How to avoid hanging self by belt when dismounting?

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

Last weekend, I kicked my right foot out of the stirrup, brought my right leg over the cantle, then took my left foot out and prepared to slide down.

Only my slide was abruptly arrested. Before my feet reached the ground. As I dangled off the side of the horse, I discovered I’d neatly hooked my belt over the horn.

Naturally, I had only minutes before taken my knife out of my pocket and handed it to someone. :rolleyes: Although this may have saved me from committing hari-kari on horseback. I’m sure it would’ve upset everyone had I disemboweled myself in an effort to get free.

There was a lesson parent standing at the rail, looking at me like he was thinking, “this is the worst trick rider I ever saw.” So I said, very quietly - hoping to avoid letting my horse in on the fact that anything was amiss - “Could you come here for a minute please?” At which point my belt broke and I landed safely. Whew.

I asked my farrier how western riders keep from hanging themselves routinely from the horn. He claims that’s why cowboys have those giant belt buckles. But I don’t know if he’s just putting me on to see if I’ll buy a big old plate for my belt or not.

I found a two-year-old thread here on the subject. The consensus seemed to be one should hold one’s hand on the horn when dismounting. But I thought since it was such an old thread, maybe I’d post this for the benefit of those among us who, like me, rather recently switched to western from hunt seat.

So - is hand-on-the-horn the preferred method? Do you not pull the saddle over when you do that? Do I need a hubcap for a belt buckle?

All suggestions welcome. I’d certainly like to avoid a repeat performance!

[RPM]

I would think a huge belt buckle would be even more apt to get hung up and also cause some damage!

I have a friend who tells of once getting hung up by her bra. Don’t know if it’s legend or truth!

I never wear a belt when riding, so that is one solution. I have gotten hung up on the hem of my jacket; after that I always unzipped my jacket before dismounting, and tucked my shirt in before mounting.

Hand on the horn seems a good preventive measure, but I’ve only seen people do that in western movies and on TV programs, so have no idea if it works in real life.

[Beverley]

If your left hand, with the reins, is on the neck in front of the saddle, and your right hand is on the horn as you swing your right leg over, and stays there til your feet are on the ground, nothing can get caught on the horn.

Personally I keep the left (or right, depending on which side I am dismounting on, as I like to keep 'em balanced) foot in the stirrup until the other foot is on the ground, when riding western. Though clearly that would not work well on a huge horse.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

Thanks, Beverley! Hand on the horn it is.

My horse is only 15.1 hh, and I’m 5’8", so in theory I can leave one foot in the stirrup till the other one is on the ground. In practice, it may take a little getting used to. On one of my first rides, long long ago, my (too-wide hiking) boot got caught in the stirrup as I dismounted, and I went bounding one-legged after my lesson horse as he headed for the barn.

Still, no feeling is quite as helpless as dangling mid-air, unable to get up or down. And nowadays I have sense enough to wear riding boots without big lugs on the soles. So I’ll give the step-down method another try.

[SmartAlex]

[QUOTE=RPM;7876293]
I have a friend who tells of getting hung up by her bra. Don’t know if it’s legend or truth![/QUOTE]

Yeah, the bra thing happens. In fact it can happen whenever you lean forward to reach for something.

[californianinkansas]

I’ve been hung up by my bra twice -both times in mixed company.:o My new saddle does not have a horn.

[saddleup]

I was at a show and dismounted, catching the front of my gorgeous new show shirt on the horn. All the buttons popped and flew off like bullets going everywhere. And I hit the ground with my shirt wide open, for all the world to see.

Yes I was embarrassed. Luckily I had another shirt in my trailer. I never did find all the buttons, though. I prefer zippers now.

[SuzieQNutter]

I am English trained and we are taught to take both feet put of the stirrups. If the horse is too tall, you can go over backwards and hit your head on the ground with one foot in the stirrup.

I have also been taught to lean forward, click both heels above their rump and land near their shoulder facing towards their tail, which is the same position you mount from.

A newbie commented on how fit I must be. I asked why and it was because of how I dismounted. Nope just the way I was taught doing ‘rein drill’ at Pony Club.

I guess you couldn’t do that because of the horn. OUCH!

[CHT]

Getting hung up on the horn can be a real serious issue. I know someone who was badly hurt that way as her horse piched a fit and she was stuck hanging on the side of her horse.

I have caught my shirt, but never by belt. Now I just get off slower: I keep my left foot in the stirrup and swing my right over, then lean forward over the SEAT (not horn) to get my left foot out of the stirrup, and then slide down. it is definitely different than how I get off English.

[Beverley]

No question you need to ‘think ahead’ on your foot in the stirrup before dismounting. I’ve had the odd hangup with a winter boot too, fortunately my horses just stand there and put up with my shenanigans. So I do think about whether I need to slide that foot most of the way out, just toe pressure, before swinging the other leg over and down. I watched a calf roper at the NFR finals get his foot hung in a stirrup and of course the horse was backing up rapidly to keep the rope taught. All he could do was bounce along and stay with the horse til someone was able to cut the rope. No harm done but certainly scary to watch and probably to live through!

[beau159]

I can’t say I have ever gotten my belt caught while dismounting.

Of course, I don’t dismount like you are describing. I keep my left foot in the stirrup, swing my right leg over the back of the horse, keep my left hand on the reins (to control my horse if need be), and may or may not hold onto the saddle horn with my right hand. When my right foot contacts the ground, I step out with my left foot.

