddle with my other horse. Big mistake. I should have kept it.
I appreciate this blog so much. You’ve all given me some ideas to fix this mess. I’m grateful.
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