If the horse happens to be too tall for me to step on the ground with my right foot, as I swing my right leg over the horse I also gently “hop” out of the left stirrup and land with both feet on the ground. (If that makes sense.)

I have, on occasion, caught my belt (or bra) on the saddle horn during speed events if I get slightly out of time with my horse, when they lunge forward to power out of a turn and I’m also leaning forward. It’s only happened a few times so I don’t consider it a huge problem.

Here’s a visual on mounting and dismounting.
http://youtu.be/vLntxUrjUyU

[Aces_N_Eights]

I cant say that I have ever had that happen in 30 years even in a fast dismount during a ranch rodeo event or doctoring cattle wearing a large belt buckle.

Some quick advice
Like someone else mentioned you don’t completely kick your foot out of your left stirrup, you slide it back so it is just your tip toes. You don’t slide down, you step down with the left hand on the neck- reins in hand, right hand down low on the right swell/bucking roll as not to create a bunch of leverage on the horn causing the saddle to roll.
I also avoid leaning over the neck as much as possible. From riding a lot of colts and some nasty horses I want to stay as balanced as possible getting on and off. Getting tipped that much forward can be an invite to getting bucked down on a horse that is an opportunist.

[Fillabeana]

A big, low horn such as would be on a true Wade saddle would help.

I had an old ‘form-fitter’ (high horn, big swells, high cantle) that I rode my OTTB in for a while…the thing would hold you in if your horse spooked sideways…but it also would rip off blouse buttons when said OTTB got catty on a cow, or we jumped large windfall timber.

I have a friend who was riding when her colt got overfaced…she got bucked off but her bra stayed on, hooked to the saddle horn. Thank goodness she was OK, her husband hung the bra as a trophy…she was not amused.

The caught-on-the-horn thing is why chinks are supposed to be connected in front by a lace or low quality/thin leather that will break.

I don’t know why armitas wouldn’t pose a danger of hanging you by the saddle horn in a wreck.

[goodhors]

Must be old fashioned training, but I always put my left hand on the horn with the reins in hand to dismount. Right hand on the swell to start swing of right leg over the cantle and step down. If horse is tall, I stop when right and left legs are together on one side of horse, move right hand to cantle, lift body slightly to get left foot kicked out of stirrup and then slide down with feet together to land beside horse.

With left hand ALWAYS on the horn, you won’t snag your belt buckle or bottom of a vest or jacket. Hand prevents stuff passing over the horn to catch there. I don’t want any kind of “lean forward” if possible, because I have seen a number of bras get hooked on the horn. This is also the reason I don’t put my left (with reins) hand on horse neck, it makes me reach/lean forward to possibly snag on the horn. I am then also off-balance, with arm reaching ahead of saddle to horse neck instead of arm straight down under my shoulder to saddle horn, for getting off straight downward.

I would not advise getting a big plate buckle since it is not going to prevent hooking the horn when you lean forward to lift up for leg swing and get ahead of horn. There just is nothing to prevent that buckle, hem of untucked shirt, jacket or even a bra from snagging the horn during such a dismount. You need your hand with arm on the horn to prevent “articles of apparel” from ever getting over the horn to catch and hang you up on the saddle.

Maybe it is a new fashion, but I was taught to hold the horn for stability, preventing my body movement from getting in the way of horse digging out on his way thru the barrels or poles. Again, clothing can’t hang up if horn is covered with a hand and arm.

[Beverley]

It has been so long since I started showing equitation in the mid 60s I can’t honestly remember what was deemed correct-I have the old 4H rules around here somewhere! But I haven’t had horn hangups in all that time either, so it isn’t something I have given a lot of thought to.

[Aces_N_Eights]

I should probably add that the method of dismounting I posted above has nothing to do with proper equitation, what would be deemed correct by show pen standards and less likely be taught at a lesson barn. It was what I taught from cowboying, starting colts and what I found works the best for me. Grabbing the horn while dismounting is considered a faux pax as is grabbing your cantle board while mounting.

[RPM]

I have a friend who was riding when her colt got overfaced…she got bucked off but her bra stayed on, hooked to the saddle horn. Thank goodness she was OK, her husband hung the bra as a trophy…she was not amused.

:lol: I would have been, in her shoes (er, bra!). :lol:

I have been told (mostly by people who ride English) that putting one foot on the ground before taking the other out of the stirrup is a very dangerous way to dismount, but I have seen tall TV and movie “cowboys” do this and never yet saw one injured. I’m too short to do it anyway, unless I might be riding a Shetland Pony, which I probably wouldn’t.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

OK, so I tried all the different suggestions today - haven’t ridden since my post due to holiday travelling - and the Beverley method worked best for me.

Left hand with reins on neck, right hand on saddle, slide left foot part way out of stirrup. Swing right leg over and step down. Take left foot completely out of stirrup.

Thanks everybody!

[stb]

I use the Beverley method also. It’s much easier on my 56 year old knees than jumping down, like I used to do when riding English.

A couple of weeks ago I forgot to put my hand on the horn, and my shirt got hung up. Fortunately, my horse is really good minded, and he just stood quietly while I figured out how to disengage myself from his saddle. Hopefully I won’t make that mistake again.

[secuono]

I push away from the horse right as I drop, so that I land 3in or so away.
Or just keep the one leg in stirrup and step down.
Are you supposed to just slide off…